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What is Hamas? After the massacre of October 7, 2023, this question became impossible to ignore.
Hamas-led attackers killed around 1,200 people in Israel, abducted hostages, and carried out a brutal assault that deeply scarred the Jewish people.
For me, Hamas must be understood in two related ways.
First, Hamas is a terrorist organization that uses violence to pursue political and ideological goals.
Second, Hamas represents an ideology—a worldview shaped by hostility toward Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people.
Understanding both dimensions matters.
Military force may confront an organization. However, destroying an ideology requires confronting the ideas that sustain it.
Therefore, in this article I want to examine what Hamas is, what its worldview teaches, why its ideology matters beyond Gaza, and how Christians should respond.
What Is Hamas?
The name Hamas comes from the Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, meaning the Islamic Resistance Movement.
Interestingly, the Hebrew word ḥāmās means violence.
Genesis 6:11 says:
“Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
The linguistic similarity does not establish a biblical prophecy about the modern organization Hamas.
Nevertheless, the contrast is striking given the violence associated with the group.
So, what is Hamas?
Hamas is an Islamist Palestinian movement with political, social, and military dimensions.
At the same time, its history includes terrorism, suicide bombings, rocket attacks, hostage-taking, and deliberate violence directed against civilians.
The European Union continues to treat Hamas within its terrorist sanctions framework.
Therefore, describing Hamas merely as a political resistance movement ignores a crucial part of its history and methods.
What Is a Terrorist Organization?
Terrorist organizations use violence or the threat of violence to pursue political, ideological, religious, or social objectives.
Their methods can include:
- deliberate attacks against civilians;
- hostage-taking;
- assassinations;
- bombings;
- intimidation;
- attacks designed to produce fear beyond the immediate victims.
October 7 demonstrated these characteristics with horrifying clarity.
Therefore, I believe Hamas should be described plainly:
Hamas is a terrorist organization.
That does not mean every Palestinian supports Hamas.
Neither does it mean Palestinian suffering should be ignored.
It means that intentionally targeting civilians, taking hostages, and using terror cannot be morally transformed into legitimate resistance simply by changing the vocabulary.
Hamas Is More Than an Organization
However, describing Hamas only as an organization does not go far enough.
Hamas also represents an ideology.
Merriam-Webster defines a worldview as a comprehensive conception of the world from a particular standpoint.
An ideology is a characteristic system of ideas or beliefs.
Organizations consist of people, buildings, weapons, money, and leadership structures.
Ideas are different.
You can destroy a command center.
You can eliminate weapons.
You can arrest leaders.
However, if the underlying ideology remains persuasive to another generation, the movement can eventually reappear in another form.
Therefore, confronting Hamas involves more than military questions.
It also involves ideas.
The Hamas Worldview and Israel
A central element of the Hamas worldview has historically been rejection of Israel and hostility toward Zionism.
Hamas has repeatedly presented violent confrontation with Israel as part of its struggle.
Therefore, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be understood only as a disagreement about borders.
Ideology matters.
Religion matters.
History matters.
Antisemitism matters.
The legitimacy of Jewish national existence matters.
Certainly, political debates about Israeli policies are legitimate.
Criticizing an Israeli government is not automatically antisemitic.
However, opposition moves into a different category when Jews are demonized as Jews or when Israel’s destruction becomes the objective.
That distinction is essential.
Hamas and Antisemitism
One reason I describe Hamas as a worldview is the role antisemitism plays within extremist rhetoric surrounding Israel.
Antisemitism is not simply disagreement with Israeli policy.
It is hostility toward Jewish people because they are Jewish.
Christians should reject it without hesitation.
Scripture teaches that every human being bears God’s image.
Moreover, the Jewish people occupy a unique place in biblical history as the people through whom God gave Scripture and from whom, according to the flesh, the Messiah came.
Therefore, hatred of Jewish people cannot be reconciled with Christian discipleship.
At the same time, rejecting antisemitism does not require Christians to hate Palestinians or Muslims.
We can oppose an ideology while loving human beings.
Why Ideologies Cannot Be Defeated Only With Weapons
Weapons can destroy physical infrastructure.
They cannot destroy an idea inside someone’s mind.
Therefore, if the Hamas worldview is to lose its influence, people must encounter a different understanding of reality.
Young people must learn that Jewish people are not monsters.
They must learn the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust.
They must encounter alternatives to perpetual hatred.
Moreover, political and religious leaders must stop glorifying terrorism and violence against civilians.
This battle is educational, cultural, moral, spiritual, and political.
In that sense, Hamas as an ideology presents a challenge that extends beyond the battlefield.
Hamas, Iran, and the Wider Regional Conflict
Hamas does not exist in isolation.
Iran has long provided support to Hamas and other armed groups opposed to Israel.
Therefore, Hamas also operates within a wider regional struggle.
This is important because October 7 cannot be understood solely as an isolated confrontation between Gaza and Israel.
The Middle East contains overlapping conflicts involving states, proxy groups, religious movements, political ambitions, and competing visions for the region.
Consequently, understanding what Hamas is requires examining both the organization itself and the ideological network around it.
Hamas, UNRWA, and Serious Questions
The relationship between Hamas-controlled Gaza and international institutions has also produced serious controversy.
In 2024, allegations emerged that some UNRWA employees had participated in the October 7 attacks.
The United Nations investigated 19 employees.
For nine individuals, investigators concluded that the evidence—if authenticated and corroborated—could indicate involvement, and their employment was terminated. In other cases, investigators found insufficient evidence or no supporting evidence.
These findings deserve serious attention.
However, I believe Christians should distinguish between documented misconduct by individuals and broader allegations about an entire organization.
