The following are extracts from an English translation of the Hamas Charter.  The full text (on a Palestinian website) can be accessed here.  I will comment only where I think it is necessary for a better understanding.  It should be noted that although Hamas is known mostly in the West for its terrorism, it is nonetheless a group with an extensive social  and political agenda within the Palestinian Arab population.  Its influence within the Arab camp is great.  Of that there can be no doubt.  Which makes what you are about to read that much more worrying.

"This is the Charter of the Islamic Resistance (Hamas) which will reveal its face, unveil its identity, state its position, clarify its purpose, discuss its hopes, call for support to its cause and reinforcement, and for joining its ranks."

"Hamas is one of the links in the Chain of Jihad in the confrontation with the Zionist invasion. It links up with the setting out of the Martyr Izz a-din al-Qassam and his brothers in the Muslim Brotherhood who fought the Holy War in 1936; it further relates to another link of the Palestinian Jihad and the Jihad and efforts of the Muslim Brothers during the 1948 War, and to the Jihad operations of the Muslim Brothers in 1968 and thereafter." 

The current Hamas terrorism is thus not in response to current events as some would suggest.  It is part of a continuing  and relentless "holy war" against the Jews started long before the State of Israel was declared.  These extremists have genocide in their hearts.  They would treat the Jews of Israel no better than their fellow Arabs/Muslims treated the Kurds of Iraq or the Christians of Lebanon.  It is worth notng what the "problem" is about the latter groups in the eyes of Arab/Muslim extremists.  The Kurds are not Arabs  and the Lebanese Chritians are clearly not Muslims.  Some Arabs/Muslims clearly think themselves racially  and religiously superior to lesser humanity  and this justifies (in their minds) their acts of violence.

"The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will not apply to the Gharqad, which is a Jewish tree (cited by Bukhari and Muslim)."

Note they say Jew not Zionist.  These people are antisemites  and use the terms "Zionist"  and "Jew" interchangeably.

"The problem of the liberation of Palestine relates to three circles: the Palestinian, the Arab and the Islamic. Each one of these circles has a role to play in the struggle against Zionism and it has duties to fulfill. It would be an enormous mistake and an abysmal act of ignorance to disregard anyone of these circles. For Palestine is an Islamic land where the First Qibla and the third holiest site are located. That is also the place whence the Prophet, be Allah’s prayer and peace upon him, ascended to heavens."
 
It is the fact that Israel is a Jewish state and not a Arabic/Muslim state (i.e. "...Palestine is an Islamic land...) that marks it down for destruction.  Is this not racist or am I missing something?  Hamas aims at the genocide of the Jewish state.  I have yet to find one website in the UK hosted by a university that rails against the genocidal intent of Hamas et al as so many do against the supposed sins of Israel.  If you have such a website, please, send me the URL.

"When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad."

Note again it speaks of Jews not Zionists.

The enemies have understood that role, therefore they realize that if they can guide and educate [the Muslim women] in a way that would distance them from Islam, they would have won that war. Therefore, you can see them making consistent efforts [in that direction] by way of publicity and movies, curricula of education and culture, using as their intermediaries their craftsmen who are part of the various Zionist Organizations which take on all sorts of names and shapes such as: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, gangs of spies and the like. All of them are nests of saboteurs and sabotage. Those Zionist organizations control vast  material resources, which enable them to fulfill their mission amidst societies, with a view of implementing Zionist goals and sowing the concepts that can be of use to the enemy. Those organizations operate [in a situation] where Islam is absent from the arena and alienated from its people. Thus, the Muslims must fulfill their duty in confronting the schemes of those saboteurs. When Islam will retake possession of [the means to] guide the life [of the Muslims], it will wipe out those organizations which are the enemy of humanity and Islam.

This language is so reminiscent of Nazi propaganda except that they would have used Jews not Zionists (two terms that are used interchangeably in the Hamas Charter  and elsewhere).

"The Nazism of the Jews does not skip women and children, it scares everyone. They make war against people’s livelihood, plunder their moneys and threaten their honor. In their horrible actions they mistreat people like the most horrendous war criminals."

"The enemies have been scheming for a long time, and they have consolidated their schemes, in order to achieve what they have achieved. They took advantage of key elements in unfolding events, and accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the service of implementing their dream. This wealth [permitted them to] take over control of the world media such as news agencies, the press, publication houses, broadcasting and the like. [They also used this] wealth to stir revolutions in various parts of the globe in order to fulfill their interests and pick the fruits. They stood behind the French and the Communist Revolutions and behind most of the revolutions we hear about here and there. They also used the money to establish clandestine organizations which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith and the like. All of them are destructive spying organizations. They also used the money to take over control of the Imperialist states and made them colonize many countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread their corruption therein. As regards local and world wars, it has come to pass and no one objects, that they stood behind World War I, so as to wipe out the Islamic Caliphate. They collected material gains and took control of many sources of wealth. They obtained the Balfour Declaration and established the League of Nations in order to rule the world by means of that organization. They also stood behind World War II, where they collected immense benefits from trading with war materials and prepared for the establishment of their state. They inspired the establishment of the United Nations and the Security Council to replace the League of Nations, in order to rule the world by their intermediary. There was no war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it: “…As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguishes it. Their efforts are for corruption in the land and Allah loves not corrupters.” Sura V (Al-Ma’ida—the Tablespread), verse 64 The forces of Imperialism in both the Capitalist West and the Communist East support the enemy with all their might, in material and human terms, taking turns between themselves. When Islam appears, all the forces of Unbelief unite to confront it, because the Community of Unbelief is one. “Oh ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own folk, who would spare no pain to ruin you. Hatred is revealed by [the utterance of] their mouth, but that which their breasts hide is greater. We have made plain for you the revelations if you will understand.” Sura III, (Al-Imran), verse 118. It is not in vain that the verse ends with God’s saying: “If you will understand.”

