Garbanzo Toons

Not Repressive Enough?

Gazans elected the terrorists of Hamas to run their government. Like those who voted for Obama (and no, I'm not comparing the two) they should have known what they were getting, a repressive, dictatorial, terrorist, bunch of thugs. The problem now is that for some, Hamas is not repressive and dictatorial enough. They haven't forced Gazans far enough back to barbarity. They still haven't reached their goal of a seventh century Sharia-inspired Islamic utopia. As the AP relates:

Gaza's Islamic Hamas government on Thursday banned men from working in women's hair salons, the latest step in its campaign to impose strict Islamic customs on Gaza's 1.5 million people.

Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has taken steps in that direction while avoiding a frontal assault on secularism. The majority of Gaza residents are conservative Muslims, but Hamas is under growing pressure from more radical groups to prove its fundamentalist credentials by imposing ever harsher edicts.

The latest measure irked one of the victims of the ban.

"Next thing you know, they will ban doctors from treating women, and will only let women treat women," said Barakat al-Ghoul, a 44-year-old hairdresser. "Tomorrow, they will ban everything."

No, Barakat, they won't ban everything. They will merely ban everything that makes life enjoyable.

Islamic tradition forbids women from showing their hair to men who are not their husbands or blood relatives. Until now, though, exceptions were made for the eight known male hairdressers in women's salons in Gaza City.

Solution: If they hire gay hairdressers then- oops! Sorry, I forgot.

Fares said Hamas' new ruling takes away one of the last remnants of a more liberal lifestyle in Gaza that flourished decades ago, when the territory had cinemas and bars.

So then why exactly did you vote in Hamas? Is your Islamic Jew-hatred really that strong that you were willing to overlook the fact that Hamas would create more suffering for Gazans than they ever could for Israelis? Did your hatred blind you to the fact that Hamas doesn't care about whether or not you make a living? The fact that you can't, makes it easier for them to recruit your children for jihad. Or in the end, will you find some twisted, irrational way to blame this madness on the fact the Israel is willing to protect its citizens against Hamas?

Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, small ultra-radical Islamic groups have sprung up. Known as Jihadi Salafis, they advocate holy war and a strict, fundamentalist brand of Islam, dismissing Hamas as too pragmatic. They are suspected in dozens of bombings of Internet cafes, music stores and other alleged purveyors of vice. All cinemas and bars closed years ago.

Hamas - too pragmatic? As if Gazan society wasn't dysfunctional enough, there are those who wish to sink further into the abyss. When you accept the kind of hatred espoused by Hamas as part of every day life and as normal within your society, don't be surprised when somebody even crazier and more hate-filled comes along to make your life even more miserable.

And by the way, how much of this dysfunction is paid for with American dollars?

Labels: anti-semitism, Gaza, Hamas, islam, Israel

posted by Harry @ 11:48 AM