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Legitimizing Pragmatism: Hamas' Framing Efforts From Militancy to Moderation and Back?

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09546551003765942

1556-1836

Joas Wagemakers,

Middle East Politics and Society

Abstract This article shows how Hamas legitimized its policy choices during the Al-Aqsa intifada and the Gaza war. The organization's policy moved from violent during the initial stages of the uprising to more moderate during later years. While this entailed huge changes in the organization's course of action, Hamas nevertheless always managed to frame its choices in a way that seemed consistent with its long-held beliefs. The same occurred during the Gaza war, when Hamas moderated its discourse even further. This shows Hamas' flexibility and pragmatism but also that seemingly rigid ideological views can change quite dramatically when circumstances change too. Keywords: framingHamasintifadaIslamismIslamist ideologyPalestinian-Israeli conflict Notes See Ziad Abu-Amr, "Hamas: A Historical and Political Background," Journal of Palestine Studies 22, no. 4 (Summer 1993): 5–19; Ibid., Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994), 63–89; Zaki Chehab, Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement (New York: Nation Books, 2007); Khaled Hroub, Hamas: Political Thought and Practice (Washington: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000); Are Knudsen, "Crescent and Sword: the Hamas Enigma," Third World Quarterly 26, no. 8 (2005): 1373–1388; Beverley Milton-Edwards, Islamic Politics in Palestine (London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 1996), 145–177; Ze'ev Schiff and Ehud Ya'ari, Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising: Israel's Third Front (New York: Touchstone, 1991 [1989]), 220–239; Azzam Tamimi, Hamas: A History from Within (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2007). Wim Kortenoeven, Hamas: Portrait and Background (The Hague: Aspekt, 2007) (in Dutch); Matthew A. Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006); Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008). Jeroen Gunning, Hamas in Politics: Democracy, Religion, Violence (London: Hurst, 2007); Khaled Hroub, "Die Aktuelle Politik von Hamas: Überleben ohne Strategie," Inamo 8, no. 32 (Winter 2002): 15–17; Ibid., Hamas: A Beginner's Guide (London and Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2006); International Crisis Group, Dealing with Hamas, Middle East Report no. 21 (Amman and Brussels, 26 Jan. 2004), 13–19; Ibid., Enter Hamas: The Challenge of Political Integration, Middle East Report no. 49 (Amman and Brussels, 18 Jan. 2006), 19–22; Menachem Klein, "Hamas in Power," Middle East Journal 61, no. 3 (Summer 2007): 442–459; Shaul Mishal, "The Pragmatic Dimension of the Palestinian Hamas: A Network Perspective," Armed Forces and Society 29, no. 4 (Summer 2003): 569–589; Shaul Mishal and Avraham Sela, The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence, and Coexistence (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000); Ibid., "Participation without Presence: Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Politics of Negotiated Coexistence," Middle Eastern Studies 38, no. 3 (July 2002): 1–26; Muhammad Muslih, "Hamas: Strategy and Tactics," in Ethnic Conflict and International Politics in the Middle East, ed. Leonard Binder (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1999), 311–326. Khaled Hroub, "A 'New Hamas' through its New Documents," Journal of Palestine Studies 35, no. 4 (Summer 2006): 6–27. Khaled Hroub, Hamas: A Beginners' Guide (see note 3 above), 17–41; Andrea Nüsse, Muslim Palestine: The Ideology of Hamas (Abingdon: RoutledgeCurzon, 1998). Kortenoeven (see note 2 above); Meir Litvak, "The Islamization of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Case of Hamas," Middle Eastern Studies 34, no. 1 (Jan. 1998): 148–163; Ibid., "The Anti-Semitism of Hamas: Anti-Semitism is a Major Pillar in the Ideology of Hamas," Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture 12, nos. 2 & 3 (2005). Meir Hatina, "Hamas and the Oslo Accords: Religious Dogma in a Changing Political Reality," Mediterranean