->GreenC bot: Rescued 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5

2021-08-12T06:31:15Z

Rescued 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Nizar Rayan
|image = Nizar Rayyan AFP.jpg
|image_size = 200x
|caption = Rayan at a press conference 23 September 2005 in [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. ([[Agence France-Presse|AFP]])
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1959|03|06|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Jabalia]], [[Gaza Strip]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|01|01|1959|03|06|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Jabalia]], [[Gaza Strip]]
|death_cause = Air force attack
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|other_names =
|known_for = [[Hamas]] leadership
|alma_mater =
|spouse =
}}

'''Nizar Rayan''' ({{lang-ar|نزار ريان}}, {{transl|ar|Nɩzár Rɑȋán}}, also [[Romanization of Arabic|transliterated]] '''Rayyan'''; 6 March 1959 – 1 January 2009) was a high ranking [[Hamas]] leader who served as a liaison between the [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] organization's political leadership and its military wing. Also a professor of [[Sharia|Islamic law]], he became a top Islamic cleric within Hamas after the death of [[Ahmed Yassin|Sheikh Ahmed Yassin]] in 2004. Rayan was a strong promoter between 1994 and 2004 of suicide bombings on Israel, and his son killed himself on one such mission. Rayan and most of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike during the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War]].

==Personal life==
Rayan was born in [[Jabalia]], [[Gaza Strip]] on 6 March 1959.<ref>[http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/01/01/63248.html الغارات الإسرائيلية على قطاع غزة تودي بحياة قيادي بارز في حماس] (alarabiya)</ref><ref>According to ''[[The Independent]]'', Rayan was born in 1956.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090105030307/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/profile-of-a-professor-who-was-prepared-for-martyrdom-1221114.html]</ref> In 1982, he received a BSc degree in Theology and Religious studies from [[Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University]] in [[Riyadh]], [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="ICT0209">{{cite news|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/590/currentpage/1/Default.aspx|title=The Mujaheed Sheikh - Dr. Nizar Rayyan The Islamic cleric of Iz A-Din Al Qassam Brigades|last= Fighel |first=Jonathan |date=2009-02-01|publisher=[[International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism]]|access-date=31 May 2009}}</ref> While there he was influenced by [[Wahhabi]]sm and Salafism.<ref name="ICT0209"/> He then attended the [[University of Jordan]] in [[Amman]] and in 1990 received a masters MSc degree with honors.<ref name="ICT0209"/> In 1994, Rayan completed his PhD in [[Islamic studies]] at the [[Omdurman Islamic University]] in [[Omdurman]], [[Sudan]].<ref name="ICT0209"/><ref name="Independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/profile-of-a-professor-who-was-prepared-for-martyrdom-1221114.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105030307/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/profile-of-a-professor-who-was-prepared-for-martyrdom-1221114.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 January 2009|title=Profile of a professor who was prepared for martyrdom|date=2 January 2009|work=The Independent|access-date=4 January 2009|location=London|first1=Said|last1=Ghazali|first2=Donald|last2=MacIntyre}}</ref><ref name="JPOST"/> His dissertation has the title of ''Future of Islam: Objective Analysis''.<ref name="ICT0209"/>

After his studies, Rayan returned to Gaza and was employed as an imam at several [[mosque]]s,<ref name="JPOST"/> Jabalia's Imad Aqil Mosque (also known as the "Mosque of martyrs") among them.<ref name="Nizar Rayan">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/03/obituary-nizar-rayan-hamas Nizar Rayan] ''UK Guardian'' 3 January 2009</ref><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28404637|title=Top Hamas figure killed in Israeli airstrike; Israel demands monitors as part of a Gaza truce|date=1 January 2009|publisher=NBC News|access-date=1 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="nydn"/> He later became a professor of [[Sharia|Islamic law]] at the [[Islamic University of Gaza]].<ref name=Jazeera>{{cite web|title=Israel kills senior Hamas figure|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200911133527449783.html|date=1 January 2009|access-date=1 January 2009|publisher=AlJazeera.Net}}</ref><ref name="haaretz">{{cite news|url=http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051880.html|title=IAF kills one of Hamas' top five leaders in Gaza|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Haaretz|access-date=1 January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103083524/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051880.html|archive-date=3 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=Hedges>{{cite news|url=http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/2009010_lost_in_the_rubble/|title=Lost in the Rubble|last=Hedges|first=Chris|date=2 January 2009|publisher=truthdig|access-date=4 June 2009}}</ref> Rayan was a leading authority on [[Hadith]] (sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and he amassed a 5,000-book library in his home.<ref name="JPOST"/> An Israeli intelligence source describes Rayan as a strong opponent of [[Shia Islam]], who opposed allowing any form of Shiia Islam to establish a foothold in Gaza and the West Bank.<ref name="ICT0209"/>

