חָמָס – Hamas
The first appearance of the word חָמָס (H2555- hamas) is found in the book of Genesis. The Lord uses the term to describe the depraved state of the world. Creation has fallen into corruption at the hands of sinful mankind. The text states:
“11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:11-12 NABS95)”
The Lord describes in these verses what the earth had become. People, who have given themselves to the lustfulness of sin, brought corruption. All the ways of the people became corrupt because of willful sin. And because of the vile nature of sin, the earth was full of violence (H2555-hamas). God spoke these verses as He looked upon the earth. He spoke the verses as He lamented the choices His children made to willfully turn their backs of Him. The earth was full of violence. The earth was filled with violence as the people purposefully engaged in corruption, depravity and willful sin against a Holy God.
We must remember however, even as most people acted in violence during this day, the Lord provided a way to find salvation. The Lord spoke into the heart of Noah to build an Ark. Noah obeyed the Word of the Lord. As the Ark was being built, Noah spoke the word of deliverance to the people. Noah spoke to the people who willfully chose violence, depravity and wickedness. Noah spoke of hope. God provided a means to escape His wrath. The Ark was built to be a place of refuge. But as the day of wrath drew near, none choice to enter the Ark save for Noah and his family. No one else chose to enter, though God provided a door. No one took heed of the warning. The earth was filled with violence because the ways of sinful man were corrupt. As the door of the Ark was closed, hamas was cut off. Violence would remain outside of the Ark to be judged. Those with in the Ark took refuge under the authority of the Lord.
The word חָמָס- (H2555- hamas) means violence. It is based on the Hebrew primitive root word: חָמַס (H2554- khaw-mas’). Similar spelling in the Hebrew with a slightly different pronunciation. This primitive root word carries the definition: to wrong, do violence to, treat violently, do wrongly. Clearly the word is used to connote violence and aggressive acts toward another. As the Lord describes in the verses above, violence was rampant in the heart of the people. Sinful humanity sought to act in violence toward one another in rejection of the hope found in the Lord our God.
Hamas has arisen again, in our day. We take note due to the recent acts of violence against the nation of Israel. Hamas is the name associated with the terrorist organization based in the Gaza Strip. It was from this region that the initial violence against Israel was launched. It is no mistake that the terrorist organization chose the name Hamas. Their very name tips their hand toward the intent of their actions. They seek violence, destruction and submission to the will of Allah and Sharia Law.[i]
(I encourage you to take the time to follow the link in the footnote. This link connects with the Hamas covenant which was written during the formation of this terror group. Upon reading the Hamas covenant, it is evident that the group does not seek peace with Israel. They only seek the destruction of Israel.)
Due to recent events the ongoing conflict between Israel and other groups in the region have become a topic of public conversation. As a result, much misinformation regarding the origin of Hamas and the people who consider themselves to be Palestinian has arisen. I thought it to be appropriate to address misinformation regarding the recent violence that has befallen Israel in an attempt to shed light on the intent of the conflict as incited by Hamas and other terror groups bent on acting in violence. I do this as a means to help discern what is true apart from the plethora of propaganda we see in secular media outlets. Additionally, the scope of this writing intends to provide a very brief overview of history and events that have contributed to the current violence. This writing is by no means exhaustive. The difficulties surrounding this conflict are deep rooted and expansive. It would serve the reader well to investigate the conflict further. I recommend a book written by Dr. William Federer What Every American Needs To Know about the Qur’an: A History of Islam and the United States. This book provides an overview of Islamic history and intent.
To begin, I define Hamas as an organization. The term Hamas is an acronym for the longer name of the group “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (“Islamic Resistance Movement”).[ii] The terrorist organization was formed by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in the year 1987. The National Counterterrorism Center defines the purpose of the group stating “The group is committed to armed resistance against Israel and the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel’s place.”[iii] From the perspective of Hamas, there is no two-state solution. There is only the obliteration of Israel.[iv] Hamas became the controlling political body in the Gaza in 2007 after the group overthrew the existing governmental authority. Hamas is supported financially and militaristically by Iran, Syria and the terrorist organization based in the country of Lebanon known as Hezbollah.
