Mustafa Qadri

The following article on Hamas media strategies in the Western world is featured in the September/October 2008 edition of The Diplomat magazine:

Hamas has called in the media strategists and news channels to soften its image abroad. But not everyone is convinced.

It isn’t easy to interview Hamas members these days, which makes reporting on the Islamic movement’s media strategies all the more difficult – and ironic. Most Hamas activists in the West Bank have been killed or kidnapped by Israeli forces. The remaining members have either fled the Occupied Territories or are in hiding.

In such a climate, arranging meetings becomes a task in itself. Most Palestinian cities and towns have mosques affiliated with Hamas. But even at these mosques, people are loathe to expose their membership in the Islamic movement. It was at one such mosque in Nablus that I spoke to an unnamed Hamas spokesperson. “Who are you and what do you want?” was his initial response to my interview request.

In the intervening weeks and months, and after several conversations with Hamas activists, I was eventually told to speak to Dr Ahmed Yusuf, one of the movement’s senior public representatives in the Gaza Strip. Dr Yusuf, a medical doctor who lived for a time in the United States, has been published in the New York Times and the Washington Post. He, like Dr Azzam Tamimi from the Hamas-aligned Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the United Kingdom, represents the new wave of Hamas leaders who are more conversant with Western media discourse.

“Hamas is an enlightened Islamic party,” explains Dr Yusuf. “We believe in human rights, civil rights, civil society and democracy. Hamas is not Taliban or al-Qaeda.”

Since its takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2006, the Islamic movement has attained unprecedented prominence. With that prominence Hamas has sought to improve its image internationally, particularly in the West.

Last year Hamas engaged Nashat Aqtash, a media studies academic from Birzeit University in the West Bank, to help improve its image in the West. Aqtash advised the movement to refrain from calling for the destruction of Israel and to avoid celebrating the death of Israelis.

Although the firebrand rhetoric remains, some moderation has occurred. In recent television interviews in Western countries, for example, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has been careful to avoid hyperbole and grand rhetoric, employing instead the “sound bite” approach that is more familiar to Western audiences.

The turning point for the Islamic movement’s approach to Western audiences was its January 2006 victory in legislative elections. Western governments unanimously boycotted the organisation, effectively refusing to recognise Hamas stewardship of the Palestinian National Authority. Subsequent attempts by Hamas to sustain a united government with the rival Fatah movement were also blocked by Western governments.

“We were cut out, nobody wanted to know us,” recalls Ahmed (not his real name), a Hamas organiser from Ramallah.

The message was unmistakable. Hamas was not a legitimate political actor in Western eyes. The embargo forced Hamas to try to transform its image in the West from a recalcitrant Islamic resistance movement to a practical and pivotal partner in any negotiated peace settlement. Although still at an embryonic stage, the transformation is slowly taking effect.

Last May retired French diplomat Yves Aubin de la Messuzière revealed that he had made representations to Hamas on behalf of the French Government. Aubin de la Messuzière met with Ismail Haniya, Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza, and Mahmoud Zahar, one of the movement’s most senior public figures. The discussions occurred just days before French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner toured Israel and the West Bank. Aubin de la Messuzière acknowledged that French officials had met with Hamas interlocutors “for several months” prior to the Foreign Minister’s visit.

When confronted with de la Messuzière’s admission, Kouchner noted that many Western countries had commenced a similar dialogue. Palestinian news agencies have carried regular reports about this and last year they claimed that British and other European countries have also held secret talks with Hamas to discuss a continuation of the current hudna (ceasefire) with Israel.
“We have met several [European] officials,” says Dr Yusuf. According to Dr Yusuf, this includes senior officials from France, Norway, Switzerland and Italy. He claims that these countries have maintained contacts with Hamas although none are willing to publicly confirm it.

Despite these developments, Hamas is still seeking high level contact with US officials. Just prior to the US-sponsored Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference held in November 2007, elder statesmen of US foreign policy Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski were among several American diplomats who issued a statement that, among other things, touched on US policy towards the Islamic movement. “As to Hamas,” read the statement, “we believe that a genuine dialogue with the organisation is far preferable to its isolation.”

On European television Mashaal claimed that the party was willing to “accept the creation of a [Palestinian] state on the 1967 borders.” According to Mohammad Dajani, a political scientist from Al-Quds University in the West Bank, this position “amounts to indirect recognition of Israel.”

But sceptics argue that the shift towards more moderate public statements is only rhetorical. Long time Hamas observer Dr Meir Litvak from Tel Aviv University notes that this is not a new strategy. “Hamas has always tried to sound more moderate [to Western audiences] as compared to [statements it makes in] the Arabic press.” Western governments are aware of this and remain wary.

After the Hamas takeover of Gaza, the movement tried to paint itself as an agent for stability and good governance. There was no better example of this than the Hamas-brokered release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston. The world had just witnessed a brutal power struggle between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip where Hamas fighters, along with their rivals, stood accused of committing acts of torture and killing unarmed activists.

With Gaza under its control, the movement was anxious to prove that it could provide order and security. Johnston was released following the Hamas takeover. Johnston openly thanked Hamas for his release, distinguishing the movement from those other Islamic groups who have “a black and white view” of the West. It arguably was, and remains, the greatest public relations coup Hamas has ever had.

Another publicity coup soon followed when former US President Jimmy Carter visited Hamas officials in Syria. Carter was strongly criticised by Israeli and United States high officials, and Israel refused Carter entry into the Gaza Strip. But some prominent Israeli leaders like Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai, who is also a member of the ultra orthodox Shas party, and former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy endorsed his visit. They believe Carter helped facilitate the current ceasefire with Israel.

Speaking on the Palestinian broadcaster Al-Alam, Hamas spokesperson Isma’il al-Ashqar remarked that the Carter visit proved that Hamas could not be ignored. “Carter’s visit,” said al-Ashqar, “came to underline the fact that Hamas has become a tough body that by no means can be bypassed.”

Hamas also has a wide range of media resources but they remain small and ad hoc. Its Al-Aqsa satellite channel and radio programs,modelled  on Hizbollah’s Al Manar, are inaccessible in much of the Middle East and most of Europe and America. It maintains several websites, like that of its armed faction, the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, but these predominantly target Arab and Muslim communities. Another, www.palestine-info.info, is partially available in Arabic, Bahasa, English, French, Persian, Russian and Urdu. Foreign analysts, governments and media are increasingly looking to these sources to gain an insight into the party.