Islamism in the Gaza Strip
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Islamism in the Gaza Strip involves efforts to promote and impose Islamic laws and traditions in the Gaza Strip. The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown since the 1980s. Following Hamas' victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections and a conflict with supporters of the rival Fatah party, Hamas took complete control of the Gaza Strip,[1][2][3] and declared the "end of secularism and heresy in the Gaza Strip".[4] For the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, a Muslim Brotherhood group rules a significant geographic territory.[5] Gaza human-rights groups accuse Hamas of restricting many freedoms.[2]
According to a Human Rights Watch researcher, the Hamas-controlled government of Gaza stepped up its efforts to "Islamize" Gaza in 2010, efforts that included the "repression" of civil society and "severe violations of personal freedom".[6] Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in 2009 that "Hamas is gradually turning the Gaza Strip into a Taliban-style Islamic entity".[7] According to Mkhaimar Abusada, a political-science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University, "Ruling by itself, Hamas can stamp its ideas on everyone (...) Islamizing society has always been part of Hamas strategy."[8]
Restrictions on women
Dress code
Successful coercion of women by sectors of society to wear Islamic dress or
After taking control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas tried to enforce Islamic law in the territory, imposing the hijab on women at courts, institutions and schools.[12][13][14]
Some of the Islamization efforts met resistance. When Palestinian Supreme Court Justice Abdel Raouf Al-Halabi ordered female lawyers to wear headscarves and caftans in court, attorneys contacted satellite television stations including Al Arabiya to protest, causing Hamas' Justice Ministry to cancel the directive.[8]
In 2007, Islamic group Swords of Truth threatened to
Other restrictions
In 2009, Hamas banned girls from riding behind men on
The Hamas-led government briefly implemented, then revoked, a ban on women smoking in public.[17] In 2010, Hamas banned the smoking of hookah by women in public, stating that it was to reduce the increasing number of divorces.[18]
In March 2010, Hamas tried to impose a ban on women receiving salon treatment from male
In 2013, UNRWA canceled its annual marathon in Gaza after Hamas rulers prohibited women from participating in the race.[22]
In 2015, Hamas banned New Year's Eve celebrations based on the Gregorian calendar, stating that such celebrations "offended the territory's values and religious traditions." This was after the Islamic New Year had begun in October.[23]
Detention of Asma al-Ghul
In 2009,
Polygamy
Polygamy has burgeoned under the Hamas government, despite the fact that the overall rate of marriage has decreased.[25][26]
Music and Internet
Beginning in October 2006, during the
In 2007, the Gaza Strip's
The Islamist group Swords of Truth claimed responsibility for bombing Internet cafes, music shops and pool halls, which they considered places of vice. The assailants used to detonate small bombs outside businesses at night, causing damage but no injuries. Hamas spokesman Ismail Ridwan denied any connection with the group.[15]
In April 2010, Hamas sent police to break up the Gaza Strip's first major
In 2013, Islamic religious leaders were critical of the Arab Idol singing contest, describing voting for songs as immoral, evil, sinful and a "crime against the cause of our people".[30]
In August 2021, Islamic State (ISIS)-inspired groups in the Gaza Strip accused Bianco Resort, one of the Gaza Strip’s most luxurious seaside tourist sites, of holding a music concert for men and women, before attacking the resort with an explosive device.[31]
Book banning
There is widespread banning of books in the Gaza Strip. In 2007, the banning of a book of Palestinian folktales, "Speak, Bird, Speak Again", which is a collection of 45 Palestinian folk tales, because of some supposedly lewd content, caused an outcry.[32] The Palestinian novelist Zakariya Mohammed warned that Hamas' decision to ban the book was "only the beginning" and he urged intellectuals to take action. He said: "If we don't stand up to the Islamists now, they won't stop confiscating books, songs and folklore".[33]
Children's summer camps
In May 2010, a previously unknown militant group calling itself "
In a separate incident in June 2010, a group of about two dozen armed and masked men attacked a UNRWA summer camp in Gaza. The assailants tied up an unarmed guard, then tried to set fire to two tents and a perimeter fence. They also used knives, slashing a plastic swimming pool, blow-up slide and toys. John Ging called it a "cowardly and despicable" attack. Hamas condemned the attack and said it was investigating.[34]
Water park
In 2010, human rights activists said that Hamas stepped up its efforts to impose strict Islamic teachings in the Gaza Strip. Crazy Water Park, one of the Gaza Strip's most popular entertainment sites, was closed down by Hamas for allowing mixed bathing. Two weeks later, the site was set on fire by a group of unknown gunmen. The Hamas government issued a strong condemnation and promised to pursue the perpetrators. The government had already a week earlier ordered the closure of Crazy Water Park for three weeks due to it not having a proper license.[35]
Although it is not clear which Islamist group was behind the action, Islamist militants who objected to mixed-gender socializing destroyed Gaza's water park.[1][2][36][37]
Other prohibitions
The "Islamic Endowment Ministry" created by the Hamas administration has deployed Virtue Committee members to warn people of the dangers of
It was reported that young Palestinians in Gaza were being targeted by Islamist gunmen and Hamas security forces for wearing hair gel, with some of them being beaten and shaved against their will.[40]
In 2008, Hamas instructed the main Palestinian telecoms company,
Men are banned from
Hamas banned public dog walking in May 2017, stating it was to "protect our women and children". Hamas officials stated that the ban was in response to a rise in dog walking on the streets which they stated was "against culture and traditions in Gaza".[43]
Effects on Christian population
In 2007, about 3,000 Gazans were Christian, out of the total population of 1.5 million.
