INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Statement from organisers of ‘Understanding Hamas’
(Forthcoming lecture by Azzam Tamimi, 4/12/06)
At 7pm on Monday 4th December, Dr. Azzam Tamimi, director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought, will speak at Edinburgh University’s Appleton Tower on ‘Understanding Hamas’. He will sell signed copies of his new book, Hamas: Unwritten Chapters (C. Hurst & Co., London, 2006), priced at £15.
In the face of criticism and accusations, we, the three organising societies, reiterate our commitment to host this important event and invite our critics to engage with their minds and desist from knee-jerk reactions and politically motivated smears.
The Speaker and Topic
As well as being an accomplished academic, Dr. Tamimi comments regularly on the Arab and Western media, particularly on issues related to Middle Eastern politics and Islamism. He was an important consultant on the BBC’s Power of Nightmares documentaries and has his own Comment is Free column at the Guardian. He has long been a prominent voice of Palestinian resistance and is well known as a speaker in the British anti-war movement.
Crucial to understanding the ongoing violence and discord in the Middle East is analysis of the discourses maintained by various actors in the conflict. Since its formation, Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) has most closely represented the Islamic trend within the broad Palestinian resistance movement. As of January 2006, it now represents the democratically elected government of Palestine. This is a reality that must be accepted.
Dr. Tamimi is an important analyst of this reality, being an expert on the history, principles and tactics of the Hamas organisation, which in fact has two main dimensions: social and military. Whilst not being a member, he has close relationships with many of its leading players. A fact that upsets some of our critics is that Dr. Tamimi describes himself as a ‘supporter’ of Hamas. This, we maintain, has no bearing on our keenness to hear his views.
In the last few years, there have been several visits to the Edinburgh University campus by representatives of the Israeli government. Most recently, Shimon Mercer-Wood of their London embassy spoke at an event hosted by the Politics Society, alongside Baroness Jenny Tonge. Inevitably, Hamas – as the ruling party, and a significant grassroots organisation – featured heavily in the discussion, particularly from its Israeli critic. Absent from the debate was a Palestinian voice, let alone one representing the perspective of Hamas. We believe that this balance deserves to be redressed.
The Event and its Critics
The aim of the event is to hear about this important topic from a highly qualified speaker, and to allow students and academics to make up their own minds. There will be ample time for questions and discussion, which we insist must be in the spirit of understanding, as our chosen title implies.
It is disappointing that the campus Jewish Society have so misrepresented the speaker as ‘anti-Semitic’, and the event as promoting ‘racist discourse’. It is understandable that they are opposed to Hamas, but these exaggerations do little to support their complaints, which we invited them to share with us directly. If they claim that any discussion of Hamas – other than in a context of explicit condemnation – is ‘anti-Semitic behaviour’, then we refute that as irrational and against basic freedom of speech and enquiry. We stand together against anti-Semitism in all its forms: and opposition to Zionism and the apartheid state of Israel is not one of these forms. Claiming so is nothing but a tactic of intimidation.
The event is about understanding, not promoting. We, the organisers, do not necessarily endorse the views of this or any other speaker, let alone the group he is speaking about. We respect the right of all our members to hold their own views on matters of such contention, and we as societies do not take particular positions. Dr. Tamimi himself does not necessarily endorse every statement of Hamas; for example, he has advocated revising its Charter to remove reference to an anti-Semitic forged document. He is clearly opposed to allowing the debate to be tarnished by racism, as are we, the organisers.
We hope this event will provoke informed debate on campus and in the wider society, and in light of the government’s intrusive guidelines to universities about ‘extremism’, it is a chance to underline our University’s commitment to freedom of speech, of which we are very proud. This is an issue of concern to students and others who are keenly aware of developments in the Middle East, therefore the ‘Understanding Hamas’ will be a welcome contribution to the debate.
Islamic Society of Edinburgh University
Edinburgh University Stop the War Coalition
Edinburgh University Palestine Solidarity Society
PRESS RELEASE
Islamic Society Reiterates Commitment to Interfaith Dialogue
2nd December 2006 – Immediate release
Contact: Sohaib Saeed, 07973 708 928
The Islamic Society of Edinburgh University today expressed their regret at the decision of the Edinburgh University Jewish Society to pull out of the planned campus Interfaith Week in March 2006.
The week of events is to promote understanding of the various faith communities at the University and to tackle misconceptions. As well as the Islamic and Jewish societies, the key organisers are the Christian Union and Baha’i Society.
The Jewish Society’s decision follows the publicity of an event on ‘Understanding Hamas’ hosted by the Islamic Society, the Stop the War Coalition and the Palestine Solidarity Society. The University authorities have clarified that they are committed to freedom of speech and will allow the event to go ahead, given that its express aim is to increase ‘Understanding’ among students and academics, who are invited to listen to an expert and then participate in discussion.
The speaker, Dr. Azzam Tamimi, is a leading academic and commentator on Islamic political thought as well as Middle Eastern affairs, and is launching his new book at the event, entitled Hamas: Unwritten Chapters (Hurst, London, 2006). While a leading critic of Zionism, he frequently speaks against anti-Semitism and bigotry.
Reacting to the Jewish Society’s decision, Islamic Society President Abdulla Mashaal said: ‘We are very sad at this decision, which doesn’t make sense to us. We value our relations with the Jewish Society, which have included mutual visits to our places of worship. They are implicating us in anti-Semitism even though they know how opposed we are to any form of racism. We hope they will reconsider soon, so that all our faith societies can continue to work together for the common good.’
*For further details, contact Sohaib Saeed, 07973 708 928
Notes: 1. The event is 7pm-9pm on Monday 4th December at Edinburgh University’s Appleton Tower. Admission is £2.
2. Dr. Tamimi will sell signed copies of his new book, Hamas: Unwritten Chapters (C. Hurst & Co., London, 2006), priced at £15.
3. The three organising societies have prepared a detailed statement of commitment to the event going ahead despite criticism. This is available by e-mailing press@isoced.org.