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Sunni Hamas and Shiite Iran Form a Common Political Theology

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Ehud Yaari - The Muslim Brotherhood - with Hamas as its Palestinian branch - is a natural partner of Iran, with which it shares a common set of values and a joint vision of the revival of the caliphate, despite the divide that historically separates Sunnis from Shiites. Hamas Foreign Ministry Director-General Dr. Ahmed Yousef explains this in an Arabic-language booklet titled The Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Revolution in Iran, The Dialectic of State and Nation in the Thought of the Imams al-Banna and Khomeini. The preface was written by Dr. Muhammad al-Hindi, the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Yousef, recognized as one of the main spokesmen for the more moderate wing of Hamas, was allowed to define "What Hamas Wants" in a New York Times op-ed in June 2007. He explains that Hamas' dependence on Iran is not an accidental marriage of convenience, but an inevitable partnership based on the common aspiration for the divine ideal of the "Islamic state." Hamas is rapidly distancing itself from the Saudis and other traditional benefactors in order to strengthen its pact with Iran, and is very unlikely to make more than a pretense of reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority.
2010-11-10 08:54:59
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