Hamas aims for Islamic dress code

GAZA CITY – Police order a lingerie shop to hide its scantily clad mannequins. A judge warns female lawyers to wear head scarves in court. Beach patrols break up groups of singles and make men wear shirts.

It’s all part of a new Hamas campaign to get Gazans to adhere to a strict Muslim lifestyle – and the first clear attempt by the Islamic militants to go beyond benign persuasion in doing so.It suggests that having consolidated its hold on Gaza in the two years since it seized control by force, Hamas feels emboldened enough to extend its ideology into people’s private lives.Hamas insists compliance with its ‘virtue campaign’ is still voluntary and simply responds to a Gazan preference for conservative ways. But the rules are vague and there are reports of alleged offenders being beaten and teachers being told to pressure girls to wear head scarves.The campaign highlights the differing trajectories of the West Bank and Gaza – the two parts of the Palestinian state that the Obama administration hopes to midwife. Washington’s efforts move into higher gear this week with visits by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and three top US diplomats.While Hamas pushes its dress code and Gaza remains impoverished under international embargo, West Bankers are enjoying an economic revival fed by foreign aid. Although most are conservative, there’s more tolerance for a fairly large secular minority.The West Bank’s dominant party, Fatah, is making an attempt at a comeback, after suffering a stinging election defeat at the hands of Hamas in 2006.Next week, Fatah will hold its first convention in 20 years, hoping to show that it has reformed itself, has shed its corruption-tainted image and makes an attractive alternative to Hamas.Hamas, known for its keen sense of public opinion, pledged after its June 2007 takeover to refrain from imposing Islamic ways.That is changing, says Khalil Abu Shammala, a human rights activist in Gaza.’There are attempts to Islamise this society,’ he said. Hamas’ denials ‘contradict what we see on the street.’The ‘virtue campaign’ is being spread by the Religious Affairs Ministry in a list of do’s and don’ts that feature on posters and in mosque sermons. It also calls for gender separation at wedding parties and tells teens to shun pop music with suggestive lyrics. ‘We have to encourage people to be virtuous and keep them away from sin,’ said Abdullah Abu Jarbou, the deputy religious affairs minister.Another Gaza human rights activist, Hamdi Shakour, blamed the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas ousted the territory’s Fatah rulers. He said isolation has bred ‘extremism and dark ideas.’Gaza maintains small islands of secularism. Foreigners are rarely harassed, and Gaza women in stylish clothes and hairdos, many of them Muslims, frequent a half-dozen upmarket cafes and restaurants. – Nampa-AP