Shas and Hamas Challenge

ESU, AIDE

2010-01-01

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Abstract

Some recent research have point out that since 1965 the influence of religion in conflict rise as crucial factor (Fox, 2003, 2004). The rise of religious discourse in politics contradicts modernisation theory and secularisation theory as dominant paradigm in the Western social science. The cases of Shas movement in Israel and Hamas movement in Palestine are peculiar multi-stranded, multi-layered and multidirectional examples. The comparative approach is relevant to understand some deeply mechanisms of conflict reproduction. We stress the study looking at the way traced by Daniel Bar-Tal work, “Israeli society represents a mirror image of the Arab societies, particularly of the Palestinian society (…) both societies shared beliefs and mutually held social representations” (Bar-Tal, Teichman, 2005,14). The comparative study, based on field work, show that Shas and Hamas are not only two enclave systems, but their cross cutting ethnic and religious frontiers support distinctive patterns of political mobilisation. They play a role in the political arena as political actors. They act adopting multi-layered background in a multi-level arena as well as grass-roots movement. Both are strict religious observant, they use the sacrifice as political paradigm to support the radicalisation of the political action.