For the moment, the Muslim Brotherhood wing known as Hamas appears to be aligning its behavior more closely with its increasingly influential big brother next door, where gradualism is the name of the game. "Hamas in Gaza says it's learning from Arab Spring," by Karin Laub and Mohammed Daraghmeh for the Associated Press, December 11:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Bans on women smoking water pipes in public and male coiffeurs styling women's hair are no longer being strictly enforced in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, apparent signs of greater tolerance as the Islamic militant group acknowledges mistakes in seeking to impose a religious lifestyle.
In explaining the change, several senior members said Hamas has matured in five years in power and learned lessons from the Arab Spring. Islamic groups that have scored election victories in the wake of pro-democracy uprisings in the region now find themselves trying to allay fears they seek Islamic rule.
Since seizing Gaza, Hamas had largely silenced opponents and tried to impose stricter religious rules on an already conservative society. Modesty squads asked young couples seen in public to show proof of marriage, told beachgoers to put on more clothes and ordered shopowners to cover up mannequins. High school girls came under pressure from teachers to wear headscarves.
In recent months, there's been a change in atmosphere, say rights activists and even political rivals of Hamas.
"Things are freer than before," said Nasser Radwan, whose family restaurant is one of the places where women again come to smoke water pipes.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said "some mistakes were made" under Hamas rule, though he blamed individual security commanders and overzealous activists, not the government, for heavy-handed tactics.
"They don't represent the ideology and policy of the Hamas movement," Barhoum said. "Our policy is that we are not going to dictate anything to anyone."
Huda Naim, a Hamas legislator, said the movement took its cues from the pro-democracy revolts sweeping the Arab world, but also has learned it needs to be more tolerant of others.
It can crack the whip again anytime it chooses.
It's not clear whether the changes are tactical, or whether they represent a true shift that will lead to more political freedom. Hamas has shut down offices of political rival Fatah, arrested activists and strictly controls the local media. However, in recent months, it has permitted rivals, including Fatah, to stage rallies that were previously banned. [...]
According to Article 2 of its own charter, Hamas "is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine."
Hamas is the only wing of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood movement that has had a chance to rule, and its performance is of interest following the Brotherhood's strong showings in recent elections in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. The Brotherhood faces concerns in the West and among local secular groups that the Islamists, despite their embrace of democracy, might gradually try to establish strict theocracies.
Two prominent Hamas figures in Gaza said change was being encouraged by the Brotherhood. The movement's leadership in Egypt confirmed contacts, but denied it's telling Hamas how to govern.
Top Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who runs the group from Syrian exile, told Gaza leaders of the movement at a meeting in Cairo last month that he was impressed by the political success of the Brotherhood in elections in North Africa. "Mashaal said we need to learn from these experiences in dealing with other parties and social groups, and that one-party rule is outdated," a Hamas official said.
Mashaal's political bureau told Gaza activists in a memo that restrictive measures are tarnishing the movement's image, said a second Hamas figure. He said the Brotherhood has voiced similar criticism....
Mashaal's political bureau told Gaza activists in a memo that restrictive measures are tarnishing the movement's image,....
That should read:
Mashaal's political bureau told Gaza activists in a memo that enforcing Sharia was tarnishing the movement's image ....
Clowns!
Image?! Those guys are evil medieval sharia ruled barbarians, who should be sent into the sands of history by drying their money source from Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is US money for oil. Thus US going totally green will be a good way to prevent future terrorism of Islam,. which is a supremacist ideology of hate toward non-Muslims and promotes apartheid and misogyny. This truth about Islam and its Koranic verses and Hadith must be made known to all people of good will in the world.
Islam is NOT a peaceful religion and anybody who is whitewashing Islam is doing damage to our civilization, including damage to Muslims who do not subscribe to vile teachings of an illiterate pedophile polygamist (who married Aisha, one of his 12 wives when she was 6 and he was 51) and a murderer, responsible for a gruesome murder (by beheading) of 900 Jews from Medina. This "final" prophet of the "most perfect religion" would nowadays keep company to the Mormon guy who screwed children, or be sent to the eternal hunting grounds for multiple murder. It IS Islam Itself, Stupid! 4IS!
Sharia is a medieval evil practice which is incompatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and US Constitution. Islam is a blasphemy against HUMANITY!
Vlasta, you hit the main points right on. It is interesting to see a newer level of deception attempted, "push, retreat, push farther, retreat, etc." a kind of "uber taqiyya".
Green is a very nice idea, but is still a largely way too immature industry, much much research and discovery is currently underway, and needed, and will soon will yield increasing results, and in next few decades will take its naturally financially competive good place, in both conserving and increasing economic and clean energy, in the order of things. In the meantime, absolutely clearly, and I mean air purity wise too, we can do nearly unimaginable achievments by implementing our own natural energy reserves, very economically, (with many times crucial payoffs, to America and even to the free West) by implementing facts elucidated in the following article, and many other articles:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-201112070900--tms--vdhansonctnvh-a20111208dec08,0,6557873.column
Samples: ..."The Obama administration's efforts to subsidize "green" energy so far have proved both uneconomical and occasionally corrupt--"...
..."December 8, 2011
There is a revolution going on America. But it is not part of the Tea Party or the loud Occupy Wall Street protests.
Instead, massive new reserves of gas, oil and coal are being discovered almost everywhere in the United States, due to revolutionary methods of exploration and exploitation such as fracking and horizontal drilling. Current prices of over $100 a barrel make even complex efforts at recovery enormously profitable."......
To not exploit these new domestic discoveries and energy reserves, is irresponsible, self defeating, treacherous, and treasonous. This must be reversed!
And yes, I love Freedom, and clean air-land-sea, and these are economically obtainable, and without self defeating ridiculous government regulations, as we have now, generally. Energy companies should be held responsible for realistic clean exploitation, so that they are on responsibility notice, that they will take full measure of caution and care, not halfast, as in the mistakes of the recent Gulf spill partial disaster. (Partial, because bitterly, it killed 11 people, but the leak, while disasterous, could have been worse, and indeed, was found to have a degree of natural oil resolution, along with the need for immense human cleanup intervention, that could have been avoided, by all people being responsible to prevent it, which did not happen) (And it must be understood, that the sea can only absorb so much natural resolution, before showing serious consequences, thus pollution must be necessarily avoided, in the course of things)