Harakat al-Maqawama al-Islamiyya (Hamas): From Terrorism to Politics.
Hamas believes that the Zionist colonization scheme can only be extirpated through a holy struggle in which armed struggle is a basic instrument. Hamas also sees that the best way to conduct the fight with the Zionist enemy is to mobilize the resources of the Palestinian people to raise the banner of struggle in Palestine and to keep the embers of conflict burning until the conditions for a decisive battle with the enemy are complete believing in the sacredness of Palestine and its Islamic status, Hamas believes it impermissible under any circumstances to concede any part of Palestine or to recognize the Zionist occupation if it. (Simon and Stevenson, 2003, p.59).
The ideological mission stated above is culled from the Introductory Memorandum of the Harakat al-Maqawama al-Islamiyya, better known as the Palestinian Hamas. Literally the "Islamic Resistance Movement" for the fight against Israeli occupation of former Palestinian lands, the ideological mission of Hamas shows a dedication that allows no room for negotiation or political maneuver. In recent years, however, Hamas has undergone such transformation that it is slowly moving away from its uncompromising position towards a less hostile and more liberal stand. This study looks into the journey of Hamas, from its beginning as a resistance movement (dubbed "terrorist" because of its tactics) to its success as the leading political party of Palestine.
This paper posits that Hamas" transformation from a terrorist organization to a successful political party forced it to adopt a more liberal attitude towards negotiations with Israel and lessen its reliance on armed struggle to achieve its goals. In 2006, Hamas won as the majority party in the Palestinian Parliament, defeating the usual stalwart, Fatah. With its victory, Hamas slowly began talks with Israel - an impossibility prior to Hamas" election due to its insistence on armed struggle as the only means to achieve victory (Mishal and Sela, 2000, p.