The Islamization of Gaza has put increasing pressure on the tiny Christian minority.[47] Following the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, a rival group to Hamas,[48] announced the opening of a "military wing" to enforce Muslim law in Gaza. "I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza."[49] Sheik Saqer has asserted that there is "no need" for Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory and demanded that Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."[50]
In October 2007, Rami Khader Ayyad, owner of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, was abducted, beaten and murdered, after his bookstore was firebombed by an unidentified group attacking targets associated with Western influence. According to Ayyad's family and neighbors, he had regularly received anonymous death threats from people angered by his missionary work. Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas in Gaza, condemned Ayyad's killing and said Hamas "would not allow anyone to sabotage Muslim-Christian relations." Hamas officials made visits to Christian community, and its spokesman promised to bring those responsible to justice. No group claimed responsibility for the murder.[44][51][52]
Ayyad's funeral was attended by 300 Muslims and Christians. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated "This ugly act has no support by any religious group here."[45]
In 2012, a public protest was organized by dozens of Christians who claimed that two Christians were forcibly converted to Islam and were being held against their will. According to two mediators, the two Christians embraced Islam of their own free will. The conversions have the minority Christian population worried, and Huda Al-Amash, the mother of one of the converts, Ramez, stated, "If things remain like this, there'll be no Christians left in Gaza." Gaza's Archbishop Alexious said that the converts should be returned to their families.[53][54]
Criticism by Palestinians
Islamic emirate in Gaza
According to Francesca Giovannini of the University of California Berkeley, a growing number of analysts have denounced openly the "systematic, massive and explicit efforts" at Talibanization led by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.[56]
Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in 2009 that Hamas is gradually turning the Gaza Strip into a Taliban-style Islamic entity.[7]
In the same year,
The fact is that Hamas is a Taliban state, as one Israeli diplomat put it. This is almost an epiphany, a clarifying truth. Hamas operates against its Palestinian enemies like the Taliban does against its Afghani enemies. Imagine a Hamas squad enters a kindergarten in a kibbutz. Neither the Taliban nor Hamas strive for earthly aims. Armed with instruments of death, they each fight for a heavenly design. But on earth.... The Taliban are not analogous to Hamas. They are identical, equivalent. A ceasefire with Hamas is a delusion. Engage with whom?[57]
Director general of the Palestinian interior ministry,
In 2008, Following the bitter Fatah–Hamas conflict, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, warned the Palestinian people against Hamas: "Hamas have brought Hizballah and Iran... This is a struggle against the Emirate of Darkness and Backwardness. Gaza will turn into a Taliban-style Islamic emirate with Iranian and Syrian support."[60]
Al-Ayyam columnist, Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar, called Hamas "the new Taliban" and wrote: "How will the mini-state of the new Taliban [i.e. Hamas] manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip under a suffocating international siege?... Will they implement the laws of Islam?... An Islamic state [ruled by] the new Taliban has become a reality in Gaza."[61]
See also
References
- ^ a b Militants torch Gaza water park shut down by Hamas Archived 2020-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Haaretz 19-09-2010
- ^ a b c Gunmen torch Gaza beach club shuttered by Hamas Archived 2012-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, AFP 19-09-2010
- ^ "The Beleaguered Christians of the Palestinian-Controlled Areas, by David Raab". Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ Khaled Abu Toameh, "Haniyeh Calls for Palestinian Unity", Jerusalem Post, June 15, 2007
- ^ a b c d e Jonathan Schanzer (August 19, 2009). "The Talibanization of Gaza: A Liability for the Muslim Brotherhood" (PDF). Current Trends in Islamist Ideology (9). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ^ "In Gaza, prisoners twice over; Palestinians are being squeezed by the Israeli blockade and Hamas' 'Islamizing' actions," Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine Bill Van Esveld (a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch), June 27, 2010, Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Khaled Abu Toameh, As Hamas Tightens Its Grip Archived 2009-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, HudsonNY.org 07-08-2009
- ^ a b c Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine By Daniel Williams, Bloomberg, November 30, 2009
- ^ "Women and the Hijab in the Intifada", Rema Hammami Archived 2022-10-31 at the Wayback Machine Middle East Report, May–August 1990
- ^ Rubenberg, C., Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank (USA, 2001) p.230
- ^ Rubenberg, C., Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank (USA, 2001) p.231
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- ^ Women, the Hijab and the Intifada Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, Middle East Research and Information Project
- ^ a b c Hamas tries to detain woman walking with man Archived 2015-04-06 at the Wayback Machine, July 8, 2009, Diaa Hadid, The Guardian
- ^ [1] Archived 2017-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters 8-10-2009
- ^ Gaza ban on women smoking pipes Archived 2020-11-11 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, 19 July 2010, The Independent.
