Contradictio in adjecto: Hamas is “sponsoring public lectures against Muslim extremism”
An acute struggle is emerging within the Hamas movement, which rules this coastal Palestinian strip, over the extent and nature of its Islamist identity. Guardians of religious morality, some self-appointed, others from within the government, have sought to impose their views in recent months.
Students at girls’ schools in Gaza were told to cover up, with mixed results.
So far, top government officials have pushed them back, but it remains unclear for how long.
Examples of the battle abound. The most threatening occurred in mid-August when an extreme group called the Warriors of God commandeered a mosque in the southern city of Rafah and, calling Hamas impure and collaborationist, declared strict religious law to be in force. Hamas forces surrounded the mosque and, after an all-night gun battle, killed about two dozen people, including the group’s leader, and arrested 155 others, Hamas officials said. The Interior Ministry is now monitoring mosques and sponsoring public lectures against Muslim