Today marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Hamas movement and one of the prominent figures of advocacy and thought in Palestine.
On the early morning of March 22, 2004, the occupation forces launched three missiles at Sheikh Yassin's wheelchair as he and seven other Palestinians were leaving the Islamic Center Mosque in the Sabra neighborhood south of Gaza City after the Fajr prayer. He was martyred in the attack.
Early Life:
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was born in the village of al-Jura, part of the Majdal district in southern occupied Palestine, in 1936. His family sought refuge in the Gaza Strip after the 1948 war.
At the age of sixteen, Sheikh Yassin suffered a serious accident during a sports activity, resulting in complete paralysis of all his limbs.
Sheikh Yassin worked as a teacher of Arabic language and Islamic education, and later became an imam and teacher in mosques across Gaza.
Political Activity:
At the age of twenty, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin participated in the protests that erupted in Gaza against the tripartite aggression targeting Egypt in 1956. He demonstrated remarkable rhetorical and organizational skills. After the defeat in 1967, he continued to inspire Palestinians through his speeches calling for resistance against Israeli occupation. He founded the Islamic Association, then the Islamic Center, and played a prominent role in establishing the Islamic University, followed by the initiation of military action against the occupation.
In 1983, he was arrested on charges of possession of weapons, forming a military organization, and incitement to eliminate the Jewish state. He was sentenced by an Israeli court to 13 years in prison. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between the Israeli authorities and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In 1987, Ahmed Yassin, along with leaders of the Islamic movement, founded Hamas, coinciding with the outbreak of the 1987 uprising.
Israeli forces arrested Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1989, along with hundreds of Palestinians, in an attempt to suppress the armed resistance that had taken on the character of attacks using knives against soldiers and settlers. In 1991, Israel sentenced him to life imprisonment plus an additional 15 years on charges of inciting the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldiers, founding Hamas, and its military and security wings.
He was released in 1997 under an agreement reached between Jordan and the Israeli occupation following the failed operation carried out by the Mossad in Jordan, which targeted the life of Khaled Mashal, the then head of Hamas' political bureau.
Al-Aqsa Uprising:
During the Al-Aqsa uprising that erupted at the end of September 2000, Hamas, under the leadership of Sheikh Yassin, actively participated in the Palestinian resistance movement after reorganizing its ranks and building its military apparatus.
As part of national work, Sheikh Yassin emphasized national unity, and his positions were characterized by a strong focus on and prioritization of national unity, which remained one of the fundamental issues he believed in and sought to consolidate.
Eternal Rest:
On the early morning of March 22, 2004, Zionist hatred aircraft assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and seven of his companions. At that time, no one believed the news circulating in the media about the martyrdom of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Some of the notable quotes by the martyr Ahmed Yassin:
"Israel is founded on injustice and rape, and any entity built on injustice and rape is destined for destruction."
"I am a human who lived my life... My only hope is that Allah is pleased with me, and His satisfaction is only attained through obedience, and obedience to Allah is manifested in jihad."
"I love life very much... But I refuse humiliation, submission, and aggression against myself."
"This is my position, God willing... I will remain a mujahid, God willing, until my homeland is liberated because I do not fear death."
"I have devoted my life to action, not to writing... If I learned any verse or hadith, I would teach it to the people."
"Victory is coming, and liberation is coming... What matters is that we make some effort, along with our prayers, to support the Palestinian people."
"Islam will prevail, and the American-Zionist project on Palestine will be defeated by the permission of Allah."
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