Editing Hamas (section)

== Religious policy ==

=== Gaza Strip ===
{{Main| Islamism in the Gaza Strip | Islamist anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip | Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti | Palestinian Christians }}

Hamas' [[Change and Reform]] [[electoral list]] for the [[2006 Palestinian legislative election]] included a [[Palestinian Christian]] candidate, Hosam al-Taweel, running as an independent for the Christian [[Reserved political positions|reserved]] seat in [[Gaza City]].{{efn| His name has been spelled: Hussam al-Tawil,<ref name="JP HT" /> Hossam Al-Tawil, or Hosam al-Taweel.<ref name="AJ HT" /> }}<ref name="AJ HT" >{{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/1/25/christian-candidate-on-hamas-ticket | title=Christian candidate on Hamas ticket }}</ref><ref name="PI HT" >{{cite web | url=https://english.palinfo.com/o_post/MP-Hussam-al-Tawil-dies-in-Gaza/ | title=MP Hussam al-Tawil dies in Gaza | date=31 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name="API HT" >{{cite news | title= Palestinian relatives of Christian Hossam Al-Tawil mourn on his body during his funeral at the Church of Saint Porphyrius | url= https://www.apaimages.info/image/I0000glJOxm4mGcU | work= www.apaimages.info [[AP Images]] }}</ref> Israeli media were surprised by the team.<ref name="JP HT" >{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/hamas-boosts-image-by-backing-christian-candidate | title=Hamas boosts image by backing Christian candidate | date=24 January 2006 }}</ref> Hosam al-Taweel won the seat, one of six seats reserved for Palestine's Christian minority, with the highest winning vote of the six elected, due to the endorsement of Hamas and other nationalist groups.<ref name="imec ht">{{cite web |date=4 March 2006 |title=Palestinian Christians: 'We don't feel threatened by rise of Hamas' |url=https://imemc.org/article/17091/ |website=International Middle East Media Center}}</ref>

The gender ideology outlined in the Hamas charter, the importance of women in the religious-nationalist project of liberation is asserted as no lesser than that of males. Their role was defined primarily as one of manufacturing males and caring for their upbringing and rearing, though the charter recognized they could fight for liberation without obtaining their husband's permission and in 2002 their participation in jihad was permitted.{{sfn|Davis|2017|p=55}} The doctrinal emphasis on childbearing and rearing as woman's primary duty is not so different from Fatah's view of women in the First Intifada and it also resembles the outlook of Jewish settlers, and over time it has been subjected to change.{{sfn|Shitrit|2015|pp=73–74}}{{sfn|Phillips|2011|p=81}} A few were worried about imposition of Islamic dress codes, but most Christians in the Gaza Strip said these worries were baseless were not worried about the Hamas government.<ref name="imec ht"/>

