re: #335 wozzablog

Hamas stood for - and won - elections, elections the western world called for. Rightly or wrongly they are the rulers of a highly unstable part of the world - less corrupt on the ground and more efficient than the PLO at service delivery to the plebs.

Solidarity with the palestinian people is a cornerstone of pretty much all Muslim belief - radical/moderate/mildly non-plussed. Denouncing the defacto government elected by Palestinians is not as easy as it seems.

What we may see as “denouncing terrorism” is seen elsewhere as “abandoning the people of Palestine” to eleven.

Thats my dis-passionate assessment.

Rauf in particular, and Muslims in general, may be legally entitled to refuse to denounce Hamas if they want, but they shouldn’t expect Americans to recognize Rauf as supporting US ME foreign policy, especially since the State Department’s assessment of Hamas as a terrorist organization is crystal clear.