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Mispronunciation of "Hamas" and its implications
It's pronounced Hamas with an h. Like house, not khouse. Like happy, not khappy. It's an Arabic acronym for Arabic words and so it has an 'h' sound.
If you are hearing "khamas" then that is a Hebrew pronunciation. Don't repeat it, it's not accurate.
I've heard some western journalists pronounce it this way and it is worrying. It automatically tells me though which way they lean, or where their sources of information are from primarily when I do hear it this way.
Fun fact: in Hebrew the word "khamas" means "violence". Is the mispronunciation intentional? Maybe, probably. Instead of treating it as a foreign word and pronouncing it with an 'h' - Israelis pronounce it "khamas" and to them this means violence. This then associates the group with violence, Gaza with violence, Palestinian people with violence etc. etc.
Hamas stands for Harakat al Muqawama al Islamiya. Translated as Islamic Resistance Movement.
"Hamas" is an acronym for the group and also an Arabic word with its own meaning at the same. Hamas can be translated to enthusiasm, passion, or zeal. So one could say for example "she spoke with hamas" meaning "she spoke with passion."
