al-Qassam

Term Paper # 58083

Hot Topics > Terror and 9/11
Political Science > Non-U.S.
Political Science > Terrorism

al-Qassam

An analysis of al-Qassam as a total institution and an organization.

1,336 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2003 United States

Paper Summary:

Hamas was formed in 1987 as a means to achieve a unified, separate, Palestinian state. The organization has used political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue this goal. Hamas's violent wing, al-Qassam, has carried out many suicide bombings since 1993, and Hamas makes it a point to take credit for its accomplishments. The purpose of this paper is to look at the violent wing of Hamas, al-Qassam, as both a "total institution" and an organization and, in the process, understand how suicide bombers are socialized.

From the Paper:

"Erving Goffman formed his definition of "total institution" through a five-fold description. We will define al-Qassam as a total institution based on its active struggle to "pursue some worklike task and justify itself" only based on its desire for a Palestinian state. There must be a split between two groups of people in order for a total institution to exist. I assert that there is a hierarchy in the framework of al-Qassam. At the top must lie the Muslim clerics and high-ranking officials of the organization. Both have clout in determining the specifics about suicide bombings, but whereas clerics can only recommend people for missions, it is more likely that the officials have the final say."