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Skunk · 03-25-2004, 09:03 AM

A middle eastern perspective on the effects of the 'assassination':

Launching a martyr

Israel's assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the leader of the Palestinian radical Islamic group Hamas, will resonate well beyond the Arab world. Many Muslims around the world will view his killing as an assault on Islam by Israel and its international backer, the United States. This is bound to undermine the U.S.-led war on terror.

Yassin was not only the founder of Hamas and its spiritual leader since 1987, but he was also viewed widely among Palestinians and Muslims as symbolizing Islam in defense of the Palestinians' right to resist Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinian land. Although a quadriplegic from childhood, he was a trained Islamic scholar, with an evolving commitment to deploy Islam as an ideology of resistance.

Despite Israel's current assertion that he was an uncompromising, militant Islamic murderer, Yassin and radical Hamas activists originally received backing from Israeli circles as a counter to the Palestine Liberation Organization of Yasser Arafat - a move recently described by the Israeli-born historian Ahron Bregman as "Israel's folly." Only later did Israel turn against Hamas and imprison Yassin, as it came to fear the growing popularity of Hamas among the Palestinians and concluded that it was better for Israel to deal with a weakened but secular PLO than to allow Hamas to Islamize the Palestinian nationalist movement.

Until September 2003, at no point did Israel deem Yassin, dangerous enough to kill him. Although Yassin had endorsed suicide bombings as a means for Palestinians to combat their militarily powerful occupiers, he was also regarded as a voice of relative moderation within Hamas.

Yassin persistently downplayed the call in Hamas's charter for the creation of an Islamic Palestine incorporating and extinguishing Israel, guiding his movement toward acceptance of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem along the pre-1967 borders.

While rightist Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu in effect rejected the Oslo peace process from the beginning and worked hard for its destruction, Yassin, despite his serious objection to Oslo, tolerated the process and supported the PLO's efforts to make it work for more than two years.

Hamas carried out no substantial operations against Israel until after the assassination by a Jewish extremist of the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin - a central partner in the peace process - and the build-up of Palestinian frustration over the slow progress of the peace process thereafter. In fact, Yassin's and Hamas's position weakened during the initial phase of the Oslo process, only to be strengthened after the Rabin assassination, leading them in the last year to become possibly the dominant force in Gaza.

For all these reasons, and notwithstanding his support of suicide bombing against Israeli civilian targets, Yassin was widely respected among the Palestinians and looked upon by many in the Arab and Muslim world as an Islamist defender of Palestinians and the Islamic faith. This was a distinction which could not be claimed by figures such as Arafat or Saddam Hussein. There now will be many elements within the Muslim world who will view his assassination as another concrete example of an assault on Islam and Muslims.

The fact that Israel has American weapons to assassinate Yassin, and the spectacle of Washington once again coming out to shield Israel against widespread international condemnation, can only further fuel not only Palestinian and Arab but also Muslim anger against the United States. This, together with the miserable conditions of existence endured by Iraqis under the U.S.-led occupation, will most likely drive more Muslims to identify with the positions of radical extremists such as Osama bin Laden.

If Al Qaeda needed one further event to shore up its position among Muslims and widen its recruitment and operations, the assassination of Yassin may have provided it. Israel and its international backers may find that this assassination returns to haunt them.

Amin Saikal is a professor of political science and director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.
International Herald Tribune

[ 03-25-2004, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]

03-25-2004, 09:03 AM	#19
Skunk Banned User Join Date: September 3, 2001 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Age: 63 Posts: 1,463	A middle eastern perspective on the effects of the 'assassination': Launching a martyr Israel's assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the leader of the Palestinian radical Islamic group Hamas, will resonate well beyond the Arab world. Many Muslims around the world will view his killing as an assault on Islam by Israel and its international backer, the United States. This is bound to undermine the U.S.-led war on terror. Yassin was not only the founder of Hamas and its spiritual leader since 1987, but he was also viewed widely among Palestinians and Muslims as symbolizing Islam in defense of the Palestinians' right to resist Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinian land. Although a quadriplegic from childhood, he was a trained Islamic scholar, with an evolving commitment to deploy Islam as an ideology of resistance. Despite Israel's current assertion that he was an uncompromising, militant Islamic murderer, Yassin and radical Hamas activists originally received backing from Israeli circles as a counter to the Palestine Liberation Organization of Yasser Arafat - a move recently described by the Israeli-born historian Ahron Bregman as "Israel's folly." Only later did Israel turn against Hamas and imprison Yassin, as it came to fear the growing popularity of Hamas among the Palestinians and concluded that it was better for Israel to deal with a weakened but secular PLO than to allow Hamas to Islamize the Palestinian nationalist movement. Until September 2003, at no point did Israel deem Yassin, dangerous enough to kill him. Although Yassin had endorsed suicide bombings as a means for Palestinians to combat their militarily powerful occupiers, he was also regarded as a voice of relative moderation within Hamas. Yassin persistently downplayed the call in Hamas's charter for the creation of an Islamic Palestine incorporating and extinguishing Israel, guiding his movement toward acceptance of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem along the pre-1967 borders. While rightist Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu in effect rejected the Oslo peace process from the beginning and worked hard for its destruction, Yassin, despite his serious objection to Oslo, tolerated the process and supported the PLO's efforts to make it work for more than two years. Hamas carried out no substantial operations against Israel until after the assassination by a Jewish extremist of the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin - a central partner in the peace process - and the build-up of Palestinian frustration over the slow progress of the peace process thereafter. In fact, Yassin's and Hamas's position weakened during the initial phase of the Oslo process, only to be strengthened after the Rabin assassination, leading them in the last year to become possibly the dominant force in Gaza. For all these reasons, and notwithstanding his support of suicide bombing against Israeli civilian targets, Yassin was widely respected among the Palestinians and looked upon by many in the Arab and Muslim world as an Islamist defender of Palestinians and the Islamic faith. This was a distinction which could not be claimed by figures such as Arafat or Saddam Hussein. There now will be many elements within the Muslim world who will view his assassination as another concrete example of an assault on Islam and Muslims. The fact that Israel has American weapons to assassinate Yassin, and the spectacle of Washington once again coming out to shield Israel against widespread international condemnation, can only further fuel not only Palestinian and Arab but also Muslim anger against the United States. This, together with the miserable conditions of existence endured by Iraqis under the U.S.-led occupation, will most likely drive more Muslims to identify with the positions of radical extremists such as Osama bin Laden. If Al Qaeda needed one further event to shore up its position among Muslims and widen its recruitment and operations, the assassination of Yassin may have provided it. Israel and its international backers may find that this assassination returns to haunt them. Amin Saikal is a professor of political science and director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. International Herald Tribune [ 03-25-2004, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]