In 1989, during the First Intifada, a small number of Hamas followers{{sfn|Shitrit|2015|p=74}} campaigned for polygamy, and also insisted women stay at home and be segregated from men. In the course of this campaign, women who chose not to wear the hijab were verbally and physically harassed, with the result that the hijab was being worn 'just to avoid problems on the streets'.{{sfn|Rubenberg|2001|pp=230–31}} The harassment dropped drastically when, after 18 months, the [[Unified National Leadership of the Uprising]] (UNLU) condemned it,{{sfn|Gerner|2007|p=27}} though similar campaigns reoccurred.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} Polygamy is practised in some [[Bedouin]] communities in Israel, and some Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, particularly in the Negev desert (Arabic pronunciation: Naqab) surrounding the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aburabia |first1=Rawia |title=Trapped Between National Boundaries and Patriarchal Structures: Palestinian Bedouin Women and Polygamous Marriage in Israel |journal=Journal of Comparative Family Studies |date=2017 |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=339–349 |doi=10.3138/jcfs.48.3.339 |jstor=44509032 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44509032 |issn=0047-2328}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Boulos | first1=Sonia | date= 2 January 2021 | title= National Interests Versus Women's Rights: The Case of Polygamy Among the Bedouin Community in Israel | doi= 10.1080/08974454.2019.1658692 | url= https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08974454.2019.1658692 | journal= Women & Criminal Justice | volume=31 | pages=53–76 |issn=0897-4454}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lidman |first1=Melanie |title=Polygamy is illegal in Israel. So why is it allowed to flourish among Negev Bedouin? |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-sorry-plight-of-bedouin-women-trapped-by-polygamy/ |work=www.timesofisrael.com |date=16 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=No more than 1 wife: Israel looks to tackle Bedouin polygamy |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-486a1223036f436eb39bf497652a11ec |work=AP News |date=9 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bedouin women are pushing Israel to crack down on polygamy |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/polygamy-persists-among-israel-s-bedouins-women-are-pushing-change-n922296 |work=NBC News |date=22 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, some of its members have attempted to impose Islamic dress or the [[hijab]] head covering on women.<ref name="nytimes20090906">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/world/middleeast/06gaza.html Hamas Fights Over Gaza's Islamist Identity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119001358/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/world/middleeast/06gaza.html |date=19 January 2017 }} ''The New York Times'', 5 September 2009</ref><ref name="xinhua">{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm |title=Hamas encourages Gaza women to follow Islamic code _English_Xinhua |publisher=Xinhua News Agency |date=3 January 2010 |access-date=2 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514030330/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm |archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> The government's "Islamic Endowment Ministry" has deployed Virtue Committee members to warn citizens of the dangers of immodest dress, card playing, and dating.<ref name="bloomberg">[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118123632/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk |date=18 November 2015}} By Daniel Williams, Bloomberg, 30 November 2009</ref> There are no government laws imposing dress and other moral standards, and the Hamas education ministry reversed one effort to impose Islamic dress on students.<ref name="nytimes20090906" /> There has also been successful resistance to attempts by local Hamas officials to impose Islamic dress on women.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/18/hamas-gaza-islamist-dress-code Hamas patrols beaches in Gaza to enforce conservative dress code] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210235710/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/18/hamas-gaza-islamist-dress-code |date=10 February 2017 }} ''The Guardian'' (UK), 18 October 2009</ref> Hamas officials deny having any plans to impose Islamic law, one legislator stating that "What you are seeing are incidents, not policy," and that Islamic law is the desired standard "but we believe in persuasion".<ref name="bloomberg" />

In 2013, [[UNRWA]] canceled its annual marathon in Gaza after Hamas prohibited women from participating in the race.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rettig |first=Haviv |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-cancels-gaza-marathon-over-hamas-ban-on-women/ |title=UN Cancels Gaza Marathon |newspaper=The Times of Israel |date=5 March 2013 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=10 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310055227/http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-cancels-gaza-marathon-over-hamas-ban-on-women/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== In the West Bank ===

In 2005, the human rights organization [[Freemuse]] released a report titled "Palestine: [[Taliban]]-like attempts to censor music", which said that [[Music of Palestine|Palestinian musicians]] feared that harsh religious laws against music and concerts will be imposed since Hamas group scored political gains in the Palestinian Authority local elections of 2005.<ref name="freemuse">{{cite news |url=http://www.freemuse.org/sw10095.asp |title=Palestine: Taliban-like attempts to censor music |publisher=Freemuse.org |date=17 August 2006 |access-date=2 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807211707/http://www.freemuse.org/sw10095.asp |archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref>

The attempt by Hamas to dictate a cultural code of conduct in the 1980s and early 1990s led to a violent fighting between different Palestinian sectors. Hamas members reportedly burned down stores that stocked videos they deemed indecent and destroyed books they described as "heretical".<ref name="barel">[http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/afghanistan-in-palestine-1.165006 "Afghanistan in Palestine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015233322/http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/afghanistan-in-palestine-1.165006 |date=15 October 2015 }}, by Zvi Bar'el, ''[[Haaretz]]'', 26 July 2005</ref>

In 2005, an outdoor music-and-dance performance in [[Qalqiliya]] was suddenly banned by the Hamas-led municipality, for the reason that such an event would be "[[haram]]", i.e. forbidden by Islam.<ref name="otterbeck">"Battling over the public sphere: Islamic reactions to the music of today". Jonas Otterbeck. ''Contemporary Islam''. Volume 2, Number 3, 211–28,{{doi|10.1007/s11562-008-0062-y}}. "... the over-all argument was that the event was haram"</ref> The municipality also ordered that music no longer be played in the Qalqiliya zoo, and mufti Akrameh Sabri issued a [[Fatwa|religious edict]] affirming the municipality decision.<ref name="barel"/> In response, the Palestinian national poet [[Mahmoud Darwish]] warned that "There are Taliban-type elements in our society, and this is a very dangerous sign."<ref name="freemuse"/><ref name="darwish">"Palestinians Debate Whether Future State Will be Theocracy or Democracy". [[Associated Press]], 13 July 2005.</ref><ref name="newhumanist">[http://newhumanist.org.uk/937/gaza-taliban Gaza Taliban?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907185601/http://newhumanist.org.uk/937/gaza-taliban |date=7 September 2011 }} by Editorial Staff, ''The New Humanist'', volume 121 issue 1, January/February 2006</ref>

