Izz al-Din al-Qassam: Difference between revisions

==Qassam's supporters==

Qassam's supporters were mostly from the working class, farmers and merchants who also attended his lectures and Qassam acquainted them with the necessity of jihad and preparing for armed struggle at the time of popular uprising. The candidates for membership were under control and training for a while. Anyone who wanted to join the Qassamites swore an oath with God to commit to honesty and integrity, to observe all the Islamic laws and to be the guardian of the Islamic ideology. After accepting the membership of the people in the organization, in addition to military training, religious training was also important. Each member was obliged to memorize as many verses and hadiths of jihad in the way of God as possible. The members also learned lessons about the wars of early Islam. Qassam formed small groups consisting of a leader and five members.

The members of each group only knew each other and Qassam and had no knowledge of the members of other groups. Along with these groups, he formed leadership cadres, mostly from prominent people of the organization. These included the military training cadre, the money and facilities collection cadre, the public and political relations cadre, the weapons procurement cadre and the information gathering cadre, gathering information about the situation of England and Zionism. One of the most important cadres that Qassam formed was the revolution promotion cadre. The task of this group was to persuade the people not to cooperate and trust the United Kingdom and to advise that the only way to achieve the goals was jihad in the way of God, and to ignore the plots of Zionism and the United Kingdom who tried to undermine the unity of the people. All the members of Qassam's underground organization were unknown to the people and only after the martyrdom of Qassam, the names of some of these members were known. Qassam founded 12 jihadist groups composed of Al-Abd Qasim, Muhammad Zarura, Muhumad Saleh Muhammad and Khalil Muhammad Isa known as Abu Ibrahim al-Kabir in 1928 AD.The operations of the Qassam fighters, the martyr Izz al-Din Qassam branch of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, which chose this name for itself by the auspicious name of Sheikh Qassam and adherence to the principles that he adhered to until the glorious moment of martyrdom, considers resistance as the only way to liberate the occupied land of Palestine from the yoke of the Zionist enemies.

The operations of the Qassam fighters were not limited to attacking the Zionist settlements but also included pursuing and torturing those who cooperated with the Zionist regime and spied for the British intelligence or sold land to the Jews and brokered for them. Fighting the army and police patrols, blocking roads and attacking army bases and police centers, attacking the guards of the Jewish settlements and bombing, were among the other actions of the Qassam fighters. Qassam's operations blew a fresh spirit into the body of the Palestinians and drove them to struggle. The British government announced that anyone who provides information about the perpetrators of these operations will receive a good reward. These operations actually instilled fear and terror in the hearts and souls of the Jews. It was the first time that the jews saw military operations against themselves. The British and Jewish governments, out of fear of these operations, stationed their spies in different areas and arrested anyone with the slightest suspicion. In this way, the movements and activities of the Qassam group faced many problems. The British police were able to gather information about the military force and equipment and the location of the group's operations. In 1931 AD, the first operation  against the Zionist settlement (Elyajur) near Haifa took place, in which three Zionists were killed.

These operations against the Zionist settlements continued constantly. The events of 1933 and 1934, which resulted in the acceleration of the migration of Zionists to Israel, the tendency of Zionists to form terrorist groups with the help of Israel and also the expansion of Israeli lands, forced Qassam to start military operations before the availability of facilities and forces. The massive migration of Jews was accompanied by terrorist acts by Jewish groups against the Muslim and Arab population of Palestine. The goal of the Zionists was to drive away the Palestinian Arabs and replace them with new Jewish immigrants. By Qassam's order, a chain of military operations against the Zionist areas and the patrols of the British army and police took place. These operations were carried out in a guerrilla and surprise manner and in the form of hit and run. These revolutionary actions caused a lot of damage to the agricultural lands and assets of Zionists and several British and Zionist forces were killed in these oporations . The armed operations and terror of the enemies increased day by day, but it did not take long for Qassam and his comrades to decide to reveal their movement, which in 1935 came in the form of armed and bloody struggle against the British colonizers and Jewish terrorists. Izz al-Din Qassam's uprising against the French colonization , along with the formation of the Islamic uprising of the Shiites of Iraq against the British colonial forces in 1919, launched a movement in northern Syria along with Sheikh Saleh Ali, one of the militant scholars of Syria, against the French colonial forces. In this one-year uprising, led by Izz al-Din and the late Omar Baytar,  inflicted considerable casualties on the French occupiers.

The French tried to deter Sheikh Qassam from continuing the struggle by offering tempting proposals such as giving high positions and ranks, but he rejected all these proposals. Qassam's insistence on resistance led the French military court in Latakia to issue a death sentence for him and some of his companions. Then Sheikh Qassam went to Damascus and from there to Palestine to escape the pursuit of the French. Sheikh Izz al-Din Qassam was an attractive, friendly and eloquent person. He was appointed as the legal officer of marriage and divorce affairs in 1929 and also visited the villages and participated in the wedding ceremonies. This was how he communicated with the people and was also informed of the situation and news of his society. His friends have reported that he discussed with the intellectuals and supporters of peaceful methods of struggle. He lectured in the mosque and carefully watched the worshipers and whoever he saw ready and prepared for the struggle, he attracted and invited him to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. Qassam carried out all his activities, which was fighting against the formation of a Jewish national state, in complete secrecy and only those who had been tested by him for years and had proven their integrity and secrecy, were aware of his activities and organization. He called on the people to awaken and be aware of the evil plans of colonialism and Zionism. He asked them to unite and be cohesive, and by blowing the spirit of jihad in them, he encouraged them all to follow the experiences of the past.

Qassam's supporters, who were mostly from the working class, farmers and merchants who also attended his lectures, were introduced by Qassam to the necessity of jihad and preparing for armed struggle at the time of popular uprising. As time passed, the revolution core formed rapidly around Qassam. He also led new people into his organization with amazing ability. He formed small groups, consisting of a leader and five members. The members of each of these groups only knew each other and the leader (Qassam) and had no knowledge of the members of other groups. He formed leadership cadres, mostly from prominent people of the organization.

These included the military training cadre, the money and facilities collection cadre, the public and political relations cadre, the weapons procurement cadre and the information gathering cadre about the situation of England and Zionism. One of the most important cadres that Qassam formed was the revolution promotion cadre. The task of this group was to persuade the people not to cooperate and trust the United Kingdom and to advise them that the only way to achieve the goals was jihad in the way of God, and to ignore the plots of Zionism and England who tried to undermine the unity of the people. All the members of Qassam's underground organization were unknown to the people and only after the martyrdom of Qassam, the names of some of these members were known.