Questions concerning neutrality, personnel, facilities, educational materials, and the possible exploitation of humanitarian infrastructure by Hamas deserve investigation.
Truth does not need exaggeration.
Hamas’s Ideology Beyond Gaza
Ideas travel.
The internet allows propaganda to cross national borders instantly.
Therefore, Hamas does not need physical offices in every Western country for its worldview to influence people.
Videos.
Social media.
Political organizations.
Religious rhetoric.
Online propaganda.
All can transmit ideas.
This helps explain why events thousands of kilometers away can quickly produce antisemitic incidents or celebrations of terrorism in European and American cities.
Consequently, Western democracies need to distinguish carefully between legitimate political protest and advocacy for terrorist violence.
People should have freedom to debate Israeli policy.
However, celebrating attacks against civilians or openly encouraging terrorism is something fundamentally different.
Hamas in Europe
The influence of Hamas-related ideology in Europe should therefore concern Europeans.
However, this issue should be addressed precisely.
The problem is not that someone is Muslim.
Neither should Muslim refugees or immigrants automatically be treated as Hamas supporters.
Millions of Muslims hold different religious and political beliefs, and many reject terrorism.
The legitimate concern is the spread of antisemitism, extremist Islamism, support for terrorist organizations, and advocacy of violence.
That distinction strengthens rather than weakens the argument.
Europe should be able to welcome people while also requiring respect for its laws and the safety of Jewish communities.
Indeed, hospitality and security are not opposites.
I have written separately about the Christian responsibility of biblical hospitality.
Antisemitism Should Be Confronted Directly
Europe understands from its own history where antisemitism can lead.
Therefore, education about the Holocaust and antisemitism remains essential.
People coming from cultures where antisemitic propaganda is widespread should encounter truthful education about Jewish history.
However, the same standard should apply to everyone.
A Muslim spreading antisemitism should be confronted.
A far-right European spreading antisemitism should be confronted.
A Christian spreading antisemitism should be confronted.
A political activist spreading antisemitism should be confronted.
Antisemitism should not become acceptable because it comes from a politically favored group.
The standard should remain consistent.
What Should Governments Do About Extremist Ideology?
Governments have a responsibility to protect their citizens.
Therefore, organizations that materially support designated terrorist organizations should be investigated under applicable law.
Individuals who finance terrorism, recruit for terrorist organizations, or incite violence should face legal consequences regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Likewise, immigration systems can legitimately assess national-security risks.
However, guilt should attach to what an individual does, not merely to being Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, an immigrant, or a refugee.
That distinction matters morally and legally.
The goal is not collective punishment.
The goal is confronting terrorism and antisemitic extremism.
Christians Must Reject Both Antisemitism and Hatred of Muslims
Christians should be particularly careful here.
We can condemn Hamas without hating Palestinians.
We can oppose radical Islamism without hating Muslims.
We can support Israel’s right to exist without claiming that every action of every Israeli government is beyond criticism.
Moreover, we can recognize Palestinian suffering without justifying terrorism.
Those convictions can exist together.
Our ultimate allegiance is not to propaganda from either side.
Our allegiance is to truth.
Therefore, Christians should pray for discernment rather than simply repeating whatever social media tells them.
The Spiritual Dimension of the Hamas Worldview
As a Christian, I also understand hatred as more than a political problem.
Hatred destroys people spiritually.
Antisemitism dehumanizes.
Terrorism teaches people to see murder as righteous.
Therefore, I believe there is also a spiritual battle behind ideologies built around hatred and violence.
Paul reminds believers that:
“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” — Ephesians 6:12
That verse does not mean political or military realities are imaginary.
Instead, it reminds Christians that human beings themselves are not ultimately our spiritual enemy.
That is important.
A Hamas terrorist must be held responsible for terrorism.
Yet Christians can still pray for his repentance.
We oppose evil without surrendering to hatred ourselves.
What Can Christians Do?
First, pray for Israel.
Pray for Jewish families still carrying the trauma of October 7.
Pray for the protection of civilians.
Pray against antisemitism.
Second, pray for Palestinians in Gaza.
Pray for innocent people suffering from war.
Pray that they encounter truth, peace, and freedom from extremist ideology.
Third, pray for Muslims.
Do not merely fear them.
Pray that they encounter Jesus Christ.
Fourth, teach your children about antisemitism.
Help them understand the Holocaust, Jewish history, Israel, terrorism, and the danger of ideological hatred.
Finally, learn to recognize propaganda.
Do not assume that something is true merely because it appears repeatedly on social media.
What Is Hamas? Organization and Ideology
So, what is Hamas?
Hamas is a terrorist organization.
However, I believe it must also be understood as an ideology—a worldview capable of surviving beyond particular leaders, weapons, or locations.
That is why defeating terrorism requires more than winning battles.
Hatred must be confronted with truth.
Antisemitism must be exposed.
Young people must be taught another way.
Christians must reject the temptation to answer hatred with hatred.
Therefore, pray for Israel.
Pray for Gaza.
Pray for Jewish people.
Pray for Muslims.
Pray for governments and leaders.
And pray that the ideology represented by Hamas loses its power over another generation.
We must oppose terrorism without becoming people shaped by hatred ourselves.
I am a blogger, writer, pastor, Director of Zion Romania Bible School, husband to Olguta, a father and, most importantly, a child of God. I also completed my studies at the King’s University where I earned a B.A. in Theology with a concentration in Messianic Jewish Studies. I love Israel and I love the ‘Jewishness’ of the Bible.
Thank You Brother, for clearly explaining what is Hamas. Appreciate your insights…
Thank you! You are welcome, my friend!