On Sat, 13 Oct 2001, Mina Kumar wrote:
> In the current issue of the TLS (Malraux cover), a review of several
> books on Algeria makes the assertion that France supported the Chadli
> Benjedid gov't in funding Islamicists to delegitimize other critics of
> his gov't. (An Indian reader can't read this without thinking of
> Bhindranwale!)
>
> Does anyone have any other references/examples?
Israel and Hamas. Hamas started life in the 1970s as the Gaza chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. It abstained from anti-occupation activities and focused on social work in mosques and clinics. Israeli saw it as a useful counterbalance to the mainly secular nationalist PLO, and in the 1980s gave contributions to its mosques and schools reportedly running to millions of dollars.
However, when the first intifada began in December 1987, it outraged Yassin so much that within three months he had set up the Islamic Resistance Movement (whose arabic acronym is HAMAS, which I think means "zeal.") So Israel did end up fostering an Islamic competitor to the PLO, but not quite in the way it intended.
Since then, Israel has tried capturing, trying, convicting and imprisoning the leader (Yassin) and assasinating the leader (the one that followed Yassin). Both policies were spectacular failures.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com