- ^ Blomfield, Adrian (18 July 2010). "Women banned from smoking hookah pipes in Gaza". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ Hamas orders male hairstylists out of lady salons Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press (published in the Jerusalem Post 21-02-2011)
- ^ Hamas bans men from women's hair salons in Gaza Archived 2017-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters 05-03-2010
- ^ Gaza police order male hairdressers to quit working Archived 2022-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian 23-02-2011
- ^ "UN cancels Gaza marathon over Hamas ban on women". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Hamas bans New Year's Eve parties in Gaza". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ a b c Khaled Abu Toameh, 'They accused me of laughing in public' Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine, Jerusalem Post 04-08-2009
- ^ al Waheidi, Majd (4 June 2017). "Gaza Dating Site Matches Widows to Men Seeking 2nd (or 3rd) Wife". New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ Al Ghoul, Asmaa (18 March 2015). [Gaza's unhappy sister wives "Gaza's unhappy sister wives"]. Al-Monitor. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
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value (help) - ^ "Suspected vice squad of Muslim militants targeting Gaza Internet cafes, music shops". Haaretz.com. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ Gaza gets its own 'religious police' Archived 2017-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Arabiya 08-10-2007
- ^ a b Militants attack U.N. Gaza summer camp Archived 2022-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters 23-05-2010
- ^ "Gaza singer wins 'Arab Idol'". ynet. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Gaza resort bombed for holding mixed-gender concert". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 8 August 2021.
- ^ Jonathan Spyer, Analysis: The Islamic republic of Gaza Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine, Jerusalem Post 29-09-2009
- ^ Hamas orders book of Palestinian folk tales pulled from schools Archived 2010-09-16 at the Wayback Machine, Tuesday, 6 March 2007. By Mohammed Daraghmeh and Dalia Nammari, Associated Press.
- ^ UN summer camp in Gaza attacked, The Telegraph 28-06-2010
- ^ Gaza water park burned down after shut down by Hamas Archived 2010-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, Jerusalem Post, Khaled Abu Toameh, 09/19/2010
- ^ Gaza water park torched after shuttered by Hamas Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press 19-09-2010 (reprinted in the Jerusalem Post)
- ^ Gaza: Assailants set fire to water park Archived 2013-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, Ma'an News Agency 19-09-2010
- ^ [2] Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine" Report: Gaza water park closed due to gender-mixed parties," 08/22/2010, Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Gunmen torch Gaza resort Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, 19-09-2010
- ^ 'This is too much': Man seized by police, beaten and shaved for using hair gel in Gaza, 30-04-2013
- ^ "AFP: Hamas takes aim at Internet porn in Gaza". Archived from the original on October 5, 2012.
- ^ "Hamas bans pornographic websites in Gaza Strip". Reuters. 2008-05-19.
- ^ "Hamas bans dog walking through the Gaza Strip to 'protect women and children'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
- ^ a b "After murder, Gaza's Christians keep low profile". NBC News. Associated Press. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ a b Eric Silver (2007-10-08). "Gaza's Christian bookseller killed". The Independent. London.
- ^ Greenwood, Phoebe (23 December 2011). "Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "'I know how to make you a Muslim'; The murder of a young Baptist bookseller has Gaza's small Christian community on edge," Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Catrin Ormestad, November 1, 2007, Haaretz.
- ^ "Tested by fire", Mindy Belz, worldmag.com, 2010-05-08.
- ^ Klein, Aaron (June 19, 2007). "'Christians must accept Islamic rule'". Ynetnews – via www.ynetnews.com.
- ^ "Christian Bookstore Owner Was Tortured Before His Death," Archived 2018-11-22 at the Wayback Machine Aaron Klein, October 11, 2007, New York Sun.
- ^ Hendricks, Shawn (2007-10-09). "Slain Baptist in Gaza had gentle but bold witness". Baptist Press. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Palestinian Christian activist found dead in Gaza City". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Hadid, Diaa (16 July 2012). "Gaza Christians protest 'forcible conversions'". Boston. Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ "Gaza Christians protest 'forcible conversions'". CBS News. 16 July 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza, by Khaled Al-Hroub, Al-Ayyam (Palestinian Authority), October 11, 2010. Translation Archived 2010-10-24 at the Wayback Machine by the Middle East Research Institute, October 22, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-415-77936-4. page 162. "A growing number of analysts have denounced openly the systematic, massive and explicit efforts at 'Talibanization' led by Hamas in the Strip."
- ^ Don't stop until Hamas is destroyed Martin Peretz. The Australian. January 2, 2009
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- ^ HAMAS AND GLOBAL JIHAD: THE ISLAMIZATION OF THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE. Circunstancia. Año VII – N° 18 – Enero 2009. By Jonathan Fighel.
- ISBN 978-1-4128-1155-2. p. 20
- ^ Al-Ayyam (PA), June 16, 2007, Fears of a Taliban-Style Emirate in Gaza Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, as translated by MEMRI, Special Dispatch No.1633