Eventually, according to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', Rayan became an important leader in Hamas, in particular an Islamic leader of Hamas's military wing,<ref name=JPOST>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230733134624 No tears for Hamas leader in Ramallah]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Jerusalem Post'', 1 January 2009.</ref> and he regularly went on patrol with Hamas militia after delivering lectures at the Islamic University.<ref name="nydn">[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/01/01/2009-01-01_israel_fells_key_hamas_strongman_escalat.html "Israel fells key Hamas strongman, escalating conflict; says it's ready for ground invasion"] ''New York Daily News'' 1 January 2009</ref> He arguably became Hamas's leading clerical authority after an Israeli airstrike killed [[Sheikh Ahmed Yassin]] in 2004.<ref name="Nizar Rayan"/>

Rayan along with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad began to strongly advocate for suicide bombings to be carried out against Israel in 1994.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSLS69391620090101?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews|title=Israeli strike kills senior Hamas leader|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Reuters|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref> According to [[Chris Hedges]] who interviewed him, Rayan constantly recalled that Hamas, "began to target Israeli civilians in 1994 only after Palestinian worshipers were gunned down in a Hebron mosque by a Jewish settler, [[Baruch Goldstein]]."<ref name=Hedges/>

In 2001, with Rayan's sent his 22-year-old son on a suicide bombing mission in which he died and killed two Israelis at the former [[Israeli settlement]] [[Elei Sinai]] in the Gaza Strip.<ref name="nydn"/><ref name="Reuters"/><ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7807430.stm "Obituary: Nizar Rayyan"] ''BBC'' 1 January 2009</ref><ref name="LAT"/><ref name="FOX"/><ref name="nypost"/><ref name="ynet_Nizar_Rayan">{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3648848,00.html|title=Hamas leader, 20 Palestinians killed in IAF strikes|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Ynet|access-date=1 January 2009}}</ref> Rayan is alleged to have directed the 2004 [[Ashdod Port attack]] which killed ten people.<ref name="JPOST"/><ref name="ynet_Nizar_Rayan"/><ref name="AJ-profile">{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/20091218131371179.html|title=Profile: Nizar Rayyan |date=4 January 2009|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=4 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOoQbn81BHaU&refer=home|title=Hamas Senior Official Rayyan Killed in Israeli Strike|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref> Hamas ceased its suicide attacks against Israel in 2005,<ref name="nydn"/><ref name="haaretz"/> but Rayan advocated for their renewal after the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict began.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4061004/Hardline-Hamas-leader-killed-in-air-strike-on-Gaza-home.html Hardline Hamas leader killed in air strike on Gaza home] ''The Telegraph'' 1 January 2009</ref>

Rayan was one of the main commanders who oversaw the [[2007 Battle of Gaza]], in which Hamas expelled Fatah from Gaza. [[Fatah]] security forces were militarily defeated, the battle resulting in the death of 115 fighters and 400 civilians. Both Hamas and Fatah were accused of atrocities, including torture, during the conflict.<ref name="nydn"/><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/exposing-the-bitter-truth-of-gaza-carnage/2007/06/22/1182019365851.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 Exposing the bitter truth of Gaza carnage] ''The Age (Australia)'' 23 June 2007</ref><ref name="ICRC">[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/220224/025f24b73a37ef712ad576eb84b22e84.htm "Gaza-Westbank–ICRC Bulletin No. 22/2007"] ''Reuters'' 15 June 2007</ref> According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', Rayan, "boasted that the Gaza Strip had been 'cleansed' of 'traitors' 'secularists' and 'CIA agents' - a reference to Abbas and his former security and intelligence chiefs."<ref name="JPOST"/> According to a Hamas spokesperson, it is possible the Fatah-dominated [[Palestinian National Authority]] asked Israel to kill Rayan due to his role in the Hamas-Fatah clashes.<ref name="JPOST"/> He added that Rayan was one of the main reasons why many of [[Mahmoud Abbas]]'s men "did not sleep well at all at night."<ref name="JPOST"/>

Rayan was strongly opposed to the state of Israel.<ref name="bbc"/> According to Israeli-American writer [[Jeffrey Goldberg]], he at one time stated, "True Islam would never allow a Jewish state to survive in the Arab and Muslim Middle East. Israel is an impossibility. It is an offense against God."<ref name="atlantic">{{cite news|url=http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/nizar_rayyan_of_hamas_on_gods.php|title=Nizar Rayyan of Hamas on God's Hatred of Jews |last=Goldberg|first=Jeffrey|date=2 January 2009|publisher=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=4 January 2009}}</ref> Goldberg also reported that Rayan said he believed [[Jew]]s are a "cursed people" some of whom were transformed into pigs and apes by [[Allah]],<ref name="atlantic"/> and that Jews must pay for murdering the prophets of Islam and "closing [their] ears to the Messenger of Allah."<ref name="atlantic"/>

