Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization. Hamas gained popularity in Palestinian society by establishing hospitals, education systems, libraries and other services, but it has also claimed responsibility for a number of suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians, and was designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Israel, Japan, Canada, and the United States.
