REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By: Ikhwanul Kiram Mashuri

I was not surprised when I read the news that a group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threatened to kill Hamas in Gaza. The threat was, for me, was precisely show the true face of ISIS. Namely, ISIS was not a defender and fighter for the interests of Islam and Muslims as they shouted out over the years. ISIS was actually just an adventurers group who were greedy for power.

Hamas is an Islamic movement that is now in de facto ruling Gaza, Palestine. ISIS’s threat to Hamas released on the beginning of this month. As some previous ISIS’s messages, some masked and armed men appeared in a videotape - were apparently released from Halb, ISIS headquarters in Syria - and called Hamas as taghut alias tyranny. They also threatened to overwhelm Gaza with blood and bring it under the rule of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They also accused Hamas which was ruling in Gaza as infidels and did not apply the law of Allah.

Threat to Hamas was the first issued by ISIS. In a message that they called a 'letter to tawaghit (plural of taghut) Hamas’, the man who called himself Abu Azam al Ghazawy boasted, '' You, (Hamas) are not anything for us. You and Fatah and all of the secularists are nothing. You are just a pebble in the soles of our feet. With the permission of Allah, we will rule Gaza with sharia without you. ''

Abu Azam al Ghazawi not his real name. It was simply an alias or anonymous. Also the name of Abu 'Aisha al Ghazawi, which appeared next. “We are swear, we will avenge on you if you keep this in disbelief and contempt. However, if you believe in God, then you are beloved and our friends,”said Abu 'Aisha.

He continued, “Wallahi, we will make - both your children and adults - crying just as we have done against your dogs who have lapsed, hypocrites, and liars in the Yarmuk refugee camp. We swear all that was happening in Syria, especially in the Yarmuk camp, will take place in Gaza.”

Yarmuk camp was referring to the evacuation in a district of Damascus which established by the Palestinian refugees. The refugees in here have fight against the power of ISIS. They then attacked back and destroyed by ISIS.

Hamas itself has several times clashed with groups in Gaza who opposed a peace agreement with Israel and reconciliation with Fatah. These groups were the same as those who were appearing in the video. They had both joined the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam.

When ISIS was standing, they went out of al Qassam and pledged to the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They then attempted to establish a so-called Islamic State in Gaza.

Several times ISIS support groups have launched a Russian-made rocket into Israel. These actions which then called by the Israeli as ceasefire violation of the Hamas. As a result, sometimes also the Israeli army arrested a number of Hamas fighters. According to media al Sharq al Awsat, a rocket launched by ISIS group and admitted as Hamas was precisely intended to weaken, if not destroy, the presence of Hamas in Gaza.

Political observer of Palestine, Khalid Harb, as quoted by Aljazeera.net, said that in recent months it appeared a variety of new activities of terrorism in Gaza. Activities in the form of attacks on security forces, activists, and government officials on the one hand and created the new tensions with the Israeli on the other side. The latter is, among others, by launching rockets into Israel.

“The goal is to drag Hamas into a new war with the Israeli occupation. And, in turn, a group calling themselves the Daulah Islamiyah- which backed by ISIS will seize power in the Palestinian territories,” he said.

Therefore, ISIS’s accusations that Hamas was a group of pagan and secular obviously politically / power motivated. Not others. The name Hamas was an acronym of Harakat al Muqawwamah al Islamiyah alias defense motion / Islamic resistance. It founded by Sheikh Ahmad Yasin in 1987. Sheikh Yasin himself - and a number of other founders - has fallen into a martyr attacked by troops and Israeli spies.

In the Charter of Hamas stated that this organization was established to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and establishing an Islamic state in the Palestinian territories. In other words, the goal of this organization was to raise the banner of Allah in every inch of Palestine. The establishment of Hamas, among others, as a reaction of the existence of Fatah wing which was considered secular. In the ideology, Hamas was often referred as an extended arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

The existence of Hamas has several times made the Israel Zionist madness. When Hamas emerged as armed resistance, and then came the Palestinian resistance movement known as the Intifada. Namely the people’s universe struggle who bravely fought against the invaders Israel with makeshift weapons, including with slingshots and rocks. In addition, Hamas fighters have also been several times able to maintain Gaza from the Israeli military aggression.

Because such a large role, it was not surprising that the 2006 elections Hamas won the Palestinian elections. With this victory, it was the first time Hamas had the right to form a Palestinian government which has always been dominated by the Fatah faction. However, because it was carrying the Islamic ideology, many of those then did not recognize the Hamas government, especially Israel, the United States and some European countries. In fact, they regarded Hamas as a terrorist group.

In February 2007, occurred the openly armed conflict between Hamas and Fatah. Since then, the Palestinians were split into two groups, Fatah and Hamas. Fatah led by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, formed a government in the West Bank. Meanwhile Hamas formed a government in the Gaza Strip with the Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyah. The existence of the latter was not recognized by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah until finally a year ago they agreed to form a unity national government involving Hamas and Fatah.

Before throwing a threat to Hamas in Gaza, ISIS has also been claimed as bombings actor at Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and other areas. The goal was to demonstrate to Muslims that they had been the bulwark of Sunni against the influence of Shia.

However, with a number of massacres committed by ISIS against both Sunni groups in Iraq and Syria, their claims had fallen by itself. Moreover when a year ago ISIS was slaughtering 12 Sunni clerics who used to be the imam and preachers at the Grand Mosque of Mosul, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, first came to the public while he was delivering the Friday sermon.

Now they also threatened to destroy Hamas in Gaza and accused them of being infidels. The question is whether the ISIS is Islam? Meanwhile, groups, parties or others are infidels who must be fought? Is not precisely ISIS contrary to the teachings of Islam when they robbed, raped, killed, destroyed houses of worship, and beheaded or burned alive his prisoner?

Therefore ISIS’s claim as the most Islamic is misguided and misleading.

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