Hamas terror organization charter targets Christians and US service organizations
You may be surprised, but Hamas does not call for only killing Jews and eliminating Israel.
If you are Christian, a member of another religion or even participate in your local Rotary club or the Lions, Hamas also considers you an enemy too.
"Hamas is using Gaza as an umbrella to be legitimate," says author and Middle East expert Walid Phares. "The reality is this is a jihadist movement, and it is manifesting itself in America and Canada, and in Western Europe. We have never been at this level of danger for our democratic world."
The Hamas charter seeks to expand Islam to become the controlling religion across the globe, targeting any non-believer, which includes "Main Street" America.
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The terrorist group's guiding philosophy is detailed in "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement," which was adopted on Aug. 18, 1988.
It says that the duty of every Muslim is "Jihad," that "there is no solution to the Palestinian question except through Jihad," and says "the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians," until they follow the ways of Hamas.
"Israel is just a thick skin though the rest of the international community that happens to be blocking them," says Phares, who has written the new book, "Iran, An Imperialistic Republic and U.S. Policy," that explains how Tehran's proxies, like Hamas, spread their message of hate.
"They know our society very well. They are here," he said.
Article 22 of the Hamas charter mentions an unexpected subject of its call for Jihad, the "American as apple pie" business, community and charitable organizations found throughout the nation: Rotary and Lions clubs. Freemasonry is also on its list.
The charter cites what it calls "secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests." Hamas faults the humanitarian organizations, falsely accusing them of attempting to "colonize many countries in order to enable them to exploit their resources and spread corruption."
"They are part of what the Jihadists consider a sin, a national sin," Phares explained. "They will go against them; they will go against the Freemasons and they will go against every entity that is a social organization."
FBI Director Christoper Wray appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, announcing that the bureau has ramped up extensive investigations into Hamas in order to disrupt any potential Hamas related attacks on U.S. soil and shut down any financial support flowing to the terrorist group.
"We’ve kept our sights on Hamas and have multiple investigations into individuals affiliated with that foreign terrorist organization," said Wray.
"We've seen a rogue’s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies," he told the panel. "We cannot—and do not—discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here, on our own soil."
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Federal prosecutors have brought a slew of cases against Hamas affiliated charities and individuals in the U.S.
The most notable convictions, in 2008, were of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five of its leaders on charges of giving material support to Hamas. The foundation, based in Richardson, Texas, just north of Dallas, was found to have funneled at least $12 million to Hamas, and some of its leaders were sentenced to as many as 65 years in federal prison.
Congressional testimony linked the Holy Land Foundation with current Hamas political leader Abu Marzouk, who authorities said in 1992 "provided more than 10 percent of all donations to the Holy Land Foundation." Today, Marzouk is believed to be living in Qatar and is worth more than $3 billion.
While FBI Director Wray said, "we’re not currently tracking a specific plot," he explained that the bureau is "keeping a close eye on what impact recent events may have on those terrorist groups’ intentions here in the United States, and how those intentions might evolve."
Both the Rotary and Lions clubs told Fox News that their organizations are not political and are known for their vast volunteer and charitable work around the globe.
Both the Rotary Club and the Lions said they have more than 1.4 million members and are engaged in a variety of humanitarian efforts, from providing food programs, rebuilding communities, to fighting diseases and providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Lions told Fox News that "Lions International is a non-political, non-sectarian volunteer service organization whose members are dedicated to serving a world in need."
The Rotary said that it too "is non-political, non-religious and exclusively focused on providing humanitarian support everywhere."
Observers note it is a sad and revealing testament to the misguided philosophy of Hamas, that it would ever consider those who help as worthy of its enmity.
Fox News' Seth Andrews and Emily Robertson contributed to this report.