From: "Harald Beyer-Arnesen" <haraldba-AT-online.no>
Subject: Re: AUT: No Class War, Except In Critical Support?
Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2001 19:54:07 +0200



Scoot Hamilton writes:

    Evidence for the potential of critical support is
    provided by the recent rebellion of Palestinians
    against their own leadership, at the refugee camp of
    Rafah  (see the report at
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,561007,00.html)


Scott, you forget to mention the last sentence of the article
in the Guardian: "During the year-long revolt, Fatah has
steadily lost ground to radical groups such as Hamas and
Islamic Jihad."

That is, were thrown into the embrace of extremely reactionary
movements, whose programs and ideology are by the way rather
antinationlist and imperalists than nationalist, not that there is
any way a contradiction between nationalism and imperialism,
on the contrary. A (re)new(ed) global order, one might say, or
Islamic Capliphate to be presise, of Sharia law. The Islamic
Jihad cells, as outgrowths of the Party of Allah started out on
their road of "liberation" by throwing acid into the faces of un-
veiled women. Hard to lend critical support to that. The Hamas
(The Islamic Resistance Movement, Harakat al-Muqawama
al-Islamiyya) is both part and outgrowth of the Muslim Brother-
hood, which has its own history of terror against "corrupted"
women. Its watchword is intact: "Allah is its goal, the Prophet
its model, the Qur'an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death
for the case of Allah its most sublime belief." Very sublime in
deed. And if you did not know, the jews started World War II.
Are we to take them seriously, and why should we not,
Palestine is an "Islamic Waqf throughout the generations and
until the Day of Resurrection" and is in this "it is similar to all
lands conquered by Islam by force, and made thereby Waqf
lands upon their conquest, for all generations of  Muslims until
the Day of Resurrection." This includes Andalucia, Yugoslavia etc.
That there is no place for pagans in this scheme, is clear,
nor for that christian Palestinians, other as second rate citizens,
to not speak of women and jews. To cite the Egyptian
founding father and Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood,
Shaikh Hassan al-Banna: "it is the nature of Islam to dominate,
not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to
extend its power to the entire planet."

The oppression of palestinians is very real, and noone is suggesting
that they should stand idle by when their homes are being demolished.
But something tells me that the Intifadah, which came over as fresh
breath of air in the beginning, has become sucidial in more than one
sense. I have always been convinced that a civil rights movement, including
equal (bourgeois) land rights (though we as revolutionaries should
argue for communal land use) would have been far more progressive
path, would have been far harder for the Israel state and other Zionist
forces to resist, and would have createt a far better conditions for a real,
secular and anti-nationalist class struggle _throughout the region_.
        Nationlism by its very nature works to undermine the class stuggle
and strengthen all the most reactionary forces, military and ideologically.
The Arab-nationalist and Islamist movement of Palestine have been
successful first and foremost in oppressing palestinians and other
arabs. That should surprise noone.

Harald

















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