Rayan married four women with whom he had twelve children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090102/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians;_ylt=AkDuL0ak7hKqxqgyI0IbnuSs0NUE |title=Israel destroys Hamas homes, flattens Gaza mosque |publisher=Yahoo News |access-date=2 January 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==Hamas takeover of Gaza==
{{see also|Islamization of the Gaza Strip}}

Following the 2007 takeover of Gaza, Rayan said that "In a few hours, the secular era in Gaza will end without leaving a trace... Today heresy and apostasy ends. Today the struggle is between Islam and the non-muslim infidels, and it will end with the victory of the faith." He added that he will transform the PA security forces headquarters in Gaza to a mosque. Following the speech, Fatah members expressed great fear that Hamas would transform Gaza into a Taliban-style Islamist emirate with Iranian and Syrian military support.<ref name=tweekly>{{cite news|title=Gaza May Turn into Taliban-Style Emirate|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/46388/gaza-may-turn-into-taliban-style-emirate.html|access-date=15 December 2012|newspaper=The Journal of Turkiah Weekly|date=20 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612040008/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/46388/gaza-may-turn-into-taliban-style-emirate.html|archive-date=12 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="barhoom">[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/14/content_6243726.htm Hamas says will not follow Taliban method in Gaza]. Xinhua, 14 June 2007</ref>

==Assassination==
[[File:Oferet-Yetzuka-F16I.jpg|thumb|right|Israeli F-16i of the [[107 Squadron (Israel)|107th Squadron]] preparing for take-off during Gaza War]]

Rayan was killed in an [[Israeli Air Force]] strike on 1 January 2009 during the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War]].<ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8zRJWJeLrh3ZOH6yd-Pui1oqekA Israel raids kill Hamas leader, take Gaza death toll past 400] AFP, 1 January 2009</ref> The day before the attack, Rayan had advocated renewal of suicide bombings on Israel, declaring, "Our only language with the Jews is through armed resistance and Jihad".<ref name="nydn" /> A 2,000-pound bomb was dropped on his house by an Israeli [[F-16]] fighter jet, also killing his 4 wives (Hiam 'Abdul Rahman Rayan, 46; Iman Khalil Rayan, 46; Nawal Isma'il Rayan, 40; and Sherine Sa'id Rayan, 25) and 11 of their children (As'ad, 2; Usama Ibn Zaid, 3; 'Aisha, 3; Reem, 4; Miriam, 5; Halima, 5; 'Abdul Rahman, 6; Abdul Qader, 12; Aaya, 12; Zainab, 15; and Ghassan, 16).<ref name="Reuters"/><ref name="FOX">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474824,00.html|title=Strike Kills Hamas Leader as Israel Demands Global Monitors for Truce|date=1 January 2009|publisher=FOX News|access-date=1 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=Harel>{{cite web|title=IDF targets senior Hamas figures|author=Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies, Amos Harel and Yoav Stern|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052052.html|date=2 January 2009|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=AP>{{cite web|title=Child casualties mount in besieged Gaza|author=The Associated Press|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]|date=1 January 2009|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/01/news/ML-Gaza-Children-Casualties.php|access-date=1 January 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/125-2008.html IOF Offensive on the Gaza Strip Continues for the 7th Consecutive Day] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013035135/http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/125-2008.html |date=13 October 2009 }} ''Palestinian Centre for Human Rights'' 15 January 2009</ref>

Unlike other Hamas leaders at risk of being targeted by Israel, Rayan did not go underground after the first Gaza war with Israel began in late December 2008.<ref name=Jazeera/><ref name="bbc"/><ref name="ynet_Nizar_Rayan"/><ref name="RNW">{{cite news|url=http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/090102-hamas-underground|title=Hamas has gone underground|last=Abdulrahman|first=Mohammed|date=1 January 2009|publisher=[[Radio Netherlands Worldwide]]|access-date=4 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106032239/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/090102-hamas-underground|archive-date=6 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to a Hamas spokesperson and Rayyan's son, the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] and [[Shin Bet]] warned Rayan by contacting his telephone that an attack on his house was imminent.<ref name="Independent"/><ref name="nydn"/><ref name="ynet_Nizar_Rayan"/><ref name =telegraph_rayan>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4061004/Hardline-Hamas-leader-killed-in-air-strike-on-Gaza-home.html|title=Hardline Hamas leader killed in air strike on Gaza home|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=1 January 2009|access-date=2 January 2009|location=London|first=Tim|last=Butcher}}</ref> An Israeli military spokesperson interviewed by ''[[The International Herald Tribune]]'' "could not give details or specify whether Rayyan's family had been warned."<ref name="IHT">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/02/africa/02mideast-passcnd.php?page|title=As bombing continues, Israel allows some foreigners to leave Gaza|last1=Kershner|first1=Isabel Kershner|author-link1=Isabel Kershner|first2=Taghreed |last2=El Khodary|author-link2=Taghreed El-Khodary|date=2 January 2009|publisher=International Herald Tribune|access-date=4 January 2009}}</ref>

