Sunday, February 27, 2011

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - The sad experience of Gaza

Gaza was already known as a very traditional and conservative society well before Hamas took control does [June 2007]. Its population is dense and composed primarily of Palestinian refugees who have long suffered from poverty and a sense of abandonment. But since his coup, Hamas has stepped up its efforts and activities to Islamize the social life of Gazans.

The process of Islamization is implemented by the Hamas government and its security apparatus, as well as by groups of da'wa [Islamic sermon], who go door to door urging residents to adhere to Islamic laws and adopt the hijab and the traditional dress. Hamas does not merely impose the Islamic social codes in everyday life: it also has its grip on the social, educational and religious indoctrinating the people and inculcating Islamic values.

With the exception of schools run by UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, the formal education system in Gaza is controlled by Hamas. This is partly explained by the general strike of teachers initiated at the beginning of the school year 2008-2009. Hamas has found an opportunity here to replace teachers who convey his ideology.

In August 2009, at the beginning of the school year, the Ministry of Education Hamas has imposed the wearing of the hijab to school girls and transferred the male teachers in boys' schools. Among the most visible signs of Islamization of the society include increasing the number of bearded men and women wearing the hijab or veil in the streets of Gaza.

While some of these men let themselves grow a beard for religious reasons, women simply do not wish to be bothered by the "morality police" created by Hamas, which the groups form a network of civilian volunteers who belong to associations Islamic charities and involved in cultural affairs, educational and religious.

During the summer of 2010, Gazans have attended the enhanced role of the police. Officers wear a black uniform and patrol the beaches of Gaza to ensure that men and women who have no family relationship does not speak and they are dressed "appropriately". Besides beaches, the morality police monitor public places, streets and mixed universities, and punishes any suspicious behavior and immoral.

Hamas is trying to Islamize the Gaza Strip in a phased manner to avoid causing the neighboring Arab countries and the international community. If the party has always denied accusations that he would seek to convert the Gaza Strip in Islamic emirate, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader said during a recent interview with Reuters: "Is it a crime to Islamize people? I am a Muslim and I live here according to our tradition.

Why should I live according to your tradition [Western]? "

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