“We Were Getting Close to God, Not Deportees”: The Expulsion to Marj al-Zuhur in 1992 as a Milestone in the Rise of Hamas

In December 1992, Israel deported hundreds of Hamas activists to Lebanon. The deportees ensconced themselves at a camp near the village of Marj al-Zuhur, close to the Israeli border. Their sojourn there bolstered Hamas and became a milestone in its development. This article shows how the deportees’ success in running the camp as an exemplary Islamic society turned the deportation into a foundational myth for the movement, one centered on nonviolent resistance in the spirit of Islamic values.