Amid revolutionary change in the Middle East, the forces of political Islam have scored one electoral victory after another. As the West grapples with the rapid rise of moderate Islamists in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, the issue of Hamas' role in the Palestinian territories looms large.
The signing of a new unity deal between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah party earlier this month has heightened an unprecedented struggle within Hamas over its future course as an Islamist movement. How the West responds could very well influence the outcome.
As events in recent weeks have proven, Hamas' days of near-total isolation in the Middle East are over. While most Western governments continue to consider it a terrorist organization, in Arab capitals, political embargoes have given way to engagement.