Draft:Ahmed Yassin
| Ahmed Yassin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Sheikh Ahmed Yassin |
| Other Names | Ahmed Ismail Yassin |
| Personal Details | |
| Birth Place | Gaza Strip |
| Death Place | Gaza Strip |
| Religion | Islam |
Ahmed Yassin was born in June 1936 in the village of Jurat Asqalan, within the Majdal district, south of the Gaza Strip. He was bestowed the titles "Sheikh of the Mujahideen" and "Symbol of Resistance." He served as the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and was the founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.
Biography
Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin was born in Rabi' al-Thani 1355 AH / June 1936 CE, a year that witnessed the first armed revolution against the growing influence of the Zionists. He attended Al-Joura Elementary School and continued his studies there until the fifth grade, when the catastrophe that befell Palestine occurred, displacing its people. Consequently, at the age of 12, following the 1948 war, he fled with his family to the Gaza Strip. In 1949 CE, he supported his seven-member family by working at a legume restaurant in Gaza.
Disability
At the age of sixteen, he suffered an accident that profoundly affected his entire life. In 1952 CE, while playing with several peers, he sustained a fracture of the cervical vertebrae. He concealed this incident, not even informing his family, fearing familial discord between his own family and that of his friend, as the injury occurred during wrestling with one of his friends (Abdullah al-Khatib). This matter remained undisclosed until 1989 CE. Forty-five days after his neck was placed in a cast, it became evident that due to the paralysis he had suffered, he would live in this condition for the remainder of his life. In addition to complete paralysis, he suffered from numerous other ailments, including loss of vision in his right eye during imprisonment, severe weakness in his left eye, chronic ear inflammation, lung sensitivity, and various other illnesses and intestinal infections.
Teaching
He completed his secondary education in the 1957 academic year and, despite initial opposition due to his health condition, succeeded in securing employment.
Arrest
At the age of twenty, he participated in demonstrations in Gaza protesting the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956 CE, delivering speeches that attracted the attention of the Egyptian intelligence apparatus operating there. In 1965 CE, he was targeted for arrest as part of a broader campaign against political figures in Egypt, similar to those previously arrested from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1954 CE. He remained in solitary confinement for approximately one month and was released after investigations confirmed no organizational link between him and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine
After embracing the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in 1928 CE by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt and advocates for a genuine understanding of Islam and its comprehensive application across all aspects of life, he became recognized as the group's leader in Palestine. In 1968 CE, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was chosen to lead the movement in Palestine, subsequently undertaking the formation of the movement's structure. He established the Islamic Society, followed by the Islamic Council, and played a prominent role in founding the Islamic University. He consistently contemplated military action. In 1983 CE, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was arrested on charges of possessing weapons, establishing a military organization, inciting the overthrow of the Israeli government, and involvement with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Sheikh of the Intifada
During the Al-Aqsa Mosque Intifada, which erupted in late September 2000 CE, Hamas, under the leadership of Sheikh Yassin, actively participated in the Palestinian resistance marches after reorganizing the ranks of the Palestinian resistance and establishing its own military apparatus against the Zionists. The occupying authorities accused Hamas, led by Yassin, and the occupying forces remained steadfast, while the Zionist regime incited countries worldwide to designate the movement as terrorist and freeze its assets—a step to which Europe recently responded during the European Union era. On Saturday, September 6, 2003 CE, succumbing to American and Zionist pressures, it listed the movement along with its political wing among terrorist organizations.
Some of Sheikh Yassin's Statements
I hope God is pleased with me—"Hamas exists and will remain; it is no longer merely an organization or an idea. Hamas is a reality and a great popular movement that leads the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the Islamic Ummah—a popular movement with deep roots. Hamas expands every day and regards its future as one of empowerment and victory." By the grace of God, the Israeli enemy leaves the people of Palestine with no option but one: resistance, jihad, and martyrdom. "We are students of martyrdom. This life is worthless; we seek eternal life." "The enemy considers us all terrorists. If it is destined that the entire Palestinian people be assassinated, and if they desire a land without people, then it makes no difference to us which category [they assign us]. In the history of Islam, they said about the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) that he was a liar and a sorcerer. Were these attributes truly applicable to him? Ultimately, Islam prevailed."
The Sheikh in the Words of Eminent Figures
- God Almighty bestowed grace upon the Sheikh, evident in his thoughts, planning, and responses to subtle questions posed by certain journalists.
- The Sheikh's faith in his Lord, his trust in Islam, and his conviction in the justice of its principles and Sharia were boundless.
- From early childhood, the Sheikh was a worshipper of God; for him, worship was a sound and comprehensive concept. Thus, any action undertaken with the intention of seeking God's pleasure and obeying Him constitutes worship, akin to other acts of devotion.
- The Sheikh was courageous, generous, diligent in his endeavors, and patient in enduring calamities.
- Altruism, self-sacrifice, generosity, and magnanimity were among his defining characteristics.
- The Sheikh was a child of his era. He detested injustice and regarded the oppression inflicted by rulers and the colonization of peoples as the gravest forms of injustice.
House Arrest
Due to discrepancies between Hamas's policies and those of the [Palestinian] Authority, the latter frequently resorted to pressuring Hamas. In this context, the Palestinian Authority imposed house arrest on Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on multiple occasions.
Assassination
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin survived an assassination attempt on September 6, 2003, while residing in an apartment in Gaza alongside Ismail Haniyeh—the current Prime Minister of Gaza. Fighter jets of the Zionist regime fired a missile targeting the apartment building in Gaza where he resided, injuring him and 15 other Palestinians; however, his injuries were not critical. Nevertheless, another assassination attempt was subsequently carried out. As he was exiting the Islamic Complex in his wheelchair after the Fajr prayer, aircraft of the Zionist regime bombed the location with three missiles, martyring him.
See Also
References
- Cf.: Entry on Ahmed Yassin in Ikhwan Wiki; https://www.ikhwanwiki.com.