It is no mistake that this terrorist organization has chosen to be known as Hamas. It is for violence against God’s people that they find motivation. From the outset of this terrorist organization, they have sought to destroy the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Additionally, as part of the covenant people of God, Hamas and other Islamic terror groups target Christians. All those who reject the teachings of Muhammad in the Quran are considered infidels. If the infidel is unwilling to submit to Islam, then they are to be killed or oppressed into submission under Islamic authority.[v] The term Islam itself means to submit to the will of Allah. From the Islamic perspective all people must submit to the will of Allah in order to find peace. There will be no peace until the entirely of the world falls under Islamic control.[vi] Islam divides the world into two groups, as noted by Dr. William Federer in his book, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States (I highly recommend this book as a source of truth concerning this topic). Dr. Federer describes the two divisions of the world in the eyes of Islam as such, “Islam divides the world into two: those who have submitted to the will of Allah and those yet to submit.”[vii] Those submitted to Allah are called the House of Islam (dar al-Islam). Those yet to submit are called the House of War (dar al-harab).[viii] Violence is directed toward those in the House of War for the intent to bring them into submission of Allah or to bring death.
The term Allah is not synonymous with the word God. Although the secular world would like to suggest the name Allah is synonymous with the God of our Bible. Allah is not God nor is the term simply an Arabic phrase to speak about the Judeo-Christian God. Allah is a false god who is associated with the moon, violence and revolt. The term Allah predates the formation of Islam. References to the false god Allah can be found in ancient Assyrian and Sumerian texts predating Islam.[ix] Additionally, as explained by Dr. Federer, “Each pagan Arabian tribe called its main local deity ‘allah,’ which simply meant ‘the god.’ In Arabia, pagans worshipped as many as 360 deities, represented by stones believed to have fallen from the sun, moon and stars.”[x] To reiterate, Allah is not just a name given to represent the God of the Bible. Allah is a generic term initially used in the pagan worship of false gods. The name was later applied to the false deity of Islam. Therefore, the violence currently erupting against Israel and the covenant people of God is not motivated politically, this is violence driven by evil. Hamas does not seek to liberate a people group from the hand of a perceived oppressor, they seek to do the bidding of their master, the devil himself.
Hamas published a covenant declaring the purpose of the terrorist group in 1988. The opening statement within this covenant providing vision for the terror group states,
“They are smitten with vileness wheresoever they are found; unless they obtain security by entering into treaty with Allah, and a treaty with men; and draw on themselves indignation from Allah, and they are afflicted with poverty. This they suffer because they disbelieved the signs of Allah, and slew the prophets unjustly; this, because they were rebellious, and transgressed.” (Al-Imran – verse 109-111)[xi]
The term they in the above quote is referencing those who have rejected the teachings of Allah. Because of the rejection of Allah, the subjects of the quote are “smitten with vileness.” Hamas views all those who do not submit themselves to Allah as vile. The only hope is to come into treaty with Allah and be subject to poverty. The Hamas covenant goes on to name specifically one of the targets unto which Hamas acts aggressively. “Israel will exist and continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).” As I stated earlier, hamas and other terrorist organizations are not looking to tolerate coexistence with Israel. The only solution is utter destruction.
Hamas calls for Sharia Law to be declared over the region. Sharia Law is a religio-political call to return to the sayings of Mohammed in subjection to the Quran. Sharia Law is a law of oppression. A few of the requirements under Sharia Law are as follows:
- Criticizing the Quran is punishable by death.
- Criticizing Mohammad or denying that he is a prophet is punishable by death.
- Criticizing Allah is punishable by death.
- Any Muslim who turns away from the faith can be punished by death.
- A non-Muslim who leads a Muslim away from faith can be punished by death.
- The testimony of a woman who has been raped must be able to acquire the testimonies of four male witnesses.
- If a woman alleges rape without the testimony of four male witnesses, the woman will be accused of adultery.
- A woman accused of committing adultery can be punished by death.
- A man can beat his wife for insubordination.
- Meat that is eaten must come from animals that have been sacrificed to Allah. (This is called Halal. This is an Arabic term that means permissible).[xii]
- Muslims can engage in Taqiyya and lie to non-Muslims for the advancement of Islam.
I listed just a few of the laws found under the conditions of Sharia. It is clear that Islam is a cult that seeks to bring the world to submission through domination.
