The West has often approached Hamas as monolithic and static. However, careful analysis reveals that the movement is flexible and fluid. Hamas actually provides its own discourse that offers an ever-changing framework of identity formation. By one merely labeling the group as a "terrorist" organization, the potential for comprehensive analysis is not only undermined but is reduced to focusing on the group's actions and doctrinal aspects of its charter. Although some scholars have begun serious indepth studies and research into the Islamic Resistance Movement as a dynamic group within a broader context of socio-economic and cultural factors influenced and generated by the Nakba and subsequent Israeli occupation, the gender ideology of Hamas as well as other Islamic movements has been greatly ignored. Not only has the gender ideology of Islamic movements been sketchy but that also the women militants and their role(s) have been neglected in the study of Islamic movements.

Paper presented to the 5th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, May 1, 2009.Research completed at the Department of Women's Studies, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and SciencesResearch completed at the Center for Women's Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences