New Religious Terror Boiling over in Gaza

[Air Force Cane]

Interesting story on the depravity of the newest Taliban. Sounds like a great life for women in Palestine..

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wogaza105046434jan10,0,3563320,print.story?coll=ny-worldnews-print

GAZA CITY - When a pipe bomb ripped through his Internet cafe late one night last week, Omar Otlah made a mental list of his known enemies.He ruled out an attack by the Israelis. Nor could he blame fallout from fighting between rival Palestinian factions, which has claimed more than 30 lives in the past month.

This bombing was the work of a new foe - one that's been waging a much quieter war along an emerging front line that runs right through Gaza's bustling cyber cafes, music shops and universities. Calling itself the Swords of Islamic Righteousness, the new group recently declared open war on any business - or Palestinian - it considers immoral. Among its targets: Internet cafes for providing access to online porn, CD shops for selling racy pop music and pharmacies for peddling drugs it deems recreational.

Palestinian culture in Gaza always has been more conservative than the West Bank - there are no bars here, and most women wear headscarves and long robes to maintain a sense of modesty. But even in Gaza, radical interpretations of Islam have rarely taken root on a social level. For most Palestinians, Swords of Islamic Righteousness ranks somewhere near the Taliban in its extreme interpretation of Islam. Palestinian police have traced 47 bombings in the past month to the fundamentalist group. And as fighting rages between Fatah and Hamas, those attacks are becoming increasingly brazen, in part because they are left largely unpunished while security forces are embroiled in the intra-Palestinian conflict.

"We are trying to arrest them, but there is only so much we can do," said a senior Palestinian police source in Gaza, an officer with a security branch loyal to Fatah. Last month, Swords of Islamic Righteousness circulated a letter in Gaza's busiest business districts threatening to "impose the laws of God" against anyone transgressing its fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. It claimed responsibility for "shooting rocket-propelled grenades at Internet cafes in Gaza" because they "prevented people from praying to God," and boasted of blowing up a car to punish the driver for playing his stereo too loud. The group also admitted to throwing acid on unveiled women studying at Gaza's Islamic University and promised to ensure the "honor" of all Palestinian women.

"If people don't listen, we'll take further steps," the militants warned in the letter.

Though the group is native to Gaza, the attacks have sent a chill through the strip's conservative streets. Local entrepreneurs say dozens of businesses have been forced to close in recent months.

Human rights advocates say women are particularly vulnerable. "Many are too scared to walk down certain streets without a male relative," said Farah Abdullah, who runs a women's support group at Gaza's Islamic University.

Otlah figures it's far too risky to reopen his Internet cafe. Most of his customers were students who dropped by after class. The morning after the bombing, a letter signed by "Swords" landed on his front doorstep claiming responsibility for the attack and warning of another strike if he went back into business."They said they bombed my shop in the name of Islam. They said it was a message from God," said Otlah, 37, reading from the letter.

All of his computers were equipped with filters preventing his customers from surfing online porn, he said. "I am a devout Muslim. I go to mosque. Now I have no way to feed my family," he said. Even if he did reopen, he doubts any of his regular patrons would return. He filed a complaint with the Palestinian police, but so far, there have been no arrests."We think this group is close to Hamas, but so far we can't prove it," said the police source aligned with Fatah. Fatah alleges Hamas is orchestrating the crackdown on secular life, using the previously unknown militant group as a front.

But Fawzy Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, insists his movement is innocent.

"We said from the beginning that we are not interested in imposing morality. This group is not related to Hamas. :laugh: It is simply the result of no security on the Palestinian street."

[Kilmer17]

It's a religion of peace.

[SEF]

It's a religion of peace.

How original.

[Kilmer17]

How original.

As original as Muslims being violent.

[Larry]

It's a religion of peace.

Never mind that

a) Both "sides" in this fight are the same religion.

The terrorists are the minority "side".

But don't let those facts get in the way of your war against an entire religion. Keep up the bigotry.

[vinva]

Never mind that

a) Both "sides" in this fight are the same religion.

The terrorists are the minority "side".

But don't let those facts get in the way of your war against an entire religion. Keep up the bigotry.