More blatant antisemitism.  Typical of Hitlerite paranoia  and conspiracy antisemitism.

"The Zionist invasion is a mischievous one. It does not hesitate to take any road, or to pursue all despicable and repulsive means to fulfill its desires. It relies to a great extent, for its meddling and spying activities, on the clandestine organizations which it has established, such as the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions, and other spying associations. All those secret organizations, some which are overt, act for the interests of Zionism and under its directions, strive to demolish societies, to destroy values, to wreck answerableness, to totter virtues and to wipe out Islam. It stands behind the diffusion of drugs and toxics of all kinds in order to facilitate its control and expansion. The Arab states surrounding Israel are required to open their borders to the Jihad fighters, the sons of the Arab and Islamic peoples, to enable them to play their role and to join their efforts to those of their brothers among the Muslim Brothers in Palestine. The other Arab and Islamic states are required, at the very least, to facilitate the movement of the Jihad fighters from and to them." 

More antisemitic Hitlerite paranoia  and conspiracy antisemitism. .

"We cannot fail to remind every Muslim that when the Jews occupied Holy Jerusalem in 1967 and stood at the doorstep of the Blessed Aqsa Mosque, they shouted with joy: “Muhammad is dead, he left daughters behind.” Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims. “Let the eyes of the cowards not fall asleep."

Israel by virtue of being Jewish  and having a Jewish population defies Islam?  How racist.  How antisemitic.

"Men of letters, members of the intelligentsia, media people, preachers, teachers and educators and all different sectors in the Arab and Islamic world, are all called upon to play their role and to carry out their duty in view of the wickedness of the Zionist invasion, of its penetration into many countries, and its control over material means and the media, with all the ramifications thereof in most countries of the world." 

Well some British academics, trade union leaders  and left wing activists have certainly answered the call. Considering the role of universities in Nazi Germany in the 1930's  and the treatment of trade unionists  and left wing activists generally by the Nazis you would think that these people would know better.  Short memories?  Latent antisemitism?  Blatant antisemitism?

"Today it is Palestine and tomorrow it may be another country or other countries. For Zionist scheming has no end, and after Palestine they will covet expansion from the Nile to the Euphrates. Only when they have completed digesting the area on which they will have laid their hand, they will look forward to more expansion, etc. Their scheme has been laid out in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and their present [conduct] is the best proof of what is said there. Leaving the circle of conflict with Israel is a major act of treason and it will bring curse on its perpetrators."

So now we know from where Hamas gets its information on "Zionism"  and the "Jews".  Straight from the pages of the most infamous antisemitic forgery in history.  The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" was favourite bedtime reading for Hitler  and required reading for any would-be Nazi.  This must make all those universities, trade unionists  and left wing activists so proud to be supporters of the Palestinian cause.  Hamas is a leading force in the Palestinian/Arab camp so we can be confident that its antisemitism has spread far  and wide.  Will the day come when we are offered a copy of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" (in a PDF file, of course) on a British university website in support of "Palestinian Freedom" or a trade union includes a copy of it in its welcome pack for new members?  Nothing surprises me today.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia have been major producers  and circulators of the "Protocols" for decades.  Some antisemitic Arab/Muslim websites (e.g. Radio Islam) openly publish  and distribute this antisemitic forgery.  You can read about this forgery by clicking HERE.  For a more detailed treatment get a copy of, "Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion" by Prof. N. Cohn  Pub: Serif, London. ISBN: 1-897959-25-7.

Obviously, people who publish/distribute the "Protocols" or base their world view on such nonsense, are mostly convinced antisemites searching for justification for their antisemitism.  That the "Protocols" might well find acceptance by some Europeans, considering the long history of European antisemitism, comes as no great surprise.  A campaign that bases its characterisation of "Zionism" on the "Protocols" will also find a ready acceptance by the same people.  This is especially concerning where the antisemitism is unconscious (e.g. where someone has an unarticulated antipathy towards Jews, which results in him/her being receptive to false criticisms of Jews that they would not accept of other ethnic minorities).


"Within the circle of the conflict with world Zionism, the Hamas regards itself the spearhead and the avant-garde. It joins its efforts to all those who are active on the Palestinian scene, but more steps need to be taken by the Arab and Islamic peoples and Islamic associations throughout the Arab and Islamic world in order to make possible the next round with the Jews, the merchants of war. “We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguishes it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loves not corrupters.” Sura V (Al-Ma’idah—the Table spread), verse 64."

Again it is the Jews not the Zionists who are the target for Hamas' hatred.