Who Was Izz al-Dine el-Qassam?
Question: Who Was Izz al-Dine el-Qassam?
Izz al-Din al-Qassam was one of the earliest Arab Islamists to advocate violent uprisings against colonial and Jewish forces in Palestine, before the creation of the State of Israel. His brief career as an insurgent, against the French in Syria, then the British and Jews in Palestine, explains why his name has become a symbol of Palestinian martyrdom.
Answer:
Qassam was born in Latakia, Syria, in 1880 and studied at Egypt's al-Azhar University in cairo, where he became familiar with Arab nationalism. Back in Syria, he took part in 1919-20 in guerilla activities against the French occupation, was arrested and sentenced to death but escaped to Palestine, where he preached an austere, fundamental form of Islam.
Barely a year after his arrival in Palestine he was appointed preacher at Haifa's Istiqlal mosque. His preaching was so puritanical that his congregations sought his dismissal. He'd been born into an educated, Sufi family--a significant detail, considering his short, violent life: Sufism is anathema to violence.
In the late 1920s Qassam became convinced that Britain was helping Jews toward the formation of a Jewish state. He founded the Young men's Muslim association, or the Black Hand, which stockpiled arms while preparing for uprisings against the British and attacks on Jews. Qassam and a small force of some 200 recruits participated in some of those attacks in 1931-33.
British authorities considered the Black Hand a terrorist organization similar to its Zionist counterparts, Irgun and its subsequent break-away rival, the Stern Gang.
The discovery in October 1935 of an arms shipment for Jewish forces and immigration of Jews totaling more than 62,000 that year prompted Qassam to escalate attacks. In November 1935, he attempted to seize weaponry from a police station. But an unplanned clash with Palestinian police resulted in a manhunt. Qassam, heading a band of 10 or 12 men, hid out for a while until British troops discovered them and surrounded them. Qassam refused to surrender. He was killed on Nov. 21, 1935.
Qassam inspired the establishment of the Qassamite Brotherhood, whose attack on Jews in April 1935 triggered the Palestine Arab Revolt of 1936-39, the most violent uprising against British occupation.
His name continues to inspire glorifications of Palestinian lore and violence. It attaches to:
Izz al-Din al-Qassam was one of the earliest Arab Islamists to advocate violent uprisings against colonial and Jewish forces in Palestine, before the creation of the State of Israel. His brief career as an insurgent, against the French in Syria, then the British and Jews in Palestine, explains why his name has become a symbol of Palestinian martyrdom.
Answer:
Qassam was born in Latakia, Syria, in 1880 and studied at Egypt's al-Azhar University in cairo, where he became familiar with Arab nationalism. Back in Syria, he took part in 1919-20 in guerilla activities against the French occupation, was arrested and sentenced to death but escaped to Palestine, where he preached an austere, fundamental form of Islam.
From Puritanical Preaching to Insurgency
Barely a year after his arrival in Palestine he was appointed preacher at Haifa's Istiqlal mosque. His preaching was so puritanical that his congregations sought his dismissal. He'd been born into an educated, Sufi family--a significant detail, considering his short, violent life: Sufism is anathema to violence.
In the late 1920s Qassam became convinced that Britain was helping Jews toward the formation of a Jewish state. He founded the Young men's Muslim association, or the Black Hand, which stockpiled arms while preparing for uprisings against the British and attacks on Jews. Qassam and a small force of some 200 recruits participated in some of those attacks in 1931-33.
British authorities considered the Black Hand a terrorist organization similar to its Zionist counterparts, Irgun and its subsequent break-away rival, the Stern Gang.
"Martyrdom"
The discovery in October 1935 of an arms shipment for Jewish forces and immigration of Jews totaling more than 62,000 that year prompted Qassam to escalate attacks. In November 1935, he attempted to seize weaponry from a police station. But an unplanned clash with Palestinian police resulted in a manhunt. Qassam, heading a band of 10 or 12 men, hid out for a while until British troops discovered them and surrounded them. Qassam refused to surrender. He was killed on Nov. 21, 1935.
Legacy
Qassam inspired the establishment of the Qassamite Brotherhood, whose attack on Jews in April 1935 triggered the Palestine Arab Revolt of 1936-39, the most violent uprising against British occupation.
His name continues to inspire glorifications of Palestinian lore and violence. It attaches to:
- The Ezzedine el-Qassam Brigades , which is the militant arms of Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian organization and rival to the more secular Palestinian Authority.
- The Qassam rocket, a crude, improvised steel rocket made by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and used in random, largely inaccurate bombings against Israeli targets (half the rockets fall inside Gaza).
