INTIFADA: Hamas in the US

Episode 11: The Fatwa

Search warrants executed on the HLF offices in 2001 revealed a large amount of evidence.  One of the documents seized was labeled "HLF Fatwa" and served as a religious decree, backed by infamous Muslim Brotherhood leader Yousef Al Qaradawi, authorizing the payment of Zakat (charity) to entities in the West like the HLF.  The Fatwa noted "Jihad with arms to fight the enemies" was the most important aspect of the work, but that giving money to organizations in the West who worked toward the overall goal, was likewise important. It authorized people to pay their Zakat (charity) to certain "Islamic societies in the west because they aspire to erase Kufr (non-believer) regimes and replace them with an Islamic State. 
 

Episode 10: The War on Terror

On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by Al Qaeda when terrorists hijacked and flew commercial airliners full of innocent civilians into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  This event led to the United States' War on Terror.  Within months, one of the first Hamas front organizations in the United States, the Holy Land Foundation, was designated as an "Specially Designated Terrorist," its doors shuttered and its assets frozen.  However, leaders in the US-based Hamas infrastructure adapted quickly to the development and continued, undeterred in pursuing their mission.

E9: The Big Surprise

In 2000, with the eruption of the Second Intifada, HAMAS and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's violence became unhinged. Still, there were also developments with the US-based Hamas infrastructure when the family of Hamas victim David Boim filed a civil lawsuit against the HLF and IAP, alleging they were liable for David's death. HLF leader Shukri Abu Baker urged HLF leader Mohamed El-Mezain to destroy material that would be discoverable in that case.  In 2001, the FBI conducted a surprise raid on a company related to the HLF and found thousands of secret documents.

Episode 8- Exiled

Assassination Attempts, Prisoner Releases, and Expulsions: This Episode reveals that the late 1990s were a busy time for Hamas leadership abroad and also provides insight into how the CAIR Chairman of the Board was secretly a decision-maker for the HLF, Hamas's US-based charitable front.

Episode 7 – Murder at the Bus Stop

Hamas terrorists shot and killed an American teenager at a bus stop in 1996 in a brutal, senseless act of murder.  As Israel and the Palestinian Authority struggled to maintain peace amidst the violence, the United States released Mousa Abu Marzook from custody and deported him to Jordan where he joined other Hamas leaders like Khalid Mishal. Hamas escalated its violence by dispatching a triple suicide bombing on a crowded pedestrian mall in Jerusalem where many young US citizens were socializing.

Episode 6: The Engineer

In 1994 and 1995, HAMAS's famous bomb-maker, Yahya Ayyash, known as The Engineer constructed powerful bombs that were used to wreak havoc and kill innocent civilians on buses and crowded streets, but his death in 1996 merely made him a revered martyr who was praised and celebrated.  Hamas continued its violent terror attacks, and an HLF leader proclaimed one of those terror attacks was "God's destiny."

Episode 5: A Beautiful Operation

In Episode 5, A Beautiful Operation, Burns and Baker continue to analyze the suicide bombings and attacks Hamas employed against Israel in 1995 in an attempt to derail the Oslo Accords.  They further delve into the reactions of some of the members of the US-based infrastructure, particularly leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, who referred to the double suicide bombing as a "beautiful operation."  Burns and Baker also focus on how, in 1995, the US government acknowledged that Hamas' violence was undermining efforts to achieve peace in the region, and the Clinton administration designated Hamas and its Political Bureau Chief Mousa Abu Marzook as Specially Designated Terrorists (SDTs).
 

Episode 4: I Am HAMAS

What’s Inside Episode 4: I Am HAMAS
In this episode, Lara Burns and Jennifer Baker revisit a significant event from 1993: a secretive meeting in Philadelphia where key figures from the U.S.-based HAMAS network gathered. They strategized against the Oslo peace accords while continuing to support HAMAS operations under the radar. This meeting highlights a turning point in how HAMAS’s U.S. infrastructure operated covertly to sustain their mission, while HAMAS began a brutal campaign in Israel and the Palestinian territories wherein they began to employ suicide bombings and other vicious attacks, in a full-front effort to derail the potential for peace and to undermine the Palestinian Authority as the representative of the Palestinian people.
The discussion sheds light on the roles of key organizations:
Holy Land Foundation (HLF): Acting as the fundraising and charitable front.
United Association for Studies and Research (UASR): Serving as the think tank and political strategy hub.
Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP): Operating as the propaganda arm to spread the organization’s message.
Through detailed analysis and supporting evidence, Burns and Baker reveal the connections and tactics employed to disguise these efforts.
Discover how HAMAS’s U.S.-based infrastructure adapted and evolved during a critical period in history. This episode provides an unparalleled perspective into the covert strategies used to undermine peace processes and sustain global operations. From documented meetings to key players, the episode uncovers facts that challenge misleading narratives.
Don’t miss this deep dive into a defining moment in the history of HAMAS and its influence. Watch the video podcast for visuals and documentation that enhance the story or listen to the audio-only version available on your preferred podcast platform.

Episode 3 - War Is Deception

Lara Burns and Jennifer Baker from George Washington University's Program on Extremism delve into Hamas's history and activities in the U.S. and abroad. The episode uncovers a key 1993 meeting to derail the Oslo Accords and the founding of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a political arm. The discussion reveals Hamas's strategies for media manipulation, education for radicalization, and how they planned to deceive the American public while opposing Middle East peace efforts. This episode offers an illuminating exploration of subversive tactics and the intersection of charity and extremism.

Episode 3: War is Deception

INTIFADA: HAMAS in the US, Then and Now is a documentary about the creation and evolution of the HAMAS terrorist organization in the MIddle East and the concurrent development and growth of the HAMAS infrastructure in the United States. On October 7, 2023, HAMAS committed the brutally raped, torture, and murder of 1200 people and kidnapped more than 200 others. In the wake of these atrocities, individuals and groups took to the streets in the US to vow support for HAMAS, espousing false narratives about the terrorist organization and the events of October 7. These false narratives and terrorist rhetoric are echoes of a strategy put in place more than three decades ago, and this podcast seeks to explain the truth about HAMAS and how it has used the United States to serve its purposes for decades.