Mashal was born in 1956 in Silwad in the Jordanian-ruled West Bank.[11] He attended Silwad Elementary School until fifth grade.[2] His father, Abd al-Qadir Mashal,[12] was a farmer (fellah) and had moved to Kuwait in 1957 to work in agriculture and as an imam.[2] He had participated in the 1936–1939 Arab revolt with the Palestinian guerilla leader Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni.[2] Mashal's half-brother is the former Al-Sakhra Band singer and former Dallas Public Works and Transportation Department eng