Religion and politics in Palestine

The chapter aims to unpack the complex relationship between ideology and political practices in armed-political organisations by analysing how Hamas’s public theology has shaped the group’s political agenda and behaviour as an armed group, a political party and a socio-political movement. Here, ‘ideology’ is defined as the ‘reflection and implications of a religion in the activities that take place in the common space, including political and social life’ (Sandal, 2012 : 69). Overall, the chapter study emphasises the modalities and impact of the processes of religious reframing and reinterpretation spurred by the organisation’s complex and extensive political role, focusing on identifying the Hamas’s efforts to strike a balance between ideology and political expediency.