'Re-Islamising' Palestinian Society 'From Below': Hamas and Higher Education in Gaza

This essay is a contribution to the field of studies that explores how Islamist movements promote social and educational activities 'from below'. It approaches the issue of Islamism and higher education through the efforts of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and its reformist educational activities at the Islamic University of Gaza, which is a major stronghold of the movement. The essay illustrates how the university defines and understands its role in Palestinian society. It offers empirical data and further insights into the ways in which young students respond to and absorb the leadership's efforts to carry out what might be described as the 're-Islamisation' processes of Palestinian society 'from below': the Islamic state in Palestine would be the result of a gradual, incremental process of 're-Islamisation', to be achieved primarily by education and social action 'from the bottom up'.