Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook
| Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook موسى محمد أبو مرزوق |
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| Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau | |
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In office 1997 – present |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 January 1951 Rafah, Gaza Strip |
| Political party |
Hamas Islamic Association of Palestine |
| Residence | New Cairo, Egypt |
| Alma mater |
Ain Shams University Colorado State University Louisiana Tech University |
| Profession | Engineer |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook (Arabic: موسى محمد أبو مرزوق; born 9 January 1951) is a Palestinian senior member of Hamas.
Marzook's parents were from Yibna, Mandatory Palestine (now Yavne, Israel). They became refugees after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and were forced to move to the Rafah camp in the Gaza Strip. Marzook was born there on 9 January 1951. He completed high school in Gaza, studied engineering in Cairo until 1976, and then looked for work in the Persian Gulf. He continued his studies in the U.S. obtaining a master's degree in construction management from Colorado State University and a doctorate in industrial engineering from Louisiana Tech.
Marzook has been active in the Islamic political work since 1968, Marzook played a significant role in reorganizing Hamas after the mass arrest of its members in 1989. Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar credits Abu Marzook's fundraising prowess, and his connections to Muslim donors in the US and Europe with saving the organization and developing its infrastructure in Gaza, including social service programs. Israel claims that some funds were used for attacks against Israel, a charge that Abu Marzouk denies. Abu Marzook was elected as the first Hamas political bureau chief in 1992, and since 1997 has been deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. Marzook founded the Islamic Association of Palestine.
Marzook began to live in Jordan and his stay there lasted from 1998 to 2001. Then he began to live in Damascus, Syria in 2001. As of 2012, Marzook lives in New Cairo, Egypt.
In the mid-1990s Marzook was arrested in JFK airport with no formal charges placed against him. Two months after his detainment, Israel filed a request for the United States to extradite him. With the legal council of a Jewish lawyer by the name of Stanley L. Cohen, he spent the following 2 years fighting his case in the court system, but the final decision was for his extradition, after which Israel dropped its extradition request. With no formal charges against him the United States released him, but not wanting him to remain, the United States contacted numerous Arab countries to allow Marzook residency. All refused, except Jordan, which reportedly agreed under U.S. pressure. Cohen continues to legally represent Marzook.
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