Tactics of Hamas and the Prophet's Treaty of Hudaibiyya

http://desicritics.org/2006/11/25/122308.php


Tactics of Hamas and the Prophet's Treaty of Hudaibiyya

November 25, 2006

MA Khan

The disastrous attack on Israel in 1967 by the Arab Muslim states in their perennial desire to annihilate the Jewish nation resulted in miserable defeat for the Arabs. Israel occupied a large chunk of Arab lands that included Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, West Bank from Jordan, Golan Heights from Syria. Israel's incredible single-handed defeat of the entire Arab world brought a new realization amongst the Arab nations that their dream of destroying the Jewish state, which they promised on the day of Israel's creation two decades earlier, cannot be materialized anymore (at least, not under the current strategy). Under such reality on the ground, Egypt and later Jordan, who had lost much of the occupied land in 6-day war, slowly extended hands of peace to Israel. As of now, only three Muslims countries out of 57, namely Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, recognize the existence of the Jewish state.

Although some moderate Muslim states have extended peace to the Zionist state, other fanatic Islamic nations lead by Iran and Syria have kept the fight for the destruction of Israel alive in various guises. The first was the emergence of Arafat-lead Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorist outfit, which was in a ruminant stage during the 1967 war. After a couple of decades' deadly campaign of terror, PLO also came to the realization that the resilient Zionist state could not be destroyed and abandoned its congenital charter of Israel's destruction and instead succumbed to the idea of recognizing her legitimate existence.

With PLO joining the peace camp, new and more deadly terrorist outfits, namely Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade, emerged to perpetuate the campaign for the destruction of the Jewish state. One day, these apparently incorrigible militant groups might, out of despair, also decide to offer peace to the Jewish state. Most likely, there will emerge new violent Islamist groups to perpetuate the conflict.

Although such has been the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict, yet it has left the world guessing as why this perennial conflict of the modern times cannot be solved and instead, becomes increasing violent and complicated with time. One must investigate the commands of Islam which drives these Islamists groups to grasp the crux of the conflict. It is important to investigate the commands in the Koran and examples of Prophet Muhammad (Sunnah) which determines the bedrock of Islamic ideals and laws for eternal times. I will allude to the Koranic verdicts and historical investigation of Prophet Muhammad's tactics in similar circumstances in order to identify the roots of the tactics of the various Jihadi groups active in this conflict.

Regarding the Jews and also the Christians, Allah commands Muslims in the Koran: " Fight the Jews and Christian, until they are subdued to dhimmi status and pay poll-tax (Jiziya) in humiliation" [Q 9:29]. About one of Prophet's last wishes in his dead-bed , Ibn Hisham notes: "Let there remain no faith than Islam in Arabia" [1]. Islamic traditions also record one of Prophet's death-bed wishes was: " Lord! Destroy the Jews and Christians." Thus, the existence of Jewish state in the Arabian region with honor and dignity is not clearly allowed in Islam. The initial actions of the Arab world and of various terrorists groups later are only the extension of this command of Islam.

I will now investigate as to how the tactics of Prophet Muhammad are being applied in minute details by the various Islamist groups in Palestine. Within about 6 years of the Prophet Muhammad's emigration (Hijra) from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, the Muslims had exterminated the various resilient tribes around Medina , mainly the Jews, who did not willingly submit to Islam. The last Jewish tribe of Banu Quraiza was exterminated in 628 CE by means of mass slaughter of their 800-900 adult men, capture of their women and children as slaves and confiscating their lands and assets as spoils of war [Koran 33:26-27; Ibn Hisham, p684ff; Ibn Sa'd p53f].

With no adversary in the vicinity of Medina , the confident Prophet cast his eye on Mecca, his ancestral city, the inhabitant Koreish of which had rejected his new religion. Muhammad urged all the tribes to join an expedition during the lesser pilgrimage (Omra) in 628 and assembled a strong force of 1500 men and advanced towards Mecca seeking to force into the Ka'ba, the most sacred temple for the pagans of Arabian Peninsula , to perform the rituals of Omra. As the news of this advance arrived in Mecca, they assembled their force around the city, determined to resist entry of the Muslim army.

It should be noted that the Muslims had attacked Mecca trade caravan passing through routes around Medina starting in 623 CE, which resulted in complete stoppage of Mecca's life-sustaining trades with Syria. In a number of blood-letting attacks, Meccans had lost many of their comrades, too. Also during the early days of his preaching in Mecca, the Prophet had also laid a claim on the sacred temple of Ka'ba being founded by Abraham and his son Ishmael and belonging to his own God, Allah.

