What Hamas and “MAGA” Have in Common

As I write this article, Israel continues to launch air strikes and missiles into Gaza, a section of the Palestinian Free State that is adjacent to the Mediterranean. This military action – a war, per Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – is ostensibly directed toward Hamas, a Palestinian political party that was and remains the only democratically elected political operation in Palestine. The other section of the Palestinian Free State, the West Bank, is controlled by Fatah, formerly known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. Fatah was empowered by Israel after Hamas refused to recognize the right of a Jewish state to exist. Superficially, the Trump-led Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and Hamas have little in common. Dig deeper and you find out that they are very much the same.

Before I begin, to those readers unfamiliar with my background, I spent the better part of two decades operating in the Middle East, North Africa, Central and Southwest Asia on behalf of the American Empire. I have my Master’s Degree in Islamic studies with a special emphasis on the cultivation of Iranian-backed non state armed groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. In fact, I was in Ramallah when Hamas was inaugurated. I know the movements very well.

Additionally, I was once a Trump supporting MAGA fan. It is no longer my brand of nationalism – as I have given up on the Union and seek a peaceful separation of the South from the rest of those United States. Still, I harbor no ill-will toward the policy prescriptions espoused by MAGA. I do not believe Trump is the guy to make those positions a reality. He is – in my opinion – incapable of leading from within, a skill that would be necessary to take down the deep state. Otherwise, I do not resent MAGA supporters, even when I feel they are blind to the realities about Trump’s deficiencies.

Returning to the topic – MAGA and Hamas have a lot in common. I know this will get the “I Stand with Israel” fanbase enraged. But if you are willing to take a step back and look objectively and holistically, you will see their origins and enemies are the same.

Hamas was born out of a population of disaffected, fed-up Palestinians. Many Westerners are incapable of truly comprehending the nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict. That is due in large part to Jewish-led mass media propaganda. Many Westerners believe this is a Jewish vs Muslim fight. Given the West’s history with radical Islam, the immediate reaction is to show sympathy with the Jewish people as it pertains to a shared enemy. That is too simplified.

Almost all Islamists subscribe to the belief that the Prophet Mohammed’s words are sacrosanct. In this regard, Jews are a protected class thanks to the Constitution of Medina. It often surprises many that Jews are a protected and thriving minority class in the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. Jews have thrived in Uzbekistan under Islamic rule for centuries. Even in Afghanistan, Jews are allowed freedoms that Christians are not. Since Jews do not proselytize and they are considered shared lineal descendants of Abraham, Muslims respect and even protect Jews. For their part, Jews within Islamic states largely keep to themselves and have favorable interactions with their Muslim neighbors.

Things go off the rails, however, when non-Muslims control holy sites that Muslims believe to be sacred. The Al Aqsa Mosque – the site that was attacked by Jewish settlers, kicking off this latest conflagration – is an example of a site that Muslims believe should be within their control. As it stands, the fact that it is under non-Muslim control, along with Abraham’s promised land, is the sore point. If Christians controlled Palestine, they would fight Christians. This is not about being anti-Jewish. This is about being pro-Muslim and pro-Palestinian. Thus, when the Turks controlled the region, there was very little turmoil. When the British took Palestine, they found themselves fighting both Muslim and Jewish terrorists – the latter being the more aggressive of the two. It was a shrewd calculation on the part of Hitler to invest in Jewish Palestine by means of the Haavara Agreement. (Yes, the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) invested in Jewish terrorists in the 1930s and 40s – that is a topic for another article.)

Returning to the Palestinian Muslim perspective, the idea that Jews occupy their homeland is an outrage. Worse, they were displaced by primarily European-Jewish emigrees with global support and very little say in the matter. The little guy felt much like someone kicked in the teeth by unelected world bureaucrats. Every time they have fought for some semblance of control, the Palestinians were framed as the aggressor, even when obvious Jewish provocations were present. The constant encroachment and belittlement of Palestinians has led to a multi-generational hatred of the Jewish state. Jews just happen to run that state.  Therein lies the difference.

Unfortunately for the Palestinians, very few media outlets are willing to give their side of the story. Again, the story is simplified as a contest of Jew vs Muslim, Right vs. Wrong, Democracy vs. Terrorism… etc. Most Americans would be shocked to find that Palestinian Christians are a vilified minority treated worse by the Israelis than Palestinian Muslims. There is a reason that Palestinian Christians overwhelmingly support Hamas.

The origins of Hamas, therefore, are not necessarily religious, beyond the fact that Hamas subscribes to Islamic laws codified by the Quran and select Hadiths (texts of Islamic Jurisprudence elevated by the words or actions of Mohammed). In this simplest understanding, they would be no different than a Republican who believes that Christian morality and the Bible should be the center of society. The American Christian Marine and the Palestinian Muslim soldier may seek different outcomes, but their moral center is the same: they are willing to sacrifice for their Nation (people) and their God.

