244 ISLAM AT WAR
in the names of many of these groups. Fatah, one of the major Palestinian
organizations is itself such a term. In Arabic, “Fatah” is a reverse acronym
of Harekat at-Tahrir al-Wataniyyeh al-Falastiniyyeh, which means “con-
quest by means of jihad.”
These jihads are frequently “low intensity” wars, as no armies actually
face one another on battlefields. Instead, these are frequently fought in the
streets of cities, marketplaces, discotheques, and so forth, and their attacks
are aimed at civilians. The operative word is terrorism; the groups and
states supporting jihad are far too weak in political, economic, and military
terms to support successful armies. In the broadest sense, these jihads are
bent on the violent overthrow of corrupt, or anti-Islamic governments and
their replacement with Islamic governments.
Islamic fundamentalist groups have arisen from the revivalist works of
select Muslim scholars. From these educated individuals have arisen such
groups as the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-I-Islami. These groups
have steadily become more militant. Their beliefs focus on Islam as an
all-encompassing ideology—a foundation of life and law that interprets
the Koran literally and without exception or discussion. Their members
are from all groups of Islamic society. They are students, workers, mer-
chants, and young professionals.
A great many such terrorist groups exist, but Hamas is one of the more
interesting. It was organized in late 1987 in the Gaza Strip when the
“Intifada” or Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule began in the occupied
territories. Its name is an acronym of Harakat al-Muqaqana al-Islamilya
and translates as the Islamic Resistance Movement.
Hamas was founded on the idea of Islamic nationalism. Its goal is the
establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state that will encompass all of
historical Palestine, including modern Israel. As its action has attracted
attention, Hamas has expanded its membership by drawing in those with
little to lose and who might be influenced to hate—the disgruntled young
males of the slums and lower-class neighborhoods.
Hamas has an armed militant wing known as Iz el-Deen, which carries
out continued bombings and suicide bombings, assassinations, and kid-
napping of those opposed to its existence. Like many terrorist organiza-
tions, they have a strong appetite for suicide bombings. Their primary
targets are Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
Hamas draws its strength from the Palestinian community. They have
established a network of schools, clinics, mosques, and charity funds. It
makes active use of these establishments to provide social services to the
community that increases its influence as well as providing those social
services to the families of deceased suicide bombers.