[[Israeli Defence Forces|Israeli security]] sources stated that Rayan's house, at the time of the attack, was a munitions warehouse and communications center,<ref name="JPOST"/> and contained a tunnel opening.<ref name="ynet_Nizar_Rayan"/> The sources also stated that a weapons cache in the house triggered many secondary explosions immediately after the air strike.<ref name="nydn"/><ref name="nypost">{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/01012009/news/worldnews/israel_kills_top_hamas_figure_146785.htm|title=Israel Kills Top Hamas Figure|date=1 January 2009|work=New York Post|access-date=1 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=AP/> The ''[[Daily News (New York)|New York Daily News]]'' commented that Rayan had "sacrificed his children - in a vain attempt to protect a weapons base beneath his home."<ref name="nydn"/> Israeli security forces legal officials regard striking homes used for weapons storage, when sufficient warning is given to the residents, as falling within the boundaries of international law and a legitimate act of war.<ref name="ict_nizar_rayan">{{cite web|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/590/currentpage/1/Default.aspx|title=The Mujaheed Sheikh - Dr. Nizar Rayyan - The Spiritual Mentor of Iz A-Din Al Qassam Brigades|date=4 January 2009|publisher=ICT}}</ref> However, according to [[B'Tselem]] (The Israeli Center for Human Rights Information in the Occupied Territories), even if the Israeli charge that Rayan's house was an arms warehouse were true, the large number of civilian lives taken rendered the attack "a grave breach of international humanitarian law." The Israeli NGO added that, given the Israeli military "knew or should have known" that civilians had not left Rayan's house, warning Rayan of the impending attack did not exempt Israeli forces from responsibility for the civilian deaths.<ref>[http://www.btselem.org/english/gaza_strip/20090104_killing_of_nizar_rian_and_13_family_member.asp The killing of Nizar Rayan and 15 members of his family] ''B'Tselem'' 4 January 2009</ref> According to the Israeli Government report published in July 2009, Nizar Rayan was not the target of the attack; instead, the operational goal of the strike was to destroy Hamas' central compound which included several buildings that served as storage sites for weapons that included missiles and rockets. The report further states that specific phone calls to the residents of the targeted buildings were made, as well as three rounds of preliminary warning shots, 13 minutes and 9 minutes before the strike, were fired; a group of the residents leaving the building were seen by IDF surveillance, leading to a reasonable conclusion that the buildings were empty. The IDF suggests that in this case laws of armed conflict were not violated, as the strike was directed at proper military objective and at-risk civilians were issued effective advance warnings.<ref name="Factual and Legal Aspects">[http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/E89E699D-A435-491B-B2D0-017675DAFEF7/0/GazaOperation.pdf Factual and Legal Aspects], IMFA, July 2009</ref>

Rayan was the most senior Hamas member assassinated since [[Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi]] was killed by an Israeli Apache helicopter strike in 2004.<ref name="LAT">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza2-2009jan02,0,2260601.story|title=Israeli strike kills a top Hamas leader in Gaza|date=1 January 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=1 January 2009|first1=Ashraf|last1=Khalil|first2=Ahmed|last2=Burai}}</ref> Hamas said that Israel would pay a "heavy price" for his death.<ref name="nydn"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayan, Nizar}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:People from North Gaza Governorate]]
[[Category:Palestinian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Hamas members]]
[[Category:Palestinian refugees]]
[[Category:University of Jordan alumni]]
[[Category:Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University alumni]]
[[Category:Omdurman Islamic University alumni]]
[[Category:Islamic University of Madinah alumni]]
[[Category:Islamic University of Gaza faculty]]
[[Category:Deaths by airstrike]]
[[Category:Assassinated Palestinian politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated Hamas members]]
[[Category:20th-century imams]]
[[Category:21st-century imams]]

Nizar Rayan - Revision history

->GreenC bot: Rescued 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5