Politics 4, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 37–55. One of the few exceptions is Hroub, Hamas: A Beginner's Guide (see note 3 above), 21–24 (particularly 24), in which Hroub describes how Hamas justifies its political participation in the PA as another form of struggle against Israel. For studies applying Social Movement Theory to Islamist movements, see for example Mohammed Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003); Quintan Wiktorowicz, ed., Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2004). Mishal and Sela, The Palestinian Hamas (see note 3 above); Mishal (see note 3 above); Gunning (see note 3 above); Glenn E. Robinson, "Hamas as Social Movement," in ed. Quintan Wiktorowicz (see note 9 above), 112–139. Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis (New York: Harper Colophon, 1974), 21. The main contributors to the development of the concept of framing and frame alignment in SMT-literature are David A. Snow and Robert D. Benford. See for example David A. Snow et al., "Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation," American Sociological Review 51 (August 1986): 464–481; David A. Snow and Robert D. Benford, "Ideology, Frame Resonance and Participant Mobilization," in International Social Movement Research, Vol. 1: From Structure to Action: Comparing Social Movement Research Across Cultures, ed. Bert Klandermans, Hanspeter Kriesi and Sidney Tarrow (Greenwich, CT and London: JAI Press, 1988), 197–217. This newspaper, called Al-Risala, is sometimes taken out of circulation. If that happens, it continues as Al-Raya. The two names refer to the same newspaper, however. The communiqués referred to in this article were all downloaded from the internet (www.palestine-info.net/Arabic/hamas/index.htm). No communiqués for the period 2000–2002 were available. For more on these movements, see respectively: Graham Usher, "Fatah's Tanzim: Origins and Politics," Middle East Report 30, no. 4 (December 2000): 6–7; Jean-François Legrain, "Les Phalanges des Martyrs d'Al-Aqsa en mal de Leadership National," Maghreb-Machrek, no. 176 (Summer 2003): 11–34. Rema Hammami and Salim Tamari, "The Second Uprising: End or New Beginning?," Journal of Palestine Studies 30, no. 2 (Winter 2001): 13. Interestingly, Hamas addressed this issue specifically in Al-Risala, stating that it could not just act as it pleased and had to wait for the right moment. See "'Ayn 'Amaliyyat […]," Al-Risala, 16 Nov. 2000, 4. Graham Usher, "Facing Defeat: The Intifada Two Years On," Journal of Palestine Studies 32, no. 2 (Winter 2002): 35–36. This periodization is based on an extensive reading of both Arab and Israeli newspaper and magazine articles of the period as well as the excellent quarterly overviews of military, political, and diplomatic events by Michele K. Esposito in the Journal of Palestine Studies. See also Usher, "Facing" (see note 18 above), 25–33. See also Khaled Hroub, "Hamas after Shaykh Yasin and Rantisi," Journal of Palestine Studies 33, no. 4 (Summer 2004): 28–29; Beverley Milton-Edwards and Alistair Crooke, "Elusive Ingredient: Hamas and the Peace Process," Journal of Palestine Studies 33, no. 4 (Summer 2004): 44–47. See also Ed Blanche, "Hammering Hamas," Middle East, no. 340 (December 2003): 28–31; Michele K. Esposito, "The Al-Aqsa Intifada: Military Operations, Suicide Attacks, Assassinations, and Losses in the First Four Years," Journal of Palestine Studies 34, no. 2 (Winter 2005): 85–122. See for instance: Salih al-Khalidi, "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, March 2001, 48–49; Ibid., "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, June 2001, 47–48. Ibid., "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, July 2001, 44–45. Ibid., "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Dec. 2001, 48–49. Ibid., "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Sept. 2001, 53. Ibid., "Hadith […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Oct. 2001, 53. "Al-Muqawama […]," Al-Risala, Feb. 2001, 3. Wisam 'Afifa, "La Atawaqqa'u […]," Al-Raya, 8 May 2003, 6. "'Am Jadid […]," Al-Risala, 27 Sept. 2001, 3. "Al-Yahudiyya […]," Al-Risala, 3 May 2001, 3. "Taharraka [...]," Filastin al-Muslima, June 2001, 15. Maha 'Abd al-Hadi, "Wa-l-Muqawama […]," Filastin al-Muslima, March 2002, 17. Hamas Communiqué (11 March 2003). Maha 'Abd al-Hadi, "Murahanat […]," Filastin al-Muslima, March 2003, 33. