The War On Gaza, Hamas and Political Islam feat. Mohammed Sulaiman

Mohammed Sulaiman earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of South Australia on political Islam. He was raised in Gaza and lived in the Jabalia refugee camp as a young boy. In this conversation, we discuss the rise of Hamas, how Hamas fits within the wider phenomenon of political Islam and we analyze the brutal genocidal bombardment of Israel on the Gaza strip in response to the Hamas attacks into Israel on October 7th.
Please support our work by becoming a Patron at / torsiongroups

[@SugarCookie-p8s]

As someone who comes from a former colony, but steeped in a liberal education I found my mind twisting and bending as I listened to Mohammed. There are many things to think and re-think. I believe I will come back to this conversation again and again.

[@kaja8058]

same here! Like so many other Palestinians in the diaspora I grew up with Edward Said and since listening to Mohammed I am rethinking my own position and my own praxis..

[@dvepps6780]

I appreciate the on the ground perspective - especially the notes about Hamas having to fight off emirati backed street gangs.
*And the way Sulaiman & many Palestinians express themselves & carry themselves is admirable given the conditions they are forced under by Western imperialism. Thank you for offering the space for discussion.

[@jacob3155]

I have not heard this perspective anywhere else online. Thank you for putting out this interview. It is very illuminating to hear how Palestinians see the war and Hamas.

[@tmsphere]

Hello Mohammed, I remember you from years back, we used to follow each other and talk via Twitter when you were still in Gaza. I vividly remember your interview with CNN when your house got bombed in the middle of it. I've been a reader and an admirer of your work, but since deleting Twitter I had no way of following, good to see you are well. Hope for the best wishes for you and your family and your neighbors back in Gaza. God have mercy on the souls of the martyred.

[@ludviglidstrom6924]

Extremely interesting

[@kaja8058]

Thank you, Mohammed Sulaiman for this great analysis! And you are right: we should never distance ourselves from the steadfast and heroic resistance! We needed to hear that, so thank you! Long live Palestine!

[@adrianhoseini1334]

This is a very sober and materialistic analysis. Very well spoken

[@namesnotreal5705]

Free Palestine!

[@byronfoodjikla]

I have a question. How is a dead woman’s body paraded in the streets not a deliberate attack on civilians? While I understand the difference Sulaiman wants to examine, I am neither convinced of the purely military nor the purely indignant interpretation of Hamas. On the other hand, it is quite obvious to me that Palestinians or even Palestine itself is not Hamas. So then, my question is: If we argue that Hamas is morally cleansed because of the general position of Palestinians, then how do we compare non-Hamas Palestinians to Hamas itself? It seems to me that the moral cleansing is applied on an overarching scale, and hence, groups all Palestinians together, and this goes against the principle of “not all Palestinians are Hamas”, a principle which is salient given Sulaiman’s critique of the Zionist-Genocidal mentality of Israel which applies the Hamas identity on an overarching scale (and again, a generalisation perhaps? I would assume he meant a specific constellation within the Israel population).
To simplify, aren’t overarching statements precisely one of the issues at hand, regardless if they pertain to moral evaluations or identity?

[@ptadisbander7959]

Interesting perspective, totally not acceptable
to the average westerner. Just don’t like
How he actually tried to deny that maybe there were atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct 7 around 35 mins. Like at least norm, someone at least as radical as this guy, actually admits atrocities and they went on to
Mention
Norms Nat turner analogy. Anyway, stuff like that makes
Me trust him less but this is a great perspective to know. I liked the point about the cynicism of human rights, it really is beyond a
Joke to tell
Palestinians that given what is happening to
Them and honestly countless others across the globe. The critique of these ideas is interesting.

[@adrianhoseini1334]

We don't know everything that happened oct 7, but as time goes on more and more Israeli lies have been reveales. The current evidence suggests that hamas had the goal of taking hostages and destroying military targets. In this effort, several civilians were killed in the crossfire of hamas and IOF soldiers. All violent conflict is atrocious - for it oftens impacts civilians, but the evidence doesn't suggest that the hamas attack was any more "atrocious" than what is to be expected from resistance of an oppressed people.

[@essem123]

The attack as a whole went after military
Maybe segments diverted but the purpose of attack and objective was a success.
Also significant testimonies from israeli survivors and soldiers themselves paint a picture of panic and using military machinery to fire with certain knowledge of civilians being amongst their targets, in one survivor testimony in kibbutz they tank shelled houses to neutralise the threat with captives inside alongside combtants - 112 civilians were killed, 11 days later they were finding bodies amongst the rubble, reported by israeli haaretz
This is 1 testimony, another was helictoper cannon fire with squadron acknowledging not knowing who is who but fired anyway
No rape evidence, no behedaed babies, no baby in a oven. Youve been sold a bunch of lies. The figure was 1400, then 1200 and now 1000.

[@ludviglidstrom6924]

You can look up The Electronic Intifada or The Grayzone if you want good information about what we actually know happened on October 7.