[Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center] - Ever since it took over Gaza in June 2007, Hamas has been promoting a process of gradual Islamization, designed to further its vision of establishing a Palestinian state based on Islamic religious law. The Hamas charter (1988), whose principles are adhered to by Hamas to this day, asserts that the land of Palestine is an Islamic endowment which must be liberated from the Jews through jihad (holy war) and an Islamic Palestinian state should be established there. As part of a deliberate policy, the Islamization process was accelerated in the last two years, encompassing all areas of life: passing radical Islamic laws and regulations; establishing economic institutions of Islamic character (a bank, an insurance company); the enforcement of an Islamic code of conduct on daily life (wearing veils, banning mixed gender social gatherings, gender segregation on beaches, banning alcohol); the significant increase in the number of mosques; deepening of formal and informal Islamic education (in educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities, in summer camps);and the accentuation of the Islamic character of the media (mainly Al-Aqsa TV).
2009-08-18 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive