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Last update - 04:32 30/06/2008
Hamas worried about rise in support for religious sects
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Hamas, Army of Islam, Gaza 

A good many people in Gaza have already had a knock on the door, opening it to two or three men dressed in strange clothing reminding them of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The men ask to speak to the head of the family. "We want 10 minutes of your time to talk about Islam," they say.

Usually they talk about the importance of religion and becoming religious, about the faith's noble principles and the need to maintain them. They often stress that "Islam is the correct religion" and that "a good Muslim must attend the mosque and pray five times a day."

They always wear galabiyahs over trousers and sandals, and have long beards. These believers, known to Gazans as salafis, will not discuss politics or matters such as the tahadiyeh or the "Zionist enemy."
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They are not a political group, yet some Hamas members see them as a threat, especially in the public arena. They are a kind of sect of Sunni Islam that has operated throughout the world since the dawn of Islam, calling on believers to imitate the ways of the prophet Mohammed and the group of his companions known as the sahabah.

They have always been in Gaza. Hamas' concerns stem from a rise in support for the sect throughout the Strip. In the past year they have increased their ranks by several times; their number now stands at between 40,000 to 50,000 Gazans.

The number of those praying in the mosque the sect operates, A-Sahabah, in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City has skyrocketed since Hamas' takeover of Gaza a year ago.

The sect even operates a religious school for grades 1 through 12, whose classes are bursting at the seams.

The salafis do not watch television at home. Their wives have to cover themselves from head to foot. They may not hang large pictures or display statues in their homes, and they pray frequently. Hamas knows they represent an alternative to its monopoly over religion in the Gaza Strip, which has led to great tension between the salafis and Hamas over control of the mosques.

Violent brawls have broken out over attempts by Hamas to throw salafis out of the mosques where they have managed to take control. Another problem for Hamas is the salafis' avoidance of politics, which makes Hamas look like a gang of power-hungry politicians, especially in light of its mistakes over the past year: the violent takeover, torture and corruption.

But a more tangible threat for the rulers of Gaza is from other groups loosely linked to the sect, which are known collectively as A-salafiyeh al-Jihadiyeh. These extreme groups identify with salafi religious principles but dispute the principle of remaining aloof from political, military and diplomatic involvement.

The best-known of these groups are the Army of Islam and the Army of the Nation. Their ideology recalls the teachings of Al-Qaida, and they flaunt their connections with the latter. While the Army of Islam is clan-based and mainly connected to the Durmush family, the Army of the Nation is gathering numbers largely from people cast out by Hamas and Islamic Jihad because of their extremism.

In an interview with a Palestinian journalist, one of the leaders of the Army of the Nation explained that as far as his followers were concerned, there is no difference between the "military wing" and the "political wing." "They are all soldiers," he explains. These organizations see the need to return to Islam's roots; for example, stoning adulterers, cutting off thieves' hands and whipping people who drink alcohol.

In their view, anyone who is not a believing Muslim should be hounded, even beyond the borders of Palestine and including, of course, Jews and Christians. These are the people assumed to be behind the wave of strikes on Western institutions, from Internet cafes to libraries.

They are also believed to have been behind the grenade attack during a festival organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Rafah a year and a half ago, where 12-year-old boys and girls appeared together in a traditional dance. The militants consider this "un-Muslim." They reject any kind of agreement with Israel or the West, which explains the statement to the Palestinian reporter by the Army of the Nation leader that "the leaders of Hamas do not believe in Allah."

For its part, Hamas has not remained indifferent to the rise of this ultra-radical group, and is harassing them. The Army of the Nation currently has only a few dozen members, but like the salafis, the ranks are swelling amid the rising poverty, extremism and hatred for Israel and the West.

