Hamas Denies Enforcing Islamic Law in the Gaza Strip

18 September 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Hamas has strongly refuted allegations made in the Israeli daily newspaper, Ma'ariv that they are using their power in the Gaza Strip to enforce Islamic law.

Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, on Tuesday told Ma'an that the newspaper's story was "lies and slander aimed at distorting the reputation of Hamas and the Executive Forces, as well as damaging the security system which has been established in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power in June."

"The Occupation does not like to see a successful security apparatus led by Hamas after the US and Israeli-backed system failed," he added.

The newspaper report began with the question, "Has the Gaza Strip become an Islamic state like that of the Taliban in Afghanistan?" The report claimed that many people in Gaza believed that it had.

"Hamas has recently begun to stop couples in cars to check the relationship between them. Each unmarried couple caught inside a car are seized and questioned, and the girl is registered as committing moral offence," the report said.

"Hamas-affiliated police have stopped around 300 women because of 'immodest dress.' Residents are worried they're being taken back to the dark ages," the report alleged.

"Consequently, the Hamas police [Executive Forces, EF] endeavors to control the streets of Gaza Strip and impose their own rules. It seems they added to their, allegedly, major duties of chasing drug dealers and criminals, a new duty - chasing moral offenders using Islamic legislation," the report said.

Ma'ariv went on to say that it was the first time the EF had attempted to impose Islamic legislations by force, and they were proud of that as one of their major accomplishments. An EF member was quoted as saying, "We seized a man and a woman with two children inside a car, and the couple admitted that they had once had sexual intercourse."

"We are talking about formal orders, rather than some official's point of view, and Gazan society does not accept such immoral behavior. We are looking forward to maintaining Islamic ethics in Palestinian society," an EF official told the Israeli journalist, Amit Cohen.

Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the EF told Ma'an he absolutely refuted the allegations.

"The EF does not intervene in the individual freedoms of citizens. On the contrary, they support freedom. Gazan society is a conservative society anyway. They don't need a police force to enforce morals," he said.