Hamas Gives Women Equal Jihad Obligations

March 14, 2005

However, the first paragraph of Article 12 of “The Charter of the Hamas” (late 1988) expressly deals with this issue: “Hamas regards nationalism (wataniyya) as part and parcel of the religious faith. Nothing is loftier or deeper in nationalism than waging jihad against the enemy and confronting him when he sets foot on the land of the Muslims. And this becomes an individual duty (footnote 25) binding on every man and woman; a woman must go out and fight the enemy even without her husband's authorization, and a slave without his master's permission.”

Footnote 25 reads: Fard'ayn is an individual duty under Islamic law, to distinguish from fard kifaya, which is a collective duty. Fard'ayn is an absolute duty, which overrides other considerations, such as the duties of a wife toward her husband and of a slave toward his master.”

Hamas is one of several Islamic terror organizations operating in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank and Gaza Strip).

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