Mujama al-Islamiya was recognized by Israel in 1979 as a charity, allowing the organization to set up the Islamic University in Gaza (IUG) and build mosques, clubs, schools,[1] and a library in Gaza,[2] besides other social services.
1 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847
2 https://web.archive.org/web/20090926212507/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275572295011847.html
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Mujama al-Islamiya are reported to have coerced urban educated women in Gaza to wear Islamic dress or hijab.[3]
In 1984, the Israeli military raided a mosque and found a cache of weapons. Sheikh Yassin and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but he was released in 1985 as part of the Jibril Agreement.[4] He continued to expand Mujama's reach across Gaza.[1]
Israel has declared Hamas, a Palestinian resistance organisation, a ‘terrorist’ outfit and did everything under its power to liquidate it during its recent two-week long operation in Gaza. But, not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) during 1980s.
In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin and six other Mujama Islamist members launched Hamas, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and Yassin became its spiritual leader. He also claimed responsibility for a number of suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians, and Hamas was designated a terrorist organization.[5] By that time, Mujama controlled an estimated 40% of mosques in Gaza. Mujama's institutions would become crucial to Hamas's terrorist activities. They were and continue to provide cover for raising, laundering and transferring funds, facilitate the group's propaganda and recruitment efforts, provide employment for its operatives, and serve as a logistical support network.[6]
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2302309/how-and-why-israel-helped-create-hamas
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