[Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center] The Hamas administration's Legal Advise and Legislation Office in Gaza announced on Nov. 5 that it was drafting penal codes according to the "noble Islamic religious law." The bill will be submitted to the administration which will order the Hamas-controlled Legislative Council to approve it. Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip (June 2007), radical Islam has become the obligatory way of life, whose influence on the population's daily lives just keeps getting bigger. The enforcement of Islamic penal codes, even if for the time being it will be integrated into civil law rather than replacing it, is yet another step in the Islamization process of Gaza. Politically, it is a step toward the disengagement of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, from a broader regional perspective, it is Hamas' way of signaling to its strategic radical Islam supporters (such as Hizbullah, Iran, and the Muslim Brotherhood) that it is taking its place alongside radical Islam, contrary to Fatah and the PA, which are perceived as being collaborators with Israel and the U.S. Hamas, which is basically a radical Islamic movement, cleverly exploited democratic elections to gain control of the PA. Then it took over the Gaza Strip by brutal military force. Ever since, it has been engaged in the establishment of a radical, totalitarian "Islamic Emirate," making mockery of the democratic system.
2008-11-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive