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Hamas, the Haram, Prevents some Palestinians from Making the Hajj
IsraPundit ^ | November 30, 2008 | Andrew L. Jaffee

Posted on 12/01/2008 9:39:31 AM PST by dbz77

Hamas is supposedly a devout, orthodox Muslim group. If that were true, Hamas would fully comply with Sharia (Islamic law). The group would be halal, “an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted.” In fact, Hamas is acting quite haram, which “means unlawful or prohibited.” Haram is the opposite of halal. In the last few days, we find that Hamas is prohibiting certain Muslim Palestinians from leaving Gaza to attend the “Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca [which] is one of the five pillars of Islam. … An adult Muslim of a sane mind, an able body and having means to bear the expenses must perform this act of worship once in his/her lifetime. There should be peace on the way to Mecca and there should be no hindrance or restriction in traveling to Mecca.”

Apparently, this blatant religious discrimination against some Palestinian Muslims is being enforced because of Hamas’ long grudge against, and violent history with Fatah, the other half of the deeply-divided Palestinian community. It wasn’t very long ago when Hamas and Fatah fought an extremely violent civil war. From the Jerusalem Post , entitled “Hamas prevents Muslim pilgrims from leaving Gaza:”

Hamas police set up checkpoints across Gaza on Saturday to prevent pilgrims from leaving for a holy Muslim ritual in Saudi Arabia, beating some who tried to dodge barriers, witnesses said.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, was upset that the pilgrims had coordinated their journey with Hamas’ rival, the Palestinian Authority. The authority, based in the West Bank, is run by Hamas’ bitter rival, the Fatah movement. The crackdown on the pilgrims highlights the depth of the bitterness between the two groups.

Egypt criticized Hamas’s actions as unbecoming of an Islamic movement.

The pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is meant to be undertaken by Muslims at least once in a lifetime, and is considered a great event for believers.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah-allied forces last year, and animosity between the rivals has growing in recent months. …

Witnesses said police sent back cars that appeared to carry pilgrims.

“They called us traitor pilgrims,” said a man who identified himself as a pilgrim to a Gaza television station.

Some pilgrims managed to dodge checkpoints by taking back roads to the Rafah crossing with Egypt. There, Hamas police beat up those who refused to leave, said pilgrims speaking on a call-in show on the pro-Fatah Palestine Television.

“They were beating us with sticks and their rifle butts,” said one man who identified himself as a pilgrim. “There was tear gas. It looked like an action movie,” he said.

A woman called in, saying her mother, a pilgrim, was beaten on her hand and needed treatment. …

If only more people would recognize the extremely dysfunctional nature of Palestinian society, they might empathize with Israel, and understand how difficult it is for the Jewish state to engage in any type of productive peace negotiations with two terrorist groups, both of which claim to be the sole representative of the Palestinian people. ________


TOPICS: Religion; Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: andrewljaffee; gaza; islam; mohammedanism; mohammedanism122008; sandnazi

1 posted on 12/01/2008 9:39:31 AM PST by dbz77
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...

Thanks Ernest for:

Mumbai Terror Attacks: Rice Calls for ‘transparency’ From Pakistan
Buzzle.com | 12/1/2008 | Guardian News & Media 2008
Posted on 12/01/2008 10:10:43 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140915/posts


2 posted on 12/01/2008 12:24:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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