Monday, January 30, 2006

Hamas: Time to Read Up................


Is this a sign of a fashion statement, or a reflection of delusional behaviour? Either way, it sends alarm bells my way. Mr. Abu Teir, once a member of the secular Fatah movement, spent 25 years in Israeli jails, where he converted to Islam and emerged as a leader respected by his fellow prisoners. With his henna-dyed, flaming orange beard, he is one of the Islamist movement's best-known faces and is widely expected to be named to a senior cabinet post when Hamas reveals the shape of the next government. He looks like a cross between "Father Who" from the Grinch who carves the roast beast and Eugene Levy in a fake beard with a sprinkle of zaniness thrown in for good measure. Take a look at those eyes?

Democracy ruled the day. Palestinians elected a majority government, run by Hamas. Why did they? Lured by having their basic needs met while struggling in a life of poverty under a corruptive government, they voted to turf out the old and bring in the new. Gee, sounds familiar! However, I think that's as far as that comparison can go. Hamas is a recognized terrorist party. Hamas is dangerously fanatical. Hamas' intentions should be taken seriously and monitored by all. It ran their campaign focused on attacking corruption within the Palestinian Authority and on the failed peace process, and has yet to set out a definitive social agenda beyond its mantra "Islam is the solution."

According to Abu Teir, incoming Hamas government will move quickly to make Islamic sharia “a source” of law in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and will overhaul the Palestinian education system to separate boys and girls and introduce a more Islamic curriculum, a senior official in the movement said yesterday. How far will this be taken?

Mr. Abu Teir, who was No. 2 on the Hamas list of candidates for Wednesday's election, said introducing sharia — a controversial moral and legal code based on the Koran — would be the first act of the new Hamas-controlled Palestinian Legislative Council. " Sharia has a soul in it and is good for all occasions,” Mr. Abu Teir said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

Under the Sharia law, woman must conform to many customs that promote inferiority. How they dress, who them marry, what they can study, what types of jobs they may have, whom they can communicate with.........the list is endless. The rights of women are greatly diminished under Sharia. It's not known how far Abu Teir and his fervent friends will take the customs. But, it's evident already that there is a fear permeating the middle east that life is going to change violently.

Sharia is just one example of the change. The underlying hatred and strong beliefs in fighting for what they believe is theirs? That has no end.


Robert Fulghum, the author of "All I really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" is quoted as saying: "An examined life is no picnic." It's true. Sometimes when you take the time to examine your own edges, you find things about yourself and your life that are painful to assess.

I think you can also say............An examine issue is no picnic too. For years, I have paid half attention to the middle east furor; the complicated history of religious fevency and conflict. I read about the terrorist bombings, about the fanatical religious groups, the kidnappings, the torture. I am cognizant of the atrocities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, the West Bank and on and on and on.......... Maybe it was just too big to get my head around it. Maybe it just seems so unresolvable. It is and it does..........still.


However, something twigged in me last week when I watched the Palestinan election news. I knew it was more than time for me to learn more about the Middle East and start asking questions. So, I've been reading and I will continue to read, despite the enormity of the problem, and despite the fact that I can't do anything about it. It's time that we all pay more attention to these Islamic terrorist groups.

My head is out of the sand. Is yours?


Hamas...Sharia.......terrorists......Taliban.......extremist.......

suicide bombings..............will peace ever be an option?

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