Learning of the preparation of the Koreish and sensing a definite blood-bath of unknown quantum, the Prophet stopped on the way at a place called Hudaibiyya and sent emissaries to Mecca for a negotiation. Muhammad persisted on his intention to enter the sacred temple of Ka'ba for performing Omra peacefully. Mecca citizens, on the other hand, were both worried and adamant against allowing Muhammad to enter their city and their sacred temple of centuries, which would be a case of extreme embarrassment for them, too. [2]

At one point, Prophet's son-in-law, Othman, was sent to the Koreish camp for negotiations. Bargaining with the Koreish was taking a bit long for him to return and rumors started brewing in the Muslim camp that Othman had been murdered. Muhammad quickly assembled all his faithful under an acacia tree bounded them by the pledge to stand by 'Othman to the death'. All had completed the oath one by one, what became known as the famous "Pledge of the Tree" in Islamic annals. Their religious fervor was exited to such a degree that all of them were in a suicidal mood to rush upon the enemy at once.

Just about that time, Othman reappeared in the Muslim camp, avoiding a sheer blood-bath. Realizing Muhammad's determination to enter Mecca and sensing that a military confrontation would cause heavy blood-bath on both sides, the Mecca citizens acceded to Muhammad's demand to enter the Ka'ba for the pilgrimage but starting only next year. So, a truce was signed which demanded no hostility for ten years during which the Muslims would be allowed to enter Mecca and perform the annual pilgrimage peacefully. [2]

Next year in 629, Muhammad went back to Mecca during the same pilgrimage. The Mecca citizens left the city for three days allowing the Muslims perform the pilgrimage without interference. By the following year (630 CE), Muslim army had grown strong enough to overrun Mecca. Muhammad could not wait until the expiration of the 10-year truce and started preparation to attack Mecca to capture the city and the centuries-old sacred temple of Ka'ba. [3]

Hearing the news of build-up of a massive force in Medina , the helpless leader of Mecca, Abu Sufian, the father-in-law of Muhammad, proceeded to Medina to plead with his son-in-law against attacking his people. He had to return Mecca empty-handed after being denied a meeting with Muhammad. With little regard for the treaty, Muhammad launched his expedition to attack Mecca and when Abu Sufian once again set forth to negotiate with advancing Muslim army. His brother Al-Abbas, who had joined the Muslim camp only a few days earlier, presented him with the choice of submission to Islam or death: " See ye not the myriad of candles above the camp? Believe (in Islam); cast thy lot with us; else thy mother and thy house will weep for thee." When Abu Sufian showed some hesitancy, Al-Abbas exclaimed: " Woe is thee! It is not time for hesitancy, this. Believe and Testify forthwith with the creed of Islam, or else, thy neck shall be in danger." Abu Sufian converted forthwith and returned to his people asking them to submit to Islam or else shut themselves in their houses to avoid definite death at the hands of Muhammad army. Thereupon, Muhammad's army entered the city, captured the Ka'ba and destroyed the vestiges of idolatry and established the rule of Islam over the city [3].

The message one must take home from this event is the brilliant tactics Prophet Muhammad had applied by signing the Treaty of Hudaibiyya. It would have been a disaster for Muhammad to engage in a head-on battle at the time when he only 1500 men under his charge, while the Koreish of Mecca could assemble a force of 10,000 men. Yet, Muhammad was ruthlessly intent on overrunning Mecca at an opportune time in order to capture the Ka'ba - which had become the focus of Islamic creed, the house of Allah. So he insisted on a temporal ceasefire of hostility, in stead of offering the terms of permanent peaceful coexistence. This treaty gave him an opportunity to build up his forces strong enough to overrun Mecca at a later time. Although a 10-year truce was signed, Muhammad broke the agreement and attacked Mecca within two years as his force became strong enough to overrun the coveted city.

