(OPINION) You may be surprised, but Hamas does not call for only killing Jews and eliminating Israel. If you are Christian, a member of another religion or even participate in your local Rotary club or the Lions, Hamas also considers you an enemy, too.
“Hamas is using Gaza as an umbrella to be legitimate,” says author and Middle East expert Walid Phares. “The reality is this is a jihadist movement, and it is manifesting itself in America and Canada, and in Western Europe. We have never been at this level of danger for our democratic world.”
The Hamas charter seeks to expand Islam to become the controlling religion across the globe, targeting any non-believer, which includes “Main Street” America.
The terrorist group’s guiding philosophy is detailed in “The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement,” which was adopted on Aug. 18, 1988.
It says that the duty of every Muslim is “Jihad,” that “there is no solution to the Palestinian question except through Jihad,” and says “the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians,” until they follow the ways of Hamas.
“Israel is just a thick skin though the rest of the international community that happens to be blocking them,” says Phares, who has written the new book, “Iran, An Imperialistic Republic and U.S. Policy,” that explains how Tehran’s proxies, like Hamas, spread their message of hate.
“They know our society very well. They are here,” he said. Article 22 of the Hamas charter mentions an unexpected subject of its call for Jihad, the “American as apple pie” business, community and charitable organizations found throughout the nation: Rotary and Lions clubs. Freemasonry is also on its list.
The charter cites what it calls “secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests.”
Hamas faults the humanitarian organizations, falsely accusing them of attempting to “colonize many countries in order to enable them to exploit their resources and spread corruption.”
“They are part of what the Jihadists consider a sin, a national sin,” Phares explained. “They will go against them; they will go against the Freemasons and they will go against every entity that is a social organization.”
FBI Director Christoper Wray appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, announcing that the bureau has ramped up extensive investigations into Hamas in order to disrupt any potential Hamas-related attacks on U.S. soil and shut down any financial support flowing to the terrorist group.
