“I am Cyrus. King of the world. When I entered Babylon… I did not allow anyone to terrorize the land… I kept in view the needs of people and all its sanctuaries to promote their well-being… I put an end to their misfortune. The Great God has delivered all the lands into my hand; the lands that I have made to dwell in a peaceful habitation…. . .When my soldiers in great numbers peacefully entered Babylon… I did not allow anyone to terrorize the people… I kept in view the needs of people and all its sanctuaries to promote their well-being… Freed all the slaves… I put an end to their misfortune and slavery (referring to religious minorities). The Great God has delivered all the lands into my hand; the lands that I have made to dwell in a peaceful habitation… “
"I have no religion, but if I were to choose one, it would be that of Shariati's."
Jean-Paul Sartre
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My Lord, grant me success in struggling during failure, in having patience in disappointment, in going alone, in Jihad without weapons, in working without pay, in making sacrifice in silence, in having religious belief in the world, in having ideology without popular traditions, in having faith (Iman) without pretensions, non-conformity without immaturity, beauty without physical appearance, loneliness in the crowd, and loving without the beloved knowing about it.
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photos: Farshad Palideh & Ehsan Mohammadi 
Hamas, a Democratic Party or Terrorist Organization
Posted by Parsin on January 22, 2009
Palestinians supporting Hamas
Most of us hear some people calling Hamas as a terrorist group. The term was originally used by the Bush administration (beside Israel) to put Hamas in a defending position and to avoid any further negotiations with them. The reason was very clear: Hamas is not pro-west! US and Europe would like to see a group in power that is friendly to them, no matter if they are really terrorists (like Al-Qaeda before 9/11) and/or dictators (like Saudi King, Egyptian Mubarak, Jordan King, . . . you name it!)
The fact is that Hamas may be categorized as a hardliner compared to the Fatah in Palestine, but by no means we can call them a terrorist group. Hamas chose the democratic procedures in Palestine and is considered as on of the most popular groups among Palestinians and in the Middle-East. There is a big difference between Hamas and terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda (made by CIA) that respect no democratic ways and search power through terror and killing innocent people.
It was because of this policy that Hamas was able to win in an election held 2 years ago in Palestine. The Washington Post stated “the radical Islamic movement Hamas won a large majority in the new Palestinian parliament” in Jan. 26, 2006.
“The election results stunned U.S. and Israeli officials, who have repeatedly stated that they would not work with a Palestinian Authority that included Hamas, which both countries and the European Union have designated as a terrorist organization.”
Here in Ramallah, a Fatah stronghold where Hamas won every parliamentary seat except the one reserved for a Christian . . . .
Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that the Palestinian people had “voted democratically and peacefully.”
Lets review it once again and ask ourselves why the Bush administration abused terms by calling people elected Hamas a terrorist group as they did in most of other places. This is a dirty policy used by the US government to destroy democracy around the world as they did it in Iran some 50+ years ago when they overthrow people elected Mohammad Mosaddeq the Prim Minister of Iran and put Shah in power (by a coup).
Persia 
Mauricio said
I get what you mean and I am not here to go for Israel. But I cannot see Hamas otherwise but terrorist, though they are not like Al Qaeda. Despite the Palestian reasons (legitime reasons, indeed), Hamas has been attacking Israeli villages with rockets.
I do support a Palestinean State and I do think Israel acts sometimes as terrorist State. But denying Hamas as terrorist is another issue. They don´t take diplomacy as an option and don´t recognize the State of Israel… So.. There´s no good or bad side in this tale. They´re both stupid. Unfortunetly, people stand in the middle, suffering in the the front of this shame battle.
Parsin said
What would you do if some people come from another country and you do the best hospitality for them, then after a while they start taking over your home, killing your family, destroying your life?!!
This is what Israelis have been going to Palestinians. Hamas is nothing but these people gathered to protect themselves from Israeli attacks. Israel cannot exist at this region. They came from other places, mainly Europe. They should get back to their own countries and leave Palestinians in peace.
In last year, just for an example, Israel cut every possible supplies to Gaza, when they were in truce! These people respected truce and lived in hunger without enough food, fuel, electricity, . . .while they were also surrounded and all gates were closed by Israel. The world didn’t hear them because the media is in the hands of a few Zionists. If you don’t believe, just listen to see what some people like Jimmy Carter says. . .
By the way, the rockets Hamas is throwing are handmade. They are only used to invoke the world. In all these years they haven’t killed even 5 Israelis. Take a look at the statistics! The number of Israelis killed since 1948 by Palestinians are much less than those Palestinians who were killed in just one single day by Israel in current 22-day attack.
Mythos said
I think both perspectives concerning Hamas are correct in some ways.
True, Hamas is not like terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and also true they were democratically elected by the people of Palestine.
Also true, Hamas does resort to some terrorist tactics to accomplish its goals.
Now, that being said, would I resort to attacking Israel if I was a Palestinian that, for all intents and purposes, was being held captive in Gaza? Most likely.
So can I completely blame Hamas, or even the Palestinian people who voted for Hamas, for their actions, terrorist or not? No I can’t. Because given the situation, I would most likely react in the same way.
But as usual in our world, the bad outweighs the good and people remember acts of terror for much longer then they remember acts of kindness and peace.
Hamas has done more bad than good, and so the label of terrorist cannot be easily disputed nor can it be easily changed in the minds of people around the world. Hamas would have to completely change its own perspectives and tactics in order to change world opinion.
However, in the end, it is all a matter of personal perspective.
