Out going Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal has given a speech in Cairo in which said that “Nothing will restore the homeland but jihad, the rifle, and self-sacrifice” and that Zionists are the enemies of Allah and of Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, and Abraham – the enemies of the Prophets, of the Messengers, of values, and of morality.’ According to a MEMRI translation:
In a fiery speech in Cairo on October 3, 2012, at a rally commemorating Saladin’s liberation of Jerusalem, Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash’al said that the Zionists are enemies of Allah and the prophets, and called for preparing to liberate Jerusalem and restore the homeland once more through jihad, the rifle, and self-sacrifice. The event, under the banner ‘Jerusalem – Together, We Will Defend And Restore Her,’ was held under the auspices of Egypt’s cultural minister and representatives of institutions operating in Egypt to liberate Jerusalem, with the participation of advisors to President Mursi.
Mash’al during his speech.[1] In his speech, Mash’al praised Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi and the new Egyptian regime, and stressed that the Arab ummah, and especially the Palestinians, need an Egypt that once again embraces all the problems of the Arab peoples, chiefly the Palestinian cause. He said: ‘Egypt’s swift momentum is not just an Egyptian need, but a Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic one [as well]. Egypt needs to awaken quickly, and to get through the transitional period.’ Calling on Egypt to unite and act with all its might – ‘Islamists, liberals, pan-Arabists, Muslims and Christians, women and men.’ He then called on Egypt to show tolerance in the internal camp, to administer its policy harmoniously and with the involvement of all elements, and to protect its security, to recover economically, and to develop technology so that it could stand at the forefront of superpowers, as it had in the past. Stressing that Egypt is the leader of the Arab world, and that it would continue to play that role,[2] Mash’al added: ‘The land of Palestine will only be restored by an Egyptian leadership that can bear responsibility, by means of an awakening in all areas… If Egypt disappears, the entire Arab ummah disappears, and the Arabs and Muslims are defeated in all areas.
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A post from last week reported that Khaled Meshaal has decided to step down from his position as head of the Hamas political leadership.
According to a BBC profile, Mr. Meshaal (aka Khaled Mishal) joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971:
“Mr Meshaal was born in 1956 in the village of Silwad, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Meshaal has been increasingly important since Sheikh Yassin died. His father, like many other Palestinians, travelled to the Gulf emirate of Kuwait in the 1960s for work. His family followed after the area fell under Israeli occupation in 1967.At school, Mr Meshaal became involved in Palestinian and Islamic activism. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971. Mr Meshaal continued to take interest political Islam while studying physics at Kuwait University and he founded a student organisation called the List of the Islamic Right. After graduating in 1978, he spent a number of years teaching physics in Kuwait. In 1987, Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Gaza founded the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, in response to a mass uprising against the Israeli occupation. Mr Meshaal became increasingly involved with Hamas over the next few years, leading what was known as the Kuwait contingent of Palestinians who lived and worked there.
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A post from May 2009 provides further detail on Mr. Meshaal’s early activities in the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood.
The Hamas charter states that it is ” is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an early media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations . In 2007, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons and in 2008, an Israeli TV station reported that Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” had traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. Hamas is supported financially and politically by the global Muslim Brotherhood and a NEFA Foundation report has documented the Hamas fund-raising activities of the Union of Good, a coalition of Islamic charities linked to the Brotherhood that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. Previous posts have also discussed the worldwide campaign orchestrated by the global Brotherhood against Israeli actions in Gaza during the 2008-2009 conflict with Israel.