Nizar Rayan

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Nizar Rayan (Arabic: نزار ريان, Nɩzár Rɑȋán, also transliterated Rayyan; 6 March 1959 – 1 January 2009) was a high-ranking Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing. Also a professor of Islamic law, he became a top Islamic cleric within Hamas after the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004. Rayan was a strong promoter between 1994 and 2004 of suicide bombings on Israel, and his son killed himself on one such mission. Ray