Do Beliefs Matter? (Not as much as you think) Posted by Shadi Hamid

“We are not going to cut off the hands of thieves, even though they deserve it. We are not going to force any woman to cover her hair; women are doing this by their own choice.” So says Abdul-Aziz Duwaik, the Palestinian Speaker of Parliament for the Hamas-led government. 

This statement is particularly interesting as it brings into focus the contested relationship between belief and action, ideology and practice, between what is and what ought to be in the muddy and sometimes malevolent realm of politics. Islamists believe from a Quranic or Islamic standpoint that alcohol should be banned, women should wear the hijab (headscarf), and that “every inch” of Palestine should be "liberated." However, beliefs such as these, after being subject to the push and pull of the political process, will manifest themselves in policy outcomes which may not reflect the original belief. Hamas believes that the hands of thieves should be cut off, but they aren’t going to cut them off. This simple fact has implications for how we understand the political maneuvering of ideologically driven groups and individuals. 

Much, of course, has been said about the Hamas founding charter which promises the destruction of Israel. Why this pronouncement should necessarily be relevant to the question of how Hamas will govern remains unclear. While Hamas may believe in the destruction of Israel as a matter of religious principle, it does not necessarily follow that their actions or political behavior will reflect this belief. A wide array of domestic and international factors contrain and limit the available policy options of ideological actors. 

When Islamists act politically, it’s not as if they pick up a Quran or some treatise of an obscure 10^th century Islamic scholar and ask themselves, “well, what does 'Islam,' God, or prophet Muhammad have to say about this particular issue ?” Political actors act politically (and rationally – unless, that is, you happen to be the President of Iran).

In short, if we’re trying to come to an understanding of how and why Islamists act in certain ways, beliefs, doctrine, and “Islam” shouldn't be our primary focus. Beliefs don’t always tell us as much as we might think about how people actually act. This is also why, not surprisingly, ideological actors who get involved in politics tend to have rather high thresholds for cognitive dissonance. For evidence of this last point, one need not stray too far from home.

Comments

[JP]

Are you sure about that? Aren't many of the USA's actions based on beliefs that we're "manifest destiny," and that we are the most noble country on earth? Whether that's true is another question..

[bp32]

I know that it is "in" these days to join the chorus calling the Iranian leadership and its President "irrational", but would you care to elaborate? What do you consider irrational and what evidence can you muster that he is, in fact, irrational? This matters a great deal in terms of how we choose to deal with Iran (and I believe this is the overall point of your post regarding Hamas and Islamacists who end up governing), now more than ever. It is precisely this type of a discussion that is required given the stakes of the current standoff and debate raging about what strategic options we have and what might be effective...

[Reynolds]

How is the destruction of Israel based on a religious principle?

Ahmadinejad is, at least politically speaking, a very rational and well planned man. Given the US shift toward a doctrine of preemption, US ties with nuclear armed Pakistan and India (Iran's neighbors), and the power vacuum in neighboring (Shia majority) Iraq, what better time for Ahmadinejad to assert Iran's potential for becoming a regional power by lashing out with jarring and unapologetic radical rhetoric?

[Paul Siegel]

Never mind what Hamas beliefs are. For years they have been getting human beings to kill themselves in order to kill a few Israelis.

Hamas has said - regardless of its beliefs - that it must destroy Israel. Who do you know who would negotiate with someone who has sworn to kill him?

Israelis would be insane to negotiate with Hamas.

[J Thomas]

Who do you know who would negotiate with someone who has sworn to kill him?

I would. I have. In several cases we worked out arrangements that left both of us alive and reasonably well satisfied.

It doesn't always work, but it works better than a lot of things. Particularly when you have the drop on him, how much do you have to lose? I mean, if you'd rather not just kill him....

I've never understood why israelis object to negotiating with palestinians. They can make whatever agreement they can get some representative palestinian to sign, and then if israelis don't like the result they can just break it and suffer no consequences whatsoever except that palestinians might be a little reluctant to sign the next agreement And that last doesn't hurt israel either.

[Dan Kervick]

This is one of those discussions when I believe it is useful to slip in a reminder that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not the Iranian head of state. The President of Iran is not the supreme commander of the armed forces, or the head of the joint staff - that is the job of the Supreme Leader. The President does not have the power to declare war - the Supreme Leader does. The Supreme Leader also has the power to dismiss the President upon a finding by the Supreme Court that the president has violated his constitutional duties. And who is the chief judicial authority? .... the Supreme Leader.

The President in Iran is not like an American President. He has a much more limited role as the person charged with carrying out the executive functions of government.

[Reynolds]

There was a great post today by Edward Luttwak on Iran...
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Production/files/luttwak0506.html

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