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Rantisi, "Al-Irhab […]," Al-Risala, 1 Jan. 2004, 15. Ahmad Muhammad Bahr, "Sawarikh […]," Al-Risala, 30 Sept. 2004, 14. Hamas Communiqué (18 Sept. 2004). For more on the significance of "martyrs" to Hamas, see for example Eli Alshech, "Egoistic Martyrdom and Hamas' Success in the 2005 Municipal Elections: A Study of Hamas Martyrs' Ethical Wills, Biographies, and Eulogies," Die Welt des Islams 48, no. 1 (2008): 23–49, especially 28–42. See for instance: "Shuhada' al-Aqsa […]," Al-Risala, 26 Oct. 2000, 6. "'Hamas' […]," Al-Risala, 5 Oct. 2000, 11. Hamas Communiqué (30 Dec. 2002). Hamas Communiqué (12 June 2003). Hamas Communiqué (19 June 2004). Hamas Communiqué (10 Sept. 2003). Hamas Communiqué (11 Feb. 2004). The slogans mentioned were not the only ones used by Hamas. Others included "the blood of the martyrs will not have been in vain" and "what has been taken by force must be regained by force" or similar wordings. Ibrahim Ghawsha, "Qadaya […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Feb. 2001, 30–31. Hamas Communiqué (7 Oct. 2003). Maha 'Abd al-Hadi, "Al-Intifada […]," Filastin al-Muslima, July 2001, 10. Hamas Communiqué (15 March 2003). Hamas Communiqué (2 Nov. 2003). Maha 'Abd al-Hadi, "Al-Muqawama […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Oct. 2001, 10–11, 13. See for instance: Ibid. (see note 52 above), 11–12; "Al-Istitan […]," Filastin al-Muslima, April 2002, 26–27. See for instance: Hamas Communiqués (2 June, 7 June, 21 June, and 30 Sept. 2004, 3 Jan. 2005). 'Abd al-Hadi (see note 52 above), 11, 13. See for instance Hroub, Hamas: Political (see note 1 above), 81–84; Mishal and Sela, The Palestinian Hamas (see note 3 above), 71–72. See also Robinson (see note 10 above), 133. See for instance Hroub, Hamas: Political (see note 1 above), 82. Polls by the Birzeit University Development Studies Program (May–July 2003), reprinted in the Journal of Palestine Studies 32, no. 4 (Summer 2003): 140; Journal of Palestine Studies 33, no. 1 (Fall 2003): 131. "Hamas […]," Al-Quds al-'Arabi, 30 June 2003, 7. Wisam 'Afifa, "'Al-Hudna' […]," Al-Raya, 5 June 2003, 10. See for instance: "Hamas […]," Al-Risala, 18 September 2003, 2; Wisam 'Afifa, "Haniyya […]," Al-Risala, 9 Oct. 2003, 3; Hamas Communiqué from the movement's politbureau (5 Nov. 2003); Hamas Communiqué (4 Dec. 2003); "Al-Hudna […]," Filastin al-Muslima, Jan. 2004, 22. Hamas Communiqué (5 Sept. 2003). Hamas published communiqués with similar messages on 14 Oct., 2 Nov., and 27 Nov. 2003. Hamas Communiqué (15 Oct. 2003). Hamas Communiqué (20 Nov. 2003). "Bayna […]," Al-Risala (internet: www.alresalah.info), 24 March 2005; see also: "Hiwar […]," Al-Risala (internet), 17 March 2005. See for example Haim Malka, "Forcing Choices: Testing the Transformation of Hamas," The Washington Quarterly 28, no. 4 (Autumn 2005): 39–42, 45–47. Even the hudna, supposedly the more serious initiative, was refused by Israel as a unilateral, Palestinian plan that did not represent Israel's wishes. See for example Khaled Amayreh, "Back to Square One," Al-Ahram Weekly Online (http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/), no. 639 (22–28 May 2003); Graham Usher, "On the Road," Middle East International, no. 701 (30 May 2003): 8. For the text of the hudna, see "Hamas" (see note 59 above). The text of the Cairo Declaration, from which the tahdi'a sprang, was originally downloaded from www.palestine-info.net/arabic/hamas/index.htm. The declaration is no longer available on this website, however. See www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=2&id=849 for an English translation. Wisam 'Afifa, "Al-Hudna […]," Al-Risala, 3 July 2003, 3. Hamas & Islamic Jihad Communiqué, www.qudsway.com, 29 June 2003 (accessed April 2005). Tariq Hasan, "Khalid […],"Al-Ahram (www.ahram.org.eg/), 30 March 2005 (accessed April 2005). 