After Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis, the majority civilians, it was quickly claimed that Hamas was little more than a spoiler espousing a genocidal ideology. Incapable of rational cost-benefit calculations, the movement was driven blindly by religion and an anti-Semitic and anti-western ideology. Its violence was merely a part of an Iranian strategy in the region. This event will explore the ideology of Hamas and its development from its founding in 1987. It will examine how Hamas fits into the wider ecology of Palestinian Islamist actors, and what role religion plays in Palestinian Islamism and insurgency.
Der Vortrag wird auf Englisch gehalten.
Referent: Erik Skare (University of Oslo, Norway, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), specializing in Palestinian history with a particular focus on Palestinian Islamism, insurgency, and state-building. He is the author of „Road to October 7: A Brief History of Palestinian Islamism“ (Verso Books, 2025) and „A History of Palestinian Islamic Jihad“ (Cambridge UP, 2021)).
Moderation: Lutz Achenbach