From the treaty of Hudaibiyya and the subsequent capture of Mecca and Ka'ba two years later, the evident message of the master tactician Prophet of Islam is such: 'When you are weaker against your enemy, do not jump into a suicidal war. In stead, sign a truce of nonaggression for a while during which you could build up the force and ammunition and when you are strong enough to overrun the enemy, dump the truce and launch the attack' . Exactly the same message was resonated in former Malaysia leader Mahathir Muhammad's famous 2003 OIC speech in Kuala Lumpur, which urged the Muslim world to walk in the footsteps of the Prophet. He said:

"The Quran tells us that when the enemy sues for peace we must react positively. True the treaty offered is not favorable to us. But we can negotiate. The Prophet did, at Hudaibiyah. And in the end he triumphed. "

He continued:

"1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews. There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weakness and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counter attack."

He further added:

"We are enjoined by our religion to prepare for the defense of the Ummah. Unfortunately we stress not defense but the weapons of the time of the Prophet. Those weapons and horses cannot help to defend us any more. We need guns and rockets, bombs and warplanes, tanks and warships for our defense."

Whether paying heeds to the entreaty of the Malaysian leader or not, the current strategy of the various Islamist groups, namely Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, fighting for the destruction of Israel clearly demonstrates their adoption of exactly the same strategy Prophet Muhammad had applied in Hudaibiyya at the dawn of Islam. With Israel's insurmountable power at the present, these terrorist groups, intent on destroying the Jewish state as and when the opportunity comes, are insisting on a ceasefire, not the offer of peaceful coexistence. They seek this period of truce to build up the military might in term of recruiting the fighters, acquiring the weapons and if possible nuclear weapons for a decisive blow to the tiny Jewish land. Iran, the mother of these terrorist outfits, is rushing fast to acquire the nuclear weapons in defiance of the world. The hope is that as soon as the definite opportunity to launch a devastating blow arrives, the ceasefire would be thrown in the waste-dump and Israel will be turned into ashes.

Effective usages of such a strategy is quite in evidence in Hezbollah's usage of a long-held ceasefire to stock up its weaponry, strengthen its defenses and increase its recruitment such that the Israeli army, known to be invincible in the middle east, had to offer a ceasefire in its recent war against Hezbollah. Hamas was also applying similar tactics over the years as a guerrilla group. However, the new reality after the Palestinians overwhelmingly voted the Jihadist group to power in free and fair democratic election; they are facing a difficult choice unlike the Hezbollah in Lebanon, who does not have the responsibility of governing. After forming the Government, the responsibility of running and financing the state machinery have fallen on the shoulder of Hamas. The government in Palestine is heavily dependent on aid from the Western nations, who stopped giving aid to Hamas government because of its charter for the destruction of a sovereign nation. The humanitarian aid however has continued to flow.

This has put the Hamas government in a difficult position. It has failed to pay salaries to civil servants, teachers and doctors resulting in a dire situation in Palestine. Under such hopeless situation, the moderate president Mahmoud Abbas has stepped in to salvage the situation. He was negotiating on the formation of a unity government between his Fatah and Hamas and pleaded with Hamas to recognize the Jewish state as part of the unity Government, hoping that such a government would receive Western aid. There seems to have been some initial agreement on part of Hamas on such an arrangement since President Abbas declared during recent UN general assembly in New York that a coalition Government is going to be formed between Hamas and his Fatah party which will recognize Israel's legitimate existence. After this announcement, Hamas quickly denied such an agreement, which must have been a slap on the face of the Palestine president.

However, further intense negotiation followed under mediation of Egypt and Qatar without a breakthrough. President Abbas declared all avenues of negotiation with Hamas have failed. Verily so! Accusing President Abbas of ruining the formation of unity government, Hamas spokesperson said:

Hamas has denied talks were at a dead end, but said the latest initiative, presented in Gaza by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, was unacceptable because it included recognition of Israel.

Hamas says it will never recognize Israel and will abide only by peace agreements with the Jewish state that it believes are in the interests of the Palestinian people. [ Reuters, October 24th, 2006]

By peace agreement, they meant a temporary truce or ceasefire of hostility, not a permanent agreement for peaceful co-existence with Israel. The detailed strategy of the noble Prophet of Islam at Hudaibiyya is in detailed application by Hamas. Howsoever difficult the situation be, they must not offer terms of permanent peace to the enemies of Islam, whom the Prophet had commanded to exterminate from Arabia in his dead-bed. So is the divine command of Allah [Koran 9:23]. Allah and his Prophet must be giving 'bravo' to Hamas sitting in heaven. And Dr Mahathir couldn't probably expect anything better.

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"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." -General George S. Patton

Psalm 82-8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations.