Hamas and Its Discontents
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Last month, Hamas security forces stormed the Ibn-Taymiyah mosque in the Gaza town of Rafah, killing a number of members of an insurgent Islamic sect called Jund Ansar Allah (JAA), along with the group's leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa. The violent clash was a reminder of the mounting difficulties Hamas has faced in consolidating its power in Gaza since Israel's military campaign there this past January -- as well as its resolve to suppress, even crush, any challenges to its authority. In recent months, Hamas has developed an increasingly acrimonious relationship with the various salafi groups in the Gaza Strip, and the battle at the Ibn-Taymiyah mosque marked a new low in this struggle. It is likely that from the ruins of the mosque emerged the Palestinian Islamists' first important martyr.
On August 14, Moussa and about a hundred of his followers, including armed men strapped with explosive belts, holed themselves in the mosque. The conflict between Hamas and JAA, a relative newcomer to the family of Palestinian militant groups, had been brewing for a few weeks. Hamas had accused the group of bombing Internet cafés, music stores, foreign schools, and weddings -- allegations the group denied. In turn, JAA complained that Hamas had persecuted its members, confiscated money and equipment worth $120,000, and even tried to kidnap its Syrian military commander, Abu Abdallah al-Muhajir. At the mosque, Moussa and his followers refused to surrender to the Hamas forces gathered outside, and ensuing fighting left 22 dead.
The question is why Hamas -- which prides itself on being an Islamist movement -- used such violence against a fellow Islamist group.
Moussa and the JAA challenged the core of Hamas' legitimacy -- its credentials as a religious movement. When it joined the Palestinian political system before elections in January 2006, Hamas presented itself as the Islamic alternative to the secular, corrupt, and failing Fatah movement. But as it gained political power, Hamas learned how difficult it is to maintain an image of religious purity and began to reconsider its strategy.
Hamas gradually found itself exposed to many of the same accusations it had previously directed at the Palestinian Authority. Jihadi organizations, particularly al Qaeda, criticized Hamas' willingness to join a democratic political process, which they perceived as contradicting Islam. This criticism increased after Hamas gained complete control over Gaza in June 2007. Salafis had hoped to implement sharia law in Gaza and were outraged when Hamas declared -- in an effort to assuage local fears and to project a moderate image to the international community -- that it would not do so. To Palestinian salafis, this was the ultimate betrayal. Indeed, in his last sermon, Moussa said that Hamas' authority to govern was tied to its willingness to implement sharia, and he warned that without it Hamas is no more than a secular party using the slogans of Islam.
Hard-line groups such as JAA have also denounced Hamas' differing policies toward the Islamists and Israel. According to their accusations, Hamas is targeting the salafis, or the true believers -- arresting them and stealing their property -- while it avoids attacking Israel, even protecting it by preventing Islamist groups from carrying out attacks. Moussa declared that, unlike Hamas, the JAA never directed its weapons against its Muslim brothers.
As long as this challenge was restricted to fiery rhetoric, Hamas appeared willing to tolerate it. But when Moussa announced the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Gaza, he crossed Hamas' red line. The declaration suggested that JAA intended to move beyond vocal criticism in resisting Hamas' control over Gaza. Such an interpretation may not have been far from the truth -- Moussa called for citizens in Gaza to join the emirate and bring their weapons to the mosque.
The resulting clash revealed that although Hamas and the secular Fatah remain the primary Palestinian factions, new and increasingly influential alternative power bases have emerged. This proliferation of salafi groups has placed additional constraints on Hamas. Now, when crafting policy, it must not only take into account Fatah, Israel, and the international community but also a vocal and extreme Islamic opposition at home. This leaves it uncomfortably stuck between two forces. In one example, its popularity declined when it imposed some Islamic legal and behavior codes on Gaza, yet such measures failed to satisfy the salafis who demanded the full implementation of sharia law.
Although these Islamist challengers are still small in number, they are enjoying a boost in public support and represent a growing worry for Hamas. This is perhaps unsurprising, given the declining support for Hamas among Palestinians and its precarious position in Gaza. The Israeli military campaign weakened Hamas by exposing its failure to deliver on its promises. Gaza suffered greatly from the offensive, whereas Hamas demonstrated little ability to inflict significant losses on the Israeli side. Eight months after the fighting, Hamas has been unable to get the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip lifted, and reconstruction has barely started.
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