Zing (good point though)

[Kilmer17]

Yep, and both sides are violent in their religion.

I'll stop calling it a violent religion when it actually stops being violent.

[Riggo-toni]

Gaza has always been such a hellhole - I can't believe it took Israel as long as it did to pull out and build a wall around it.

[Air Force Cane]

Unfortunately they can't really build a wall around it.

Now the Palestinans simply shoot Katyushas and Kassem rockets OVER the border fence into Israel- every single day.

Basically, no matter what the Jews do, the Palestinians want to kill someone. Either a Jew, or another Palestinian they disagree with or want power from.

It is a depraved society where THROWING ACID IN THE FACES OF WOMEN is deemed appropriate religious behavior if said woman is not wearing a burka.

[Bang]

I've got to agree with Kilmer.

Decades of violence is hard to argue with. It's a daily occurence, and has been since I can remember.

If it's not one thing, it's another. If it's not hatred of Israel, it's hatred towards another sect of their own people. I never hear of any Mid-east peace process since the days of Carter's Camp David accords. (Clinton tried, but even that has been over ten years ago now.). I never hear of any of these sects trying to accomplish their goals thru dialogue and negotiation. They throw acid on women and sy we'll do it again if people don't listen.

But every single day I hear "Scores dead in latest bomb blast."

And it's NOT westerners or even Israelis they're killing. There may be a few here and there.. but by and large, the overwhelming number of people who are killed or maimed by Islamic violence are muslims. This is yet another example.

It's indefensible. It is utter barbarism. It is the most despicable way to be, and yet, every single day it happens again. Decades of death.

To prove it, we ought to have a daily poll.. what will be the death toll in the today's bombing by Islamic terrorists?

And, as a caveat, how many westerners were killed as opposed to innocent bystanding muslims.

They won't give the bad guys up. There's all these terror bombings,, every day, and NOBODY knows anything. NOBODY says ANYTHING. It's hard to believe. My only conclusion is that these 'innocents' are afraid, they live in fear of these murderers, and as such ,they keep their mouth shut.

If that isn't reason enough to want to eradicate islamic fundamentalist terrorism from the earth, I don't know what is. These radicals hold their own people hostage, and blame everyone else.

How anyone can defend that is beyond me.

~Bang

[Riggo-toni]

Unfortunately they can't really build a wall around it.

Now the Palestinans simply shoot Katyushas and Kassem rockets OVER the border fence into Israel- every single day.

True enough, though even the current situation is better than not having a wall and keeping settlements there.

Sometimes they must envy the Kuwaitis who were able to expel all the Palestinians in their country after the first Gulf War...without so much as a peep of protest from the Arab world.

[Zguy28]

To prove it, we ought to have a daily poll.. what will be the death toll in the today's bombing by Islamic terrorists?

And, as a caveat, how many westerners were killed as opposed to innocent bystanding muslims.

~Bang

Perhaps you should start a thread for keeping track of it. Everytime a news story about an Islamic terrorist bombing occurs, post it and update the count of deaths. Do it for like a year. :2cents:

[Bang]

Perhaps you should start a thread for keeping track of it. Everytime a news story about an Islamic terrorist bombing occurs, post it and update the count of deaths. Do it for like a year. :2cents:

:laugh:. Ah, I don't have that much commitment.

~Bang

[Larry]

It is a depraved society where THROWING ACID IN THE FACES OF WOMEN is deemed appropriate religious behavior if said woman is not wearing a burka.

By a tiny minority that are trying to impose their beliefs on the majority.

But you keep trying to blame the Palestinians (or more appropriately, all Muslims) for this action, when the Palestinians (as a whole) are the victims of this terrorism.

[twa]

By a tiny minority that are trying to impose their beliefs on the majority.

But you keep trying to blame the Palestinians (or more appropriately, all Muslims) for this action, when the Palestinians (as a whole) are the victims of this terrorism.

Perhaps they have a "victim's" personality?

You tolerate the same actions anywhere and chaos will reign as well.

[Air Force Cane]

good analysis Bang and Riggo-toni

Uh, who should we be blaming then? When we say "Palestinian society is depraved" - is that not a correct statement?

