The Mujama al-Islamiya ("Islamic Centre") is an Islamic charity which was established in 1973 in Gaza by

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin ( ar, الشيخ أحمد إسماعيل حسن ياسين; 1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) was a Palestinian politician and imam who founded Hamas, a militant Islamist and Palestinian nationalist organi ...

, who had been involved with the Egyptian

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...

, as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mujama started to offer clinics, blood banks, day care, medical treatment, meals and youth clubs. Mujama plays an important role for providing social care to the people, particularly those living in refugee camps. It also extended financial aid and scholarships to young people who wanted to study in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the West. Mujama al-Islamiya was recognized by Israel in 1979 as a charity, allowing the organization to set up the

Islamic University in Gaza The Islamic University of Gaza ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بغزة), also known as IUG and IU Gaza, is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City. It was the first higher education institution to be establ ...

(IUG) and build

mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

, clubs, schools, and a library in Gaza, besides other social services. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Mujama al-Islamiya are reported to have coerced urban educated women in Gaza to wear Islamic dress or

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

. In 1984, the Israeli military raided a mosque and found a cache of weapons. Sheikh Yassin and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but he was released in 1985 as part of the

Jibril Agreement The Jibril Agreement ( ar, اتفاقية جبريل, Ittifāqīyat Jibrīl) or "Jibril Deal" ( he, עסקת ג'יבריל, Iskat Jibril) was a prisoner exchange deal which took place on May 21, 1985 between the Israeli government, then headed by Sh ...

. He continued to expand Mujama's reach across Gaza.

Formation of Hamas

In 1987, during the

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

, Yassin and six other Mujama Islamist members launched

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and Yassin became its spiritual leader. He also claimed responsibility for a number of

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

s targeting

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i civilians, and Hamas was designated a

terrorist organization A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...

. By that time, Mujama controlled an estimated 40% of mosques in Gaza. Mujama's institutions would become crucial to Hamas's terrorist activities. They were and continue to provide cover for raising, laundering and transferring funds, facilitate the group's propaganda and recruitment efforts, provide employment for its operatives, and serve as a logistical support network. In February 2007,

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

militia stormed IUG and confiscated weapons and ammunition that were stored there. Palestinian television aired footage showing dozens of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, rockets, and assault rifles, as well as thousands of bullets which had been found inside the university."IRAN'S GAZA GOONS CAUGHT AT HELM OF BOMB FACTORY," by ANDY SOLTIS with Post Wire Services, ''New York Post'', Feb. 3, 200

"Gaza is hit with more Israeli airstrikes," by Steven Erlanger, ''New York Times'', Friday, May 18, 200

/ref> In December 2008, the university was bombed in six air strikes by the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

during the 2008 Gaza War, claiming that university facilities were being used by Hamas to develop and store weapons including

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ar, صاروخ القسام ''Ṣārūkh al-Qassām''; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired ...

s used to target Israeli civilians. Hamas denied the Israeli allegation. The university was again targeted by air strikes during the

2014 Israel–Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories, Pale ...

. The Israeli army said it targeted a "weapon development" centre in the university.

Related entities

The Islamic Charitable Society is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

located in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. The charity was founded in 1962 to take care of orphans and expanded through years. It is now responsible for two orphanages, three schools for boys and girls, dairy, sewing workshop, two bakeries, a large mall and a 30-apartment building.Islamic Charitable Society
Orphans Under Threat
According to a 2006 episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's series: :the Islamic Charitable Society has received funding from

Interpal Interpal is the working name for Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, a British charity founded in 1994 that describes itself as a non-political charity to alleviate problems faced by Palestinians, and focused solely on the provision of relie ...

and is associated with

."Panorama: Faith, Hate and Charity"
''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

'',

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, 30 July 2006Faith, hate and charity: Transcript
/ref> Citing the

Charity Commission for England and Wales , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , d ...

and a draft report from the

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...

's Asset Freezing Working Group, it was alleged on that the Islamic Charitable Society has "a well-documented supporting role within the Hamas infrastructure" and that it had "funded and administered educational programmes that appear tantamount to incitement and indoctrination in support of violent Hamas activity.

References

Gaza Strip Hamas Islamic charities Charities based in the State of Palestine Organizations established in 1973 1973 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate {{StateofPalestine-stub

Formation of Hamas

Related entities

See also

References