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How Fatah Primed Palestinians for Hamas

[Washington Times] Joel Mowbray - The tidy Western view of Palestinian politics coming down to Islamists vs. secularists faces yet another reality check. Both Hamas and the supposedly secular Fatah are engaging in a new propaganda war, each portraying itself as the defender of the faith, while accusing the other party of defiling Islam, according to a report by Palestinian Media Watch. The struggle is indicative of the increasingly Islamic tenor of the culture in which each group is attempting to stake out the Islamic high ground. It is Fatah, at the original direction of Arafat, that is most responsible for Islamicizing Palestinian society. Upon taking the reins of Palestinian society following the 1993 Oslo accords, Arafat implemented an aggressive platform of Islamic indoctrination, beefing up Islamic education in the schools and giving new prominence on television to fire-breathing imams, including many who called for Islam to topple the West. Arafat used his newfound power to create a new generation of terrorists superior to the old PLO thugs in one key respect: These brainwashed Palestinian kids were not only not afraid of death, but they actually wanted to die. Arafat carefully cultivated a cult of martyrdom that permeated Palestinian society. In addition to the hero worship of successful suicide bombers, almost as important was the glorification of their parents. Umm Nidal, or "Mother of the Struggle," who bursts with pride that three of her six children died as Islamic terrorists, is now a Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature.
2007-09-06 01:00:00
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