The Palestinian columnist Mohammed Abd Al-Hamid, a resident of Ramallah, wrote that this religious coercion could cause the migration of artists, and said "The religious fanatics in Algeria destroyed every cultural symbol, shattered statues and rare works of art and liquidated intellectuals and artists, reporters and authors, ballet dancers and singers—are we going to imitate the Algerian and Afghani examples?"<ref name="barel"/>

===Erdoğan's Turkey as a role model===
Some Hamas members have stated that the model of Islamic government that Hamas seeks to emulate is that of Turkey under the rule of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]. The foremost members to distance Hamas from the practices of the Taliban and to publicly support the Erdoğan model were [[Ahmed Yousef]] and [[Ghazi Hamad]], advisers to Prime Minister Hanieh.<ref name="Sayigh">[http://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB41.pdf Hamas Rule in Gaza: Three Years On] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402221410/http://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB41.pdf |date=2 April 2012 }}, [[Yezid Sayigh]], Crown Center for Middle East studies, March 2010</ref><ref>See also: [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/letter-from-gaza?page=show Letter from Gaza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627013735/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/letter-from-gaza?page=show |date=27 June 2010 }}, Hamas's tunnel diplomacy, By Thanassis Cambanis, 18 June 2010. Foreign Affairs. "They want to know if we are more like the Taliban or Erdogan. They will see that we are closer to Erdogan."</ref> Yusuf, the Hamas deputy foreign minister, reflected this goal in an interview with a Turkish newspaper, stating that while foreign public opinion equates Hamas with the Taliban or [[al-Qaeda]], the analogy is inaccurate. Yusuf described the Taliban as "opposed to everything", including education and women's rights, while Hamas wants to establish good relations between the religious and secular elements of society and strives for human rights, democracy and an open society.<ref>[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=box-2010-06-10 Hamas: 'We want Erdoğan's model, not Taliban's'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810222815/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=box-2010-06-10 |date=10 August 2011 }}. Cansu Çamlibel, ''The Daily [[Hurriyet]]''. 10 June 2010</ref> According to professor [[Yezid Sayigh]] of [[King's College London|King's College]] in London, how influential this view is within Hamas is uncertain, since both Ahmad Yousef and Ghazi Hamad were dismissed from their posts as advisers to Hamas Prime Minister [[Ismail Hanieh]] in October 2007.<ref name="Sayigh"/> Both have since been appointed to other prominent positions within the Hamas government. Khaled al-Hroub of the West Bank-based and anti-Hamas<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/world/middleeast/21mideast.html A Leader of Hamas Warns of West Bank Peril for Fatah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425004712/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/world/middleeast/21mideast.html |date=25 April 2009 }} ''The New York Times''. 21 June 2006. "Mr. Sawaf's West Bank office in Ramallah has been destroyed, and the Palestinian paper ''Al Ayyam'' has refused to continue printing his paper in the West Bank."</ref> Palestinian daily ''Al Ayyam'' added that despite claims by Hamas leaders that it wants to repeat the Turkish model of Islam, "what is happening on the ground in reality is a replica of the Taliban model of Islam."<ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hamas-Gaza-extremism.-a0211366448 Hamas-Gaza-extremism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123164955/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hamas-Gaza-extremism.-a0211366448 |date=23 November 2023 }}, ''The Weekly Middle East Reporter'' (Beirut, Lebanon), 8 August 2009</ref><ref name="Reuters Erdogan">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-says-hamas-is-not-terrorist-organisation-2023-10-25/ |title=Turkey's Erdogan says Hamas is not terrorist organisation, cancels trip to Israel |date=25 October 2023 |work=Reuters |last1=Gumrukcu |first1=Tuvan |last2=Hayatsever |first2=Huseyin |access-date=26 October 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110142510/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-says-hamas-is-not-terrorist-organisation-2023-10-25/ |url-status=live }}</ref>