Another aspect of Islam is the call for jihad. The concept of jihad can take on numerous forms. A general definition is holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty.[xiii] It is seen as a duty of a practitioner of Islam to engage in jihad in some form as an act of obligation toward Allah. Jihad, to a Muslim means “struggle.” The struggle can be against political foes in the context of political power. Jihad can take shape through legal pursuits in regard to civil law. It can be struggle against perceived oppression. Terror groups often act in jihad through violence directed toward infidels. Jihad can also be an act of all out war. The concept of jihad comes directly from the Quran itself. A direct quote instructing adherents of Islam in how to act against those who do not fully submit to Allah. Surah At-Taubah Ayat 29 (9:29 Quran) reads as follows:
Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the tax, willingly submitting, fully humbled.[xiv]
Practitioners of Islam are expected to fight against those who do not submit to Allah. This fight can take place in various spheres as noted above. But the warning that must be gleaned from this ideology is that of a fight. Mohammad was quoted in the Quran stating, “Fighting is obligatory for you, as much as you dislike it” (Sura 2:216).[xv] The purpose of the fighting is to force non-Muslims to come into subjection of the false ideology. The target of aggression is declared in the above quote taken from the Quran. Fight those “who were given the Scripture.”[xvi] Those who were given the Scripture is a direct address to both Jews and Christians. Mohammad is quoted as declaring “Allah cursed the Jews and Christians because they took the graves of their prophets as places for praying, ‘and’ Do not leave an image without obliterating it, or a high grave without leveling it” (Hadith Sahih Muslim, 2115).[xvii]Again, the aggression, violence and hatred toward both Jews and Christians from some who adhere to the Islamic ideology is not founded on racism or prejudice against a differing ethnicity. The hatred is demonic and directed by satan himself as he strives to rid the world of those who God, our Father declares to be His own treasured possession.[xviii]
A word on Palestine. The terror groups called Hamas is based in the Gaza strip in Israel. Hamas claims to be a group focused on the liberation of the nation they refer to as Palestine. Hamas, along with other terror groups falsely suggest that Israel is an oppressor who seeks to limit Palestinian autonomy. Therefore violence must be enacted in an effort to liberate Palestine from the oppression of Israel.[xix] The name Palestine is misleading. The term Palestine first appears in Greek literature in the 5th century BCE. The term was used by Greek historian Herodotus to refer to a coastal strip of land inhabited by the Philistines.[xx] Later, following a Jewish revolt, the Roman Empire led by Emperor Hadrian, renamed the region of Judea- Palestina. This was done in an effort to minimize and devalue Jewish identification with the land.[xxi] The act of renaming the land was to bring shame to the Jewish people. Under Roman occupation, the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were forbidden to dwell in Jerusalem. In 638 AD, Muslims conquered Jerusalem taking it from the hands of the Byzantine Empire. The Islamic invaders then spread out to conquer the entirety of the region. The names of some cities were changed again to align with the Arabic language. The area that was called Philistina, under Christian control, became known as Filastin under Islamic control.[xxii] As you have already probably noticed, the word Filastin is similar to the term Philistine. The Bible refers to the Philistines as a people group who were constantly at war against the people of God. The world Philistine, is based on the Hebrew word פְּלֶשֶׁת (H6429). This word means “land of sojourners.” The Philistines/Palestinians find a heritage of sojourning. They never inhabited a land under a unified national identity. They were a nomadic people.
Many years later, after world War I, the land of Israel fell into British control. Under the direction of the League of Nations, Israel was named Palestine. This took effect in the year 1923.[xxiii] This name was applied to the region in an effort to formalize British rule. The name Palestine was not applied only to geographic Israel, it was a general term applied to the region of Israel and Syria. The land of Israel was referred to Palestine from 1923 until 1948. Following the second World War, when the Jewish people were officially given back control of the land that was promised as ordained by Almighty God the region was renamed Israel.[xxiv]
As can be clearly noted, even in this extremely brief historical synopsis, the land of Israel has been in turmoil for millennia. It was not until an act of God that a people who were almost completely eradicated from the face of the earth were again reestablished in the homeland declared to be promised to them by our Lord.[xxv] This was the first time in all of human history that a nation was destroyed, the people dispersed, hated and purposefully acted against in violence, only to have those same people return to the Land of Promise. Since the return of the nation of Israel, the land has flourished. God has brought life back into what was once forgotten. To bring clarity to how forgotten this land was prior to the Jewish return, I quote Mark Twain. The author was on a tour of Jerusalem in the year 1867. Prior to the reestablishment of Israel, Twain described the land in this way, “There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent- not for 30 miles in either direction… One may ride 10 miles, hereabouts, and not see 10 human beings.”[xxvi] The land was desolate. No one wanted it. No one cared for it. No one wanted it, until the world declared that the Jews would return and the nation of Israel would be reestablished. Until this point the land was laid to waste, forgotten. Twain goes on to state as he reflects on his trip to the Holy Land, “Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince… Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies.”[xxvii] Remember, Twain is referring to Israel using the term Palestine only because during the time of his writing it was the popular name used to refer to the region. He describes the land as “dismal.” It was covered in “sackcloth and ashes.” A land mourning for the return of the King.