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Rantisi, "Tasrihat […]," Al-Risala, 10 July 2003, 15. Ra'fat Murra, "Al-Hudna […]," Filastin al-Muslima, July 2003, 18. Hasan (see note 71 above). Ra'fat Murra, "Al-Tahdi'a […]," Filastin al-Muslima (www.fm-m.com), March 2005. An example of this was the Annapolis conference between Palestinian President Mahmud 'Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. See for example International Crisis Group, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Annapolis and After, Middle East Briefing no. 22 (Jerusalem, Washington and Brussels, 20 Nov. 2007). See for example Ziad AbuZayyad, "The Hamas Victory: Implications and Future Challenges," Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture 12/13, nos. 4/1 (2005/2006); Riad Malki, "The Palestinian Elections: Beyond Hamas and Fatah," Journal of Democracy 17, no. 3 (July 2006): 131–137; Beverley Milton-Edwards, "Hamas: Victory with Ballots and Bullets," Global Change, Peace & Security 19, no. 3 (Oct. 2007): 301–316; Mahjoob Zweiri, "The Hamas Victory: Shifting Sands or Major Earthquake," Third World Quarterly 27, no. 4 (2006): 675–687. For extensive descriptions of how the two sides reached this point, see for example International Crisis Group, After Gaza, Middle East Report no. 68 (Amman/Jerusalem/Gaza/Brussels: 2 Aug. 2007); Ibid., Round Two in Gaza, Middle East Briefing no. 24 (Gaza City/Ramallah/Brussels, 11 Sept. 2008); S. Samuel C. Rajiv, "The Hamas Takeover and its Aftermath," Strategic Analysis 31, no. 5 (September 2007): 834–851; Tim Youngs and Ben Smith, Hamas and the Seizure of Gaza, Research Paper 07/60, House of Commons Library (6 July 2007). Although the Egyptian-brokered truce deal was not officially released in writing, a text of the agreement can be found in International Crisis Group, Ending the War in Gaza, Middle East Briefing no. 26 (Gaza City/Ramallah/Jerusalem/Brussels, 5 Jan. 2009): 3. Ibid.: 3–4. See for example ibid.; International Crisis Group, Gaza's Unfinished Business, Middle East Report no. 85 (Gaza City/Ramallah/Jerusalem/Washington/Brussels, 23 April 2009); Sherifa Zuhur, "Gaza, Israel, Hamas and the Lost Calm of Operation Cast Lead," Middle East Policy 16, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 40–52. There were communiqués, however, calling on the Palestinians to unite but these should be seen in the context of the intra-Palestinian conflict, not in the context of the war or relations with Israel. See for example Hamas communiqués (25 and 27 Dec. 2008). One of the few exceptions was an article that predicted "the downfall of the Jews" (indihar al-yahud) on the basis of the Qur'an. The article also claimed Jews had a lot of influence in Arab capitals. See Yunus al-Astal, "Indihar […]," Al-Risala, no. 663, 5 March 2009, 19. Hamas Communiqué (18 December 2008, 10:01 p.m.). Hamas Communiqué (18 December 2008, 9:55 p.m.). Hamas Communiqué (31 December 2008). Hamas Communiqué (2 January 2009). Hamas Communiqué (28 December 2008). See for example Muhammad Ballur, "Al-Shahid […]," Al-Risala, 5 Feb. 2009, 14; "Muqatilu […]," Filastin al-Muslima, May 2009, 46–47. Hamas Communiqué (24 Dec. 2008). Hamas Communiqué (28 Dec. 2008). "Istitla'an […]," Filastin al-Muslima, March 2009, 18–19. Hamas Communiqué (21 Jan. 2009); "Mu'alliqun […]," Filastin al-Muslima, March 2009, 20–21. For examples of Hamas blaming Israel for not reaching a truce deal, see for instance Fadi al-Husni, "Barhum […]," Al-Risala, 12 Feb. 2009, 2; Rami Khurays, "Al-Tahdi'a […]," Al-Risala, 15 Feb. 2009, 2; Ahmad Abu 'Amir, "Taraju' […]," Al-Risala, 15 Feb. 2009, 3. See for instance Abu 'Amir, 3 (see note 94 above). Sometimes the demand for an "end to aggression" was included too. See for example "Al-Zahhar […]," Al-Risala, 23 Feb. 2009, 8. "Hamas […]," Al-Risala, 12 Feb. 2009, 6. See for example "Abu Marzuq […]," Al-Risala, 23 Feb. 2009, p. 8; "Al-Ishkaliyyat […]," Filastin al-Muslima, no. 3, March 2009, 38–39. "Al-Ishkaliyyat […]," 39 (see note 97 above). Additional informationNotes on contributorsJoas WagemakersJoas Wagemakers is a lecturer and PhD candidate at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where his research focuses on Islamism and Salafism. He has written several articles about these topics and is also co-editor of ZemZem, a Dutch-language journal on the Middle East, North-Africa, and Islam.