History necessarily changes, in nature and in human affairs alike. In the life of peoples, though, change is not as quick as in a single person’s life — it takes long years in the movement of history. At Al-Huras we strive for national liberation, so we must draw lessons, insights and meaning from national liberation movements. We firmly believe that the greatest experience in all of history in freeing people from bondage to worldly things that demean the human being is the call of the Master of Creation, God’s Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. From this, and from other experiences — the Vietnamese, Algerian and African ones, and of course the Palestinian — we see with certainty that such change needs a leadership with a sound core, one that has a clear vision. Joining this leadership and realising the vision requires people who hold two firm convictions: faith that victory is inevitable, and readiness to sacrifice.
Theory, ideas and hypotheses, polished words and fine speeches, essays and stirred emotions are worth nothing at all against the horror of what the Zionist project is doing on the land of Palestine and the injustice it inflicts on the whole region. These intellectual foundations must therefore become convictions that shape human behaviour — behaviour must spring from them. Any talk of national work must likewise begin by setting the yardstick by which things are measured and through which criticism is made. Every person has their own thoughts and feelings; but when we speak of someone who wants to be a leader with a clear vision, firmly convinced that victory is inevitable and ready to sacrifice, what lies between conviction and sacrifice is behaviour. And how do we tell right behaviour from wrong? Simply by recognising that a behavioural error is a contradiction between what a staff member does and what they believe — in other words, a contradiction between faith and conduct. A Muslim, for example, cannot proclaim the oneness of God in word and associate partners with Him in practice; and nobody can call for national liberation in word while buying products that support the occupation in practice.
That is why the framework of behaviour has to be unified through what we call the Code of Ethics. Ethics are the behaviours that people have adopted, established and agreed upon, and that are naturally upheld by God Almighty in His Holy Book, the Sunnah of His noble Prophet, or both.
It also makes things easier for staff, both in dealing with themselves and with the public. We set out the agreed behaviours here to make criticism easier, to reinforce and build on right behaviour, to deter wrong behaviour and help those who fall into it to leave it behind. It also protects Al-Huras from any behavioural deviation that could lead to sabotage, excess or fanaticism, or to breaking with religion, the law, ethics or custom.
Destructive conduct is conduct whose results undermine national liberation, wreck its chance of continuing, kill its vitality and crush the hopes people place in it.
At Al-Huras we see that destructive conduct may be intentional or unintentional, and each needs different measures depending on the context and circumstances. A deliberate ethical violation calls for strict measures that may go as far as dismissal. An unintentional mistake that comes from limited awareness or weak skills, on the other hand, gives the staff member the right to learn from it — and the right to be taught and developed by us. This is a firm conviction in our grassroots institutional work. But if the same unintentional mistake is repeated in the same context, we treat it as a contradiction between faith and conduct, and strict measures follow.
Likewise, when a staff member develops illegitimate personal ambitions, puts private interest before the common good and begins to build a power base or a faction as a first step towards conflict or a split, these compounded complications call for serious self-purification. They are handled with intensive psychological, skills-based and legal measures at the same time — but also firmly and very seriously, keeping the higher interests of the work in view.
By its very nature Al-Huras fights opportunistic conduct: conduct that ties personal gain to a passing interest of Al-Huras, that climbs on other people’s efforts and denies them credit in order to seize a moment or profit from a situation. The only way to deal with it is openness, criticism and firm, proper action that protects the volunteer efforts of young people — for such conduct is fundamentally at odds with readiness to sacrifice.
Because these matters are complex, we have organised them simply and directly. Applying them is a binding duty on Al-Huras staff, to protect the work, keep it going and achieve its goals, mission and vision. Protection is both internal and external. Internally, it means protecting myself from any behavioural deviation, watching myself closely, keeping my intentions pure, and judging my thoughts and actions fairly and regularly. Externally, it means protecting the work in all its areas by following the conduct of those I am responsible for (the team I work with or lead). On this basis the Code of Ethics is divided into seven chapters (areas), set out below after we explain the core ethical dimension of Al-Huras.