HAMAS (MOVEMENT FOR A PEACEFUL SOCIETY)

A moderate Islamic party in Algeria.

Hamas is Algeria's second most popular Islamic party, after the Islamic Salvation Front. It was established in 1990 by Shaykh Mahfoud Nahnah (1942–2003), after constitutional amendments allowed for political pluralism, as the Movement of the Islamic Society, with the Arabic acronym HAMAS. To conform to a law requiring that the name make no reference to Islam, in 1991 the party changed its name to the Movement for a Peaceful Society. Influenced by the teachings and methods of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the party's origins go back to the 1970s, when Shaykh Nahnah was arrested for opposing the state's socialist orientation. In 1989, he formed a social and cultural society, Jamʿiyyat alIrshad wa al-Islah (Association of Guidance and Reform), which became Hamas in 1990 and drew its following from among students, teachers, and professionals. In the 1991 legislative elections, the party garnered over 450,000 votes. Since the cancellation of these elections, Hamas has maintained a moderate and nonviolent stance and advocated national reconciliation and the preservation of the republic and the institutions of the state. It has been criticized by some for taking a conciliatory position toward the military-backed regime. Others see its program as realistic and pragmatic. Shaykh Nahnah ran as a candidate during the presidential elections of 1995 and came in second, winning over three million votes. In the 1999 presidential elections, the party supported the candidacy of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Since the 1997 legislative elections, Hamas has participated in several ministerial cabinets and placed representatives in the Algerian parliament. It has advocated a moderate Islamic position; adherence to the country's fundamental cultural components (Islamic, Arab, and Amazegh [the indigenous population]); the restoration of order and national peace; pluralism; the peaceful transfer of power; women's participation in society; and respect for human rights. In 2003 Shaykh Nahnah died of leukemia, leaving behind a movement that is expected to survive its founder.

See also algeria: political parties in; front islamique du salut (fis); nahnah, mahfoud.

Bibliography

Harakat Mujtama al-Silm. Available from <www.hmsalgeria.net>.

Shahin, Emad Eldin. Political Ascent: Contemporary Islamic Movements in North Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

emad eldin shahin

Hamas (‘Enthusiasm’) A Palestinian guerrilla organization formed in the Gaza Strip, where it was radicalized under conditions of poverty, unemployment, and Israeli military rule. Led by Sheikh Ahmad Jasin, it became well financed through annual donations from Iran of around $30 million, and managed to recruit around 8,000 guerrilla fighters. Together with Hezbollah it led the Intifadah and became one of the leading radical Palestinian organizations: almost half of the Palestinians in Israeli prisons are members of the organization. It opposed the Gaza–Jericho agreement and the subsequent rule of the rival PLO in the Gaza Strip, where it still enjoyed overwhelming support. Hamas not only opposed Israeli domination of Palestine, but also built hospitals and schools and was thus seen by much of the population as a positive influence as well. The continuing attacks by Hamas fighters against Israeli military and civilian targets led to a radicalization of the Israeli electorate, whose confidence in compromise achieved, for example, in the Oslo Agreements was undermined as the violence increased. At the same time, Arafat was unable to stop Hamas effectively, owing to the support it enjoyed in the Gaza Strip. By 2002 Hamas had succeeded in its aim, as the Wye Accord lay in tatters and a civil war in Palestine had commenced.

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