A society that worships suicide bombers, that preaches hatred and murder, a society that actually USES female homicide bombers and teenagers and the mentally handicapped to attack and murder Jews.

A society that is in the middle of a Civil War between Fatah and Hamas, a society that ELECTED Hamas to power.

A society that continuosly wages war against her neighbor, claiming divine right to commit the most heinous murders.

A society that has driven out hundreds of thousands of Christian Palestinians because they weren't Muslim. A society that celebrated 9/11 and backed Saddam Hussein. A society that supports Hizbullah and Teheran.

Are you saying that is a well organized and decent society?

[tizzod]

By a tiny minority that are trying to impose their beliefs on the majority.

But you keep trying to blame the Palestinians (or more appropriately, all Muslims) for this action, when the Palestinians (as a whole) are the victims of this terrorism.

And yet they allow it to continue. Year after year. Boggles the mind.

[Air Force Cane]

Hmm, so the Palestinians are once again the "victims".

gee, have only heard that for about the last...oh...64 years.

If the Palestinians are such poor besotted "victims"- why did they elect Hamas to rule over them?

why do they allow terrorists to openly call for murder? why do the Imams preach hatred against the Americans and the Jews? why do these poor victims allow their territory to go bankrupt rather than negotiate with the hated Jews?

If the Palestinians are "victims"- what do you call those Palestinians calling for genocide? Are they "victims" as well?

[Larry]

Perhaps they have a "victim's" personality?

You tolerate the same actions anywhere and chaos will reign as well.

Um, I'll point out: Not one person in this thread is "tolerating" these actions. are you blaming the Palestinians for "tolerating" this?

Are you trying to say, say, that the Palestinians deserve this terrorism because they "tolerate" it?

(I'll admit that a part of me does kind-of agree with that assertion. A part that says that "well, if you invite terrorists into your country, allow them to become the military and the government, look the other way when they set up crew-served, military weaponry in your neighborhood so they can try to start a war with your neighbors, then guess what? As the saying goes 'wake up with fleas.'")

(There's also a part of me that's thinking "yeah, I seem to remember that the Saudis didn't have a problem supporting terrorists until the terrorists started killing Saudis, either".)

But I'm not proud of those parts, because the rational part of me says it's not really nice to tell the victims of terrorism that they deserve it, even when there's some basis. (I seem to recall some folks 'round here getting rather ticked when (they claimed) people tried to tell the US that we deserved terrorism, (even when there's some basis).)

[Kilmer17]

That's because it's NOT a tiny minority fraction. The violent actions may be perpetrated by a small group, but they are supported by the majority.

Despite the lefts constant denial, the facts show themselves almost daily. It's a religion of violence right now.

If it's going to change, it needs to change from within.

[chomerics]

If it's going to change, it needs to change from within.

Funny how those arguments were never spoken before we invaded Iraq. . . and it is even worse that you can claim it needs to change from within for Palestine, yet you still think troops should be in Iraq.

[Sarge]

Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll wipe each other out

[Larry]

That's because it's NOT a tiny minority fraction. The violent actions may be perpetrated by a small group, but they are supported by the majority.

If the majority supported throwing acid on women who don't wear burkas, then they wouldn't need to throw acid on women who don't wear burkas.

If the majority supported businesses banning the internet, then the businesses that offered it would go out of business. They wouldn't need pipe bombs, because there wouldn't be any customers.

If it's going to change, it needs to change from within.

Now, that I agree with.

This is a law enforcement problem. It's going to continue until the people get fed up with it, and start phoning an honest police department when it happens. It's going to continue until there's a government in place which the people trust to enforce the laws. (And that won't happen until the government deserves that trust.)

Until the people decide that the mere presence of a "Shiite (or any other) militia" is intolerable.

[Chump Bailey]

It is a depraved society where THROWING ACID IN THE FACES OF WOMEN is deemed appropriate religious behavior if said woman is not wearing a burka.

Have you heard about the woman in Iran, who while attempting to stop a group of five men from raping her and her sister (I think - close relative) stabbed one or more of the guys?

I believe she was 'convicted' and now awaits her impending execution...

[Kilmer17]

Funny how those arguments were never spoