A few years ago there was a trend in newspapers to write flattering accounts of Hamas and its commitment to good government. It was as if there was a campaign to say that “Hamas is basically good, you can ignore the silly Jew hatred stuff. They’re really for making life better for their people.”
Last week the UAE’s National newspaper ran a story about how Hamas if oppressing Gazans. Now another paper The Herald Scotland reports (via Daily Alert Blog):
The real issue, of course, is not whether women can or cannot smoke sheesha in public; it’s an increasingly widespread perception among ordinary Gazans – men and women – that Hamas is bullying and silencing them. Hamas is still a moderate Islamic movement. But, due to its increasing international isolation, including the continuing embargo by America and the European Union, radical elements within the movement are gaining momentum.
So are all those news organizations that wrote about now benign and benevolent Hamas was now going to reverse themnselves?
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
Notice how the West is blamed for Hamas’s increasing radicalism. As if it weren’t there before. As if enforcing sharia weren’t the whole purpose of Hamas to begin with.
Another example of absurd theater “Hamas is still a moderate Islamic movement”
I wonder what Hamas has to do to be considered an extreme Islamic movement.
marek asks: “I wonder what Hamas has to do to be considered an extreme Islamic movement?”
This was penned by a western “journalist” remember.
You need to realize that just murdering Jews is considered, by them, to be a moderate position.
If Hamas were murdering WESTERN JOURNALISTS … now THAT would be extreme.
They’re moderate Islamics compared to the Taliban or Saudi Arabia in enforcing sharia. Women have some rights and men don’t need to wear beards.
It is funny the way they blame it on the west. They probably have a macro for that.
Anon, of course it would be different. They’d blame Israel for it.
“radical elements within the movement are gaining momentum”
Kinda like saying “the antisemitic elements in the Nazi party are getting the upper hand” in 1944.
Veeshir, here’s a clue – it s NOT MODERATE to call for the murder of Jews as Hamas does in its charter. Not settlers, Zionists or Israelis but Jews. I don’t give a flying f*^% whether they make women wear veils, they want to kill ME. And all the rest of the Jews.
If Hamas were murdering WESTERN JOURNALISTS … now THAT would be extreme.
But they did kidnap a WESTERN JOURNALIST and it didn’t really change things. Or do you figure that murder would really make a difference?
I never knew that genocide was “moderate”.
I think Veeshir’s comment was meant to be sarcastic, not to defend Hamas.