Hamas is calling on Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank to rise up against Israel during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Monday, said Palestinians should “make every moment of Ramadan a confrontation.”
CAIR gives a fairly typical description of Ramadan:
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. The spiritual significance of Ramadan lies in its focus on self-discipline, personal growth, and increased devotion to Allah (God). Through acts of worship, charity, and self-control, Muslims strive to grow closer to Allah, purify their hearts, and become more compassionate and mindful individuals.
Anyone see a contradiction here?
In 2020, the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades website published a list of 40 terror attacks that they proudly mounted during Ramadan in years past. These include:
The double suicide bombings on Ben Yehuda Street in 2001, killing 11.
The Haifa Bus 16 suicide attack, killing 15.
The Kiryat Menachem bus bombing in 2002, killing 15.
The 2004 Carmel Market bombing, killing 4.
The Hadera Market bombing in 2005, killing 7.
4 killed in a shooting attack in Kiryat Arba, 2010.
August 20, 2011, one killed Beersheva during a barrage of 70 rockets from Gaza.
Hamas would claim that there is no contradiction - attacking Jewish civilians is also a time honored part of Ramadan.
As the Christian Science Monitor reported back in 2003, in an article that would not be written today:
For Islamic militants, Ramadan allows them not only to reaffirm their religious observance but to strengthen their political ideological convictions as well. "Ramadan is a month of commitment and renewal to their faith and also to their cause, whether by military or nonmilitary jihad," says Prof. Nizar Hamzeh, a specialist on political Islam at the American University of Beirut. "It is a month of martyrdom and commitment to one's Islamic ideology."Throughout Islamic history, Ramadan has been seen as a time of victory for Muslim armies - and a period when those who are martyred have a greater assurance of a place in paradise.
This is why one rarely sees Muslims condemning Hamas for their Ramadan attacks on innocents. Jihad is a part of Ramadan, too, just not the part that they mention in English.
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