Post #172

— Commentary: A very stupid claim going around right now is that "Hamas is fighting historically Salafi clans, ergo, Hamas is fighting Israeli-armed ISIS!" Let's dissect this claim with sources: Following the Second Intifada, many Fatah-aligned clans especially in the Gaza Strip began to be disillusioned with Fatah's participation in the Oslo Accords. At the same time, many of these clans were also Salafi. Thus many Salafi groups of various radical orientations were formed. The Mujahideen Brigades (infamous recently for the kidnapping of Kfir Bibas) were one of them but so was the Army of Islam, represented by the Doghmush clan. These formerly Fatah-aligned clans became anti-western and anti-Israel jihadists and attacked the IDF many times, they were never proxies. While the Mujahideen Brigades worked with Hamas and became more legitimized, the Army of Islam remained ragtag and more pan-Islamist. The latter has no loyalty to any foreign group and backs both Al Qaeda and ISIS. The history of Salafism and its connection to jihad in Palestine long predates even the existence of the state of Israel and was fundamental in the current of Rashid Rida (an early Levantine Salafi), Sayyid Qutb (although not exactly a Salafi himself), and Fathi al Shiqaqi (the founder of the Islamic Jihad, although pro-Shiite and Iran). For Hamas in particular, Saudi-educated Nizar Rayyan represented the Salafi wing of Hamas, and called for a more radical transformation of secular Palestine to an Islamic Emirate. Here's a picture from circa December 2014 showing an Al Qassam militant holding the ISIS flag (originating from Al Qaeda in Iraq). Salafism and Palestinian jihad are absolutely tied from the beginning, among all factions. Don't spread nonsense.