The Political Change from the Perspective of Political Islamic Movements on the West Bank and Gaza "Hamas as a model"

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Type: 
Thesis
Year: 
2007
Students: 
Belal M. M. Shobaki
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The Political Change from the Perspective of Political Islamic Movements on the West Bank and Gaza "Hamas as a model"873.94 KB
Abstract: 

The decision to do a research on "The Political Change from the Perspective of Political Islamic Movements on the West Bank and Gaza" came as a result of many factors the sum of which constituted a strong and compelling reason to undertake such research. The ever growing presence of Political Islam and its impact on the Palestinian society were among the two most compelling reasons to do so. These factors, in light of the fact that none of these movements have ever had any prior experience in government or even the simple participation in such governments on the Palestinian level in the past, compelled the researcher to try to study the changes in the political agenda of Hamas, the subject of this study. In his attempt to arrive at the conclusion of this study, the researcher tried to test his Hypotheses which can be summed as follows, that in Hamas' attempt at political transformation within the scope of this study 2000-2007, the movement goals centered around transforming the basis of the Palestinian political system, the source for authority for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in addition to redefining the nature of the relationship with the Israeli occupation, all such goals were influenced by a series of factors that presented both a challenge and an opportunity for such undertaking. Testing these Hypotheses required dividing the thesis into four chapters, Chapter One discussed the importance of this study and its background explaining its Hypotheses, Methodology, in addition to outline of the research and its time period. In doing so, the researcher reviewed similar studies Previous studies. Chapter Two of this thesis, the researcher presented a conceptual discussion of the two concepts presented in his study: Political Islam and political change. After describing the ongoing debate on the use of the term political Islam to describe the phenomenon of Islamic movements involved in politics, the researcher explained the justification for the use of this term in this thesis, considering political Islam movements are such movements that has a well-defined political program and takes Islam as its source of authority which clearly defines its means and general goals, and seeks to realize those goals through the creation of its own political institutions or through existing ones. This Chapter deals also with the concept of political change defining it as the overall transformation of political structure of the society. The purpose behind this chapter, the concepts chapter, is to establish the basis for a theory by which the researcher can use to transform the abstract concepts into practical reality that can be applied to political Islam movements in general and Hamas movement in particular. This became clear in Chapter Three which dealt with the three basic constituents of political change where the researcher started with ideological foundation moving on to its systematic means and arriving at the eventual goals. The basic ideology behind all such movements springs from an Islamic framework as it is clear from the general methodology of such movements, most important of which is the graduation of transformation and its interaction with modern concepts and institutions to finally arrive at its ultimate goal, the creation of an Islamic state. All such issues, in addition to the abstract concepts discussed earlier formed the foundation for political change with Hamas so that the ideological foundation formed a common denominator with other political Islam movements. As for Hamas' methodology, it appears that it coincided completely with that of the former Muslim Brotherhood which in fact makes up its ideological roots. In Chapter Four the researcher discussed how Hamas would achieve its goals of political transformation and the source of authority for the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization as well the relation with Israeli occupation. From the events that took place recently, as of the date of writing this thesis, it appears that Hamas did in fact achieve, at least partially, some of these goals through the three agreements signed with other factions, namely the Cairo Agreement, the National Unity Agreement, and the Mecca Agreement. As for the PLO, the change sought by Hamas appeared to be limited to the theoretical foundation, as the practical steps taken appeared to be limited. As for the relations with Israel, Hamas' proposal materialized in a truce, an old proposition by Hamas. However, its reintroduction by Hamas recently represents larger significance deeper indications. According to the time scope of this study, Hamas' undertaking of political transformation was influenced by many factors, some of which helped to shape this transformation where others presented opportunities for its exhaustion. At the end of his thesis, the researcher has recommended that Hamas adopts the following recommendations: first to develop a political culture that is compatible with it's current position. second. the movement has to be aware of the fact that pluralism and political partnership is a core obligation for the practice and the implementation of democracy. Third, for Hamas to maintain it current standing with citizens, the movement must give special attention to projects that the citizens come in contact with and benefit from on a daily basis. He also pointed out the importance of strengthening the elements of the truce for managing the relationship with Israel, and consolidate the real concept of resistance in accordance with the concept of constructive governance.