~ Mythos
http://mindofmythos.wordpress.com/
Parsin said
Mythos,
I am not sure if we can confront the vast propaganda machine of the western governments. They have every possible source in the world to feed what they like not only to their own people but to all naive people around the globe. US with all of her crimes, at least in last 50 years or so, is respected as a democratic country. And on the other hand, I cannot forget what Bush said to the world when he started the unjust war in Iraq;”you are either with us or against us”!!!
I cannot ignore the values within the US society and I respect all of the good ones. But making an idol of democracy from US system is a big mistake.Doing this, we give the right to any unjust actions carried out by US government. As I mentioned when it comes to what is called “US interests” a terrorist group becomes freedom fighter and the propaganda makes it as clear as the blue sky, non-deniable! And by the same token, a freedom fighter becomes a terrorist group as they did on Hamas.
I don’t think Hamas and Palestinians have much choice left for them in their struggle to get their lands back. Worthless diplomacy in last 30 years is a proof and enough justification for the policy Hamas has adopted. There is no other choice!
Mythos said
Parsin,
You are correct in stating that the US propaganda machine is strong, and is difficult to compete with.
However, I think people such as you and I do a pretty good job of getting the facts straight through intelligent discussion and mutual respect, and we know that the “government propaganda”, that tries so hard to keep us from reaching common ground & mutual understanding, is of little value to anyone that is truly wanting peace.
That is why I think bloggers play an integral role in the exchanging of ideas and information, and learning about each other so that we can learn to give mutual respect towards one another without the biased ‘agenda chasing’ views of the mass media/governments coming between us and deciding our views for us.
I still think that Hamas would get much more respect and recognition as an elected government, especially concerning the nations of the “west”, if they would approach the issues they have with Israel in a different way.
As it stands now, no one in the West (aside from people such as you and I) really cares about WHY Hamas was launching rockets. They just know and care that Hamas was launching rockets and innocent people were (or could have) been killed by them.
That in and of itself should be an indicator to the Hamas leadership that it does not matter that what they are doing is for a ‘good cause’ or not if the majority of media outlets, and the governments of the West & Israel, are presenting it to the people as terrorism.
This is why, in my previous post, I made the statement of … “the label of terrorist cannot be easily disputed nor can it be easily changed in the minds of people around the world. Hamas would have to completely change its own perspectives and tactics in order to change world opinion.”
How Hamas can do this? I’m honestly not sure at this particular moment since there are so many “players” involved in this conflict. But I do know that if Hamas keeps doing what it has been doing, it will only get more of the same responses from Israel, the U.S., and the world.
Take care my friend,
~ Mythos
samer85 said
Thank you Parsin for this interesting post! I’d like to comment on what Mythos wrote with your permission.
Dear Mythos, If people want Hamas or the Palestinians in general to stop fighting the Israelis, they SHOULD address the many injustices the Palestinians have been continuously facing for the last 60 years. They should improve the daily lives of Palestinians. A lot of people don’t know the ugly face of racism that exists in Israel. Unfortunately your media does not talk about it. The leading Rabbi in Israel called, “Aufadia Yousef” said just a few years ago that the children of Ishmael(meaning the Arabs) are like a long snake and in order for you to get rid of the snake you have to cut its head. Rabbi Yaacov Perrin said according to an article in the New York Times back in 1994, “One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail.”
Just few days ago during the war in Gaza, a famous Israeli Rabbi issued a religious “mandate” that says that Israeli forces are allowed to kill MILLIONS of Arabs in order for them to protect the promised land. Only yesterday I read a heartbreaking article in the British newspaper”The Guardian” about some of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza. Read what is written in the article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/gaza-israel-samouni-family
“But most disturbing of all was the graffiti they daubed on the walls of the ground floor. Some was in Hebrew, but much was naively written in English: “Arabs need 2 die”, “Die you all”, “Make war not peace”, “1 is down, 999,999 to go”, and scrawled on an image of a gravestone the words: “Arabs 1948-2009”.
There were several sketches of the Star of David flag. “Gaza here we are,” it said in English next to one.”
And of course I don’t need to tell you about the history of massacres they have done since their evil state was established 60 years ago. So before your media talks about Hamas’ rockets, why don’t they address the Israeli racism that caused all of the violence?
Parsin said
samer,
Thank you for sharing this information.
susanne430 said
Parsin, I enjoyed reading your post and the comments from everyone. Great discussion. I have learned so much about the “other side” of Hamas since talking to Samer and reading posts such as yours. It really makes a lot of sense to me and helps me understand the situation MUCH better. I hope more and more people will engage in discussions such as these with hopes that, in time, the truth will come out and real progress made.
Mythos said
Thank you for your comments Samer.
It’s not that I want Hamas, the Palestinians, or anyone else to fight the Israelis (or anyone else who oppresses people), it’s the fact that with all the latest fighting 13 Israelis were killed, but over a thousand Palestinians were killed. At this rate there will be very few Palestinians left if something isn’t changed in “Palestinian politics.”
The article you posted was (even though I read it previously) very touching and heartbreaking. Couple that with that “Arabs must die” graffiti and it’s enough to make me disgusted with the Israelis. Here in America we have groups such as the ACLU, which is basically Jewish, telling everyone to have tolerance towards one another. Then, in Israel, the Jewish people tolerate no one. Believe me Samer, I do see the double-standard and the bias.
Thank you for your insights Samer my friend. They are very valuable to me.
~ Mythos
p.s. – My friend, I wouldn’t call it “my media” since I don’t care for the biased view that is drilled into the heads of the American public by the American media, nor do I accept or believe their obvious lies.
~ Mythos
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