Unlike the Marine Corps, Hamas is an elected body. It is a political entity running a legitimate government. Thus, the man who fights for Hamas would be more akin to someone who fights for an American government, only when that government aligns with his religious and ideological views. Imagine, for example, the Marine who chooses not to fight for global homosexuality, the promotion of pornography, and a financial system predicated on usury. Rather, that Marine only fights when the United States aligns itself with the defense of its people and embraces Christian values.

Before one enters into a sidebar argument as to tactics, it is important to note that the Marines and Hamas have different tools at their disposal. Despite propaganda to the contrary, both attempt to limit civilian casualties. In times of war, civilian casualties are a tragic reality. Hamas is at war and its recent target was directed to the closest community of Jewish settlers who had just desecrated their holiest site. I have heard many in the United States who say they wish they could just turn the Middle East “into glass.” Would not civilians get harmed? Of course they would. If the moral justification of turning the Middle East into glass is due to the fact that the civilian population supports atrocities against the West and therefore, world peace would result if we just eliminated the population – you have just placed yourself into Palestinian shoes. They, too, see the Jewish state supported by a Jewish citizenry that sends Jewish soldiers and Jewish settlers into their areas, destroying their holy sites, and oppressing their people. The only difference is that Hamas does not have a nuclear weapon (yet).

MAGA, meanwhile, was born out of a frustration over the status quo and an increasingly woke degenerate society. Time and time again, Americans who voted for Republicans in the past watched that party cede ground to the Democratic Party and leftism in general. Republicans would bloviate about taxes and spending but do nothing to protect the interests of a hurting middle class.

Meanwhile, the American middle class watched as neither party protected their jobs or their way of life. The increasing anger at professional populations was not only predictable, but it was also entirely justified. Donald Trump did what no previous politician was willing to do: he articulated the anger and frustration in a system that exploited its own contributing citizenry.

While we sent our sons to die for wars ostensibly to defend the American homeland from terrorists, the previous Commander-in-Chief was making excuses for those same terrorists and inviting them into the United States. While our jobs were sent to Communist China, the border was thrown wide open – importing millions of low paid illegal aliens to compete with hardworking Americans barely getting by. When they said, “Immigrants are the only ones who will do those jobs,” they were initially referring to chicken processing and garbage removal. Today, if you look at any homebuilding site, the roof, plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock is being laid by immigrants who took those formerly well-paying jobs from American citizens.

Our tax dollars were going to Welfare Queens. Our cities were being looted and destroyed by black “social justice advocates” – as if stealing Nike sneakers were the same thing as a voting rights march. Our children were encouraged to remove their genitalia. If we spoke up, we were shot down… lost our jobs… lost our livelihoods. Along came a candidate who voiced all that and more.

MAGA was not born out of a hatred for America. It was born out of a hatred of what America had become. Suddenly, and without warning, the United States became a dystopian hellhole, led by elites who laughed at our pain and enforced by blue haired freaks given carte blanche to violently assault dissenting opinion. The Justice Department stood eagerly by, willing to work with the modern Praetorian Guard of the American political class, the FBI, and prosecuting those who dared to rise against modern orthodoxy. Anyone who dares question the system risks being labeled a “racist,” a “Nazi,” and of course, a “White Nationalist.” You might as well own it, but I digress.

Like the Palestinian people, the MAGA movement was not prepared as to how well organized the political propaganda and media machine truly is. Hamas was a political party that ascended after years of Fatah doing nothing on their behalf. There was a lot of talk, a lot of tit-for-tat theater, but behind the scenes, every Palestinian knew that Fatah was shaking hands and making deals with Israel. As degeneracy crept into Palestinian society and the people suffered for a lack of jobs, conservative Palestinians chose a new path that listened to their complaints and aligned with their conservative Islamic values. Hamas became the voice that spoke for the ordinary Palestinian father. Almost immediately, in 2006, Washington and Jerusalem set to delegitimizing Hamas’ election, claiming foreign actors – namely Russia and Iran – changed the election outcomes. Sound familiar?

The similarities are there, but there is a key difference between Hamas and MAGA. When Hamas was attacked by the political powerbases of Jerusalem, Ramallah and Washington, Hamas fought back. It has not been pretty. It has often been ugly. But they fight for the Palestinian people and that is why the Palestinian people love them. When MAGA attempted to fight back by means of a peaceful, but loud protest on the grounds of the people’s Capitol, they were rounded up, arrested, prosecuted, and sent into political prisons for decades. Not a single shot was fired by MAGA Republicans. Yet, both Hamas and MAGA are labeled terrorist ideologies by the same people asking you to support Israel.