Draft:Zafir al-Shawa

Zafir al-Shawa
Name	Zafir al-Shawa
Other Names	{{{other_names}}}
Personal Details
Birth Place	Gaza
Brith Date	1908
Death Place	{{{death_place}}}
Death Date	2003
Religion	Islam

Zafir Khalil al-Shawa (Abu Mazen) was born in 1908 CE in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza. His father passed away while defending Gaza during World War I. In 1917 CE, at the beginning of World War I, he moved with his family from Gaza to Hebron by order of the Ottoman Empire, as Gaza city was the center of the Ottoman army for defending the region. After two years, he returned to Gaza, but after his return, another evacuation order was issued, so he moved to the village of Al-Faluja until peace was concluded between the Allies and Turkey, after which he returned to Gaza.

Education

He began his education in the Zeitoun neighborhood at Gaza School. After reaching the second year of secondary school, he went to the Amiri Intermediate School in Jaffa, where he completed the third year of intermediate school. After finishing his studies, he worked as a mathematics teacher at Al-Falah National School. At that time, he attended several sports courses in bodybuilding and also joined a surveying course, successfully obtaining a surveying license. He was active in demonstrations held in protest of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 CE, which recognized Jews as a national home in Palestine. He was proactive and active in the Waqf Administration and the Supreme Islamic Council at Al-Falah National School. He established a scout group named "Omar Mukhtar" at Al-Falah School, but he resigned from teaching and began working in the service sector.

Cooperation with the Muslim Brotherhood

He became acquainted with the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. Describing this situation, he said: "One day, while I was going from Abu al-Azm towards Shuja'iyya, I heard this phrase: 'Allah is our goal, the Messenger is our guide, the Quran is our constitution, Jihad is our way, and death in the way of Allah is our highest hope.' After a while, I saw a newspaper with the Brotherhood emblem on it, and I was greatly impressed. I consulted with my old friends, and we began meeting at the Great Mosque, until in 1946 CE, Professor Sa'id Ramadan came to visit us. I became acquainted with him. In this meeting, Yaqub al-Ghalayini, Abdulrahman al-Qayshawi, and Umar Sawan were present, and I was selected as the secretary of this group."

Establishment of the First Muslim Brotherhood Branch

The first branch of the Muslim Brotherhood established in Palestine was the Gaza city branch. He was the first head of the Muslim Brotherhood branch in Gaza; this branch was established approximately after the end of World War II. It became one of the most active branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. He was the head of an Islamic association in Gaza named Al-Tawhid Association, but with the expansion of the Brotherhood movement, many of its members joined this movement; this association continued its existence even after the establishment of the Brotherhood association. When the leader of the Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, visited Palestine, Rafah, Khan Yunis, and Gaza in 1948, he was received exceptionally well, and in Gaza, he visited the Brotherhood battalion. The Brotherhood was present in Jaffa, and Sheikh Abdulbari Barakat was the Brotherhood leader in Jerusalem and Hebron, and the Muslim Brotherhood managed to hold a large conference in Haifa.

Death

He returned to Gaza in 1967 CE and was arrested there. He continued living in Gaza until he passed away on 28 March 2003 CE, and his body was buried in Gaza City. The funeral took place from the Great Omari Mosque of Gaza to the Eastern Cemetery, attended by a group of national and Islamic leaders, representatives of institutions and universities, ministries, and all official and public sectors.

References

• See: Entry for Zafir al-Shawa in Ikhwan Wiki; ikhwanwiki.com.