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      1.   Extremist 06:24  |  Jay 30/06/08
      2.   Fron Fatah to Hamas to Salafis 06:49  |  Ron 30/06/08
      3.   # 1, # 2 Be careful what you wish for.. 07:15  |  Kris Lazar 30/06/08
      4.   lakshmi`s CLEAN Green gaza`s "LEADERS" play DIRTY (who knew!) 07:24  |  CK Tan 30/06/08
      5.   What can we expect from Islam ? 08:04  |  Jean Van Daem 30/06/08
      6.   #1 and #2 What about Israel`s various groups. 08:59  |  Maureen Ann 30/06/08
      7.   misleading, ignorant article 10:13  |  Khalid 30/06/08
      8.   Hamas has no one but itself to blame 10:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/06/08
      9.   #7, Khalid 10:34  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/06/08
      10.   You get what you propagate 10:43  |  Jo 30/06/08
      11.   There is divisions amongst Islamic groups - always has been. 10:47  |  tony 30/06/08
      12.   seems every Palestinian group becomes mainstream eventually 11:10  |  joki 30/06/08
      13.   Cipora: A society is what it teaches its children to be 11:22  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/06/08
      14.   Maureen Ann 11:28  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/06/08
      15.   KHALID you do not like misleading Haaretz articles? 11:33  |  PETER SM 30/06/08
      16.   #13, Margie, yes I know 11:34  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/06/08
      17.   misleading article 11:45  |  Salafi 30/06/08
      18.   misleading article 11:45  |  Salafi 30/06/08
      19.   Salafis and Hamas are the same 11:47  |  Scholar 30/06/08
      20.   Salafis and Hamas are the same 11:47  |  Scholar 30/06/08
      21.   In Yishovot..they teach kids that non-Jews are not 11:50  |  Gazan 30/06/08
      22.   the more i read about the pals... 12:36  |  don 30/06/08
      23.   This article seems to be an attempt to muddy the waters. 12:39  |  lakshmi 30/06/08
      24.   read it carefully 12:39  |  Vitaly 30/06/08
      25.   Pallywood at its best 12:49  |  Janet 30/06/08
      26.   The source of the problem. 13:32  |  sandra chitayat 30/06/08
      27.   Palestinians and poverty. 13:38  |  sandra chitayat 30/06/08
      28.   Khalid Amayreh....what are you babbling about now? 13:44  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      29.   Khalid Amayreh....what are you babbling about now? 13:44  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      30.   Will Israel support these groups? 14:19  |  Roo 30/06/08
      31.   Margie in Tel Aviv - The subject of your post says a lot 15:09  |  Natallie Durson 30/06/08
      32.   Throw in Ovadia Yosef! 15:40  |  F. Hortsold 30/06/08
      33.   Ofer Maimon: Do you want to understand? 15:54  |  Suleiman 30/06/08
      34.   Hamasniks and Salafniks share no differences 16:24  |  imam 30/06/08
      35.   Waiting fir my Murine An for the number one sbot 16:37  |  Jalal 30/06/08
      36.   It just gets worse 16:39  |  Nicole 30/06/08
      37.   It sounds like a universal problem 16:40  |  Anonymous 30/06/08
      38.   On this talkback you can insult Jews to your heart`s content, but 17:03  |  Freethinker 30/06/08
      39.   If Hamas worries... 17:14  |  W 30/06/08
      40.   Suleiman...very young or incapable of reading? 17:17  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      41.   Jehovas Witness or Mormons knocking on their doors. 17:26  |  Harvey (Chaim) 30/06/08
      42.   Israeli official salafis 17:35  |  Ulf 30/06/08
      43.   #21 Gazan you are right 17:37  |  Ulf 30/06/08
      44.   Natallie 17:45  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/06/08
      45.   Gazan....which Yeshiva did you attend exactly? 17:46  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      46.   Dear Ulf 17:52  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      47.   #45 People is not stupid 18:06  |  Ulf 30/06/08
      48.   20 Scholar,44 Margie in TA to Natalie D. 18:22  |  lakshmi 30/06/08
      49.   time for all to be transferred to arab countries 18:26  |  victor hardman 30/06/08
      50.   #13 Margie, A society that imposes its ugly will at gunpoint 19:15  |  Dutch 30/06/08
      51.   Critiquing not allowed. 19:19  |  Jo 30/06/08
      52.   They`ve been to my door, too,... 19:44  |  Webster 30/06/08
      53.   Dutch on Margie.... 19:44  |  Ofer Maimon 30/06/08
      54.   Ofer-"Dutch" is Not Dutch 20:05  |  Jane 30/06/08
      55.   Israel should worry , not Hamas!! 21:04  |  Abu Ali 30/06/08
      56.   Abu Ali-Of Course Islam Deserves No blame Whatsoever 21:26  |  Jane 30/06/08
      57.   56 Jane,your analysis is all skewed and Abu Ali is right in one 21:57  |  lakshmi 30/06/08
      58.   Gazan 21 - how do you know? 22:01  |  ChnanahS 30/06/08
      59.   Lakshmi 23 22:02  |  ChanahS 30/06/08
      60.   rise in support for religious sects 22:02  |  Ralph 30/06/08
      61.   Ulf the oaf 42 22:07  |  ChanahS 30/06/08
      62.   Ulf 47 - but you IS ignorant 22:10  |  ChanahS 30/06/08
      63.