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[2026-04-07] @\MujammaHaraket: *The Palestinian Islamic Movement & the Centrality of Mosques as a Political Site of Resistance* ʿAbd Allāh Yusuf al-Laddawi, who led the Imad 'Aql battalion of the al-Qassam brigades in Northern Gaza, wrote in his book, "Seeds of Hamas" (2025), that:

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"Hamas regards mosques as the movement’s primary strongholds. It regards any attempt to push the Hamas movement out of them as a red line that cannot be tolerated. In a 1998 statement condemning the Palestinian Authority’s decision to close mosques after prayers and restrict their activities, Hamas declared:

'Our steadfast mosques have always stood as fortresses of revolution against every form of occupation since the beginning of this century. They constitute one of the central pillars of an independent Palestinian civil society, separate from any occupation or tyranny. Our people will not tolerate any violation of the mosques’ free and independent status.'

Hamas has relied on mosques and Islamic institutions to turn its social and daʿwa discourse into a practical reality. Lacking many other such avenues, it has used the mosque to carry out myriad [socio-political] functions. Over time, the mosque became a central axis of the intifada. It served as a key site of mobilization. The largest demonstrations, marches, and clashes often began at mosques. Fridays, in particular, have consistently galvanized popular action with momentum and fervor. Mosques also fulfill an important social role. Hamas organizes relief committees that provide mutual aid and distribute essential goods.

Mosques further serve as alternative centers of education when the occupation authorities close schools and universities in the Gaza Strip. The phenomenon of collaborators and spies publicly repenting in mosques reflects both the influence of Hamas and the momentous power of these spaces. Many choose mosques as the place to declare their repentance."

With the influx of young collaborators seeking repentance following the open call from village Mukhtars, it also worth underscoring how the mosque has functioned as a site for penitence and forgiveness.

As al-Laddawi continues: "For a large number of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the mosques have become genuine symbols of religious and social identity. From the beginning, the movement arduously worked to turn these mosques into safe havens, gathering spaces, and launching pads for their affiliated cells and study circles. Deprived of the ability to express itself politically in public, the movement sought to use the mosque as a space from which to articulate its views and political positions. Persecution and violent attacks by Jewish extremists on holy places have strengthened the Palestinian people's attachment to the mosque.

The movement succeeded in gaining access to mosques by fostering good relations through visits to mosque imams, and by having their members conduct fundraising campaigns, clean the mosques and their surroundings, and repair any malfunctioning equipment. In turn, they became an integral part of the mosque families and their governing bodies, and the imam could not do without them. Throughout this time, the mosque was not merely a site of worship; rather, most social occasions took place there—prayer within its walls, sit-ins against the occupier under its dome, communal iftar in its courtyard, the repentance of collaborators within its halls, and the collection and distribution of alms within its premises."