Azzam Tamimi

Azzam Tamimi is a Palestinian academic and political activist based in the United Kingdom. He is a prominent member of the Muslim Association of Britain and the Stop the War Coalition. He is currently the director of Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London and appears regularly on al-Jazeera and [http://www.presstv.com PressTV] other channels. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/azzamtamimi Azzam Tamimi | guardian.co.uk ] ]

Tamimi came to Britain more than 30 years ago, and he and his family have since become British citizens. He received a PhD in Political Theory from University of Westminster, London in 1998 and has written several books including "Rachid Ghannouchi, Democrat within Islamism" and "Hamas: Unwritten Chapters".

upport for Palestinians

Tamimi is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and helped advise Hamas on proposed changes to the organisation's charter. [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1139395429041 EXCLUSIVE: Hamas working on 'new charter' | Middle East | Jerusalem Post ] ] He has also commented that peace in the Middle East will only come about following talks with Hamas. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2205375,00.html Azzam Tamimi: The unrealistic terms being imposed upon Hamas are no basis for talks | Comment is free | The Guardian ] ] Tamimi was quoted in a 1998 interview with the Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs (WRMEA) that Hamas “is a constant reminder to the Palestinian people that the Zionist project is doomed. It’s a large—but cowardly—endeavor. The entire theft of a nation was a cowardly undertaking. What Jew can be proud of it? Already, we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Zionist project.” [cite news|url=http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1298/9812023.html|date=December 1998|title=Palestinian Islamist Azzam Tamimi Defines Hamas, PLO Differences and Calls for Dialogue With Both |author=Grace Halsell|publisher=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1998, pages 23-24] In November 2004 Tamimi told the BBC that he was prepared to be a suicide bomber if needed, saying that sacrificing himself for Palestine would be "a noble cause. It is the straight way to pleasing my God and I would do it if I had the opportunity". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/3985403.stm BBC NEWS | Programmes | Hardtalk | Dr Azzam Al-Tamimi ] ]

War on Terrorism

In 2006 Tamimi was quoted in a speech at the ExpoIslamia convention in Manchester as saying that "fighting those who invade Muslims is a just cause". He also described "the war on terrorism" as a war on Islam and said that "We are Muslims in Europe, not European Muslims... Being fair and just means finding the middle path. The middle path is not rubbing shoulders with Tony Blair and George (W.) Bush." [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=401481&in_page_id=1770 Firebrand Islamic academic: 'dying for your beliefs is just'] Daily Mail] Tamimi wrote in response to the report of the convention in the Daily Mail that his speech was about justice, not about glorifying terrorism, and that "martyrdom is dying for justice and peace .. not blowing oneself up killing innocent people". [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/aug/25/martyrdomisselfsacrificefor Martyrdom misunderstood | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk ] ]

Creation of a Jewish State in the United States or Germany

In 1998, Tamimi suggested that Germany or the United States should grant the Jews a state within their own territories, specifically stating that: "If the Westerners as a whole – and the Germans in particular – are immersed in feelings of guilt because of what they have perpetrated against the Jews, isn't it a just thing that they will act together to expiate for their sins by granting the Jews a national homeland in central Europe, for instance, within one of the German states? Or, why will not the U.S., the Zionist father through adoption, grant [the Jews] one out of its more than fifty states..?" [Institute of Islamic Political Thought, March 1998, Dr. 'Azzam Al-Tamimi, 'Reflection in Memory of the 50th Anniversary of the Ravishing of Palestine.'] cite web|url=http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA16304#_edn5|date=February 19, 2004|title=Dr. 'Azzam Al-Tamimi: A Political-Ideological Brief (Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 163)|author=Adam Pashut |publisher=Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)]

In an English-language Palestinian-Israeli debate on Iranian TV, which aired on Press TV on January 14, 2008, Tamimi debated Israeli lecturer Yossi Mekelberg. In response to Mekelberg stating that: "We need justice for everyone, and I will tell you where...", Tamimi stated that: "Justice? You go back to Germany. That's justice. You turn Germany into your state, not Palestine. Why should Palestine be a Jewish state? Why?"cite web|url=http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1663.htm|date=January 14, 2008|title=London-Based Hamas Palestinian Researcher 'Azzam Al-Tamimi: I Don't Give a Damn about a Palestinian State, or about the Jews Who Came to Israel from Europe (Clip no.1663)|publisher=Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)]

References

External links

* [http://www.ii-pt.com/web/introduction.htm Institute of Islamic Political Thought]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5269688.stm UK foreign policy under spotlight] Expoislamia in Manchester's MEN Arena
* [http://www.iwitness.co.uk/comment/0705c02.htm Religious hatred law will backfire on Muslims] by Azzam Tamimi
* [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/azzam_tamimi/index.html Articles by Azzam Tamimi]
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525927052&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull UK police to investigate Muslim scholar's call for martyrdom] The Jerusalem Post, Aug. 23, 2006
* [http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA16304#_edn5 Dr. 'Azzam Al-Tamimi: A Political-Ideological Brief] (Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 163), Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), February 19, 2004.