Again, Israel was a land that was unwanted, uncared for and forgotten by the world. It was not until the return of the nation Israel that the land once again began to flourish. Prior to the return of the Jewish people, those who call themselves Palestinian did not care for the land. Those who claimed to be Islamic cared nothing for the land. The land only came under contention following the 1948 decree to establish, once again, the nation of Israel. It is clear that the conflict that is currently unfolding in Israel is not a conflict over land. It is not a conflict over national identity. It is not a conflict for the purpose of liberation of a particular people group. It is a conflict fueled by the fire of hell with satan directing the hatred. Hamas (violence) is once again wreaking havoc. Pray for Israel. Pray for Jerusalem. Pray that even in this trying time, the Name of Salvation will be declared. Pray for the people of Israel. Pray that their eyes would be open to see their Savior. Pray that their ears would be open to receive His word. Pray that the Name of Yeshua (Jesus) be declared from the lips of His people. Pray for those fighting against Israel. Pray that God convicts their hearts to relent from violence. Pray for repentance. Pray they seek forgiveness. Pray that the Holy authority of God be felt within the land. For the Lord has provided an Ark. He has given us a place of refuge. He has offered deliverance. He invites those to repent, turn and enter into covenant with Him as He longs to Save. Pray that eyes that are closed may see and enter the Ark. Pray for the return of our King, Jesus. It is upon His return that all of this turmoil will be put to rest. Amen!
[i] “Hamas: Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement,” Jewish Virtual Library, 2023, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hamas-covenant-full-text. Accessed on October 12, 2023.
[ii] “What is Hamas? What to know about its origin, Leaders and Funding.” PBS NewsHour, 2023, What is Hamas? What to know about its origins, leaders and funding | PBS NewsHour. Accessed on Oct 12, 2023.
[iii] “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” National Counterterrorism Center, 2023, National Counterterrorism Center | FTOs (dni.gov)Accessed on October 12, 2023
[iv] “Hamas: Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement,” Jewish Virtual Library, 2023, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hamas-covenant-full-text. Accessed on October 12, 2023.
[v] Alrabaa, Sami, Ph.D. “Islam is a “Tolerant” Religion: Kill the Infidels,” Islam Watch: Telling the Truth about Islam, March 12, 2009. https://www.islam-watch.org/Sami/Islam-Tolerant-Religion-Kill-the-Infidels.htm Accessed on October 12, 2023.
[vi] Federer, William, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States(Amerisearch, Inc. 2016) p. 19
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] “ The Pagan Origin of The Word, – Allah,” Scribd Inc., 2023, https://www.scribd.com/document/351774116/The-Pagan-Origin-of-the-Word-Allah. Accessed on October 12, 2023.
[x] Federer, William, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States(Amerisearch, Inc. 2016) p. 26
[xi] “Hamas: Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement,” Jewish Virtual Library, 2023, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hamas-covenant-full-text. Accessed on October 12, 2023.
[xii] Eardley, Nick, “What is Halal Meat?” BBC News, May 12, 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27324224 Accessed on October 14, 2023.
[xiii] “Jihad,” Merriam-Webster, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jihad Accessed on October 12, 2023
[xiv] Surah At-Taubah Ayat 29 (9:29 Quran), https://quran.com/at-tawbah/29 Accessed on October 13, 2023
[xv] Federer, William, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States(Amerisearch, Inc. 2016) p. 63
[xvi] Surah At-Taubah Ayat 29 (9:29 Quran), https://quran.com/at-tawbah/29 Accessed on October 13, 2023
[xvii] Federer, William, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States(Amerisearch, Inc. 2016) p. 98
[xviii] Deuteronomy 7:6; 1 Peter 2:9
[xix] “What’s the Israel-Palestinian Conflict About And How Did It Start?,” Reuters, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-palestinian-dispute-hinges-statehood-land-jerusalem-refugees-2023-10-10/. Accessed on October 13, 2023.
[xx] “Origins of the Name “Palestine” and Palestinian Nationalism,” Jewish Virtual Library, 2023,https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/origin-of-quot-palestine-quot Accessed on October 13, 2023
[xxi] Ibid.
[xxii] Ibid.
[xxiii] “Palestine,” A&E Television Networks: History, 2023, https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/palestine. Accessed on October 13, 2023.
[xxiv] “State of Israel Proclaimed,” A&E Television Networks: History, 2023, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/state-of-israel-proclaimed Accessed on October 13, 2023.
[xxv] Genesis 12:7
[xxvi] Weisz, Turley, “Mark Twain’s unwittingly prophetic vision of the State of Israel,” The Jerusalem Post, September 26, 2023. https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Unto-the-nations-505760 Accessed on October 13, 2023.
[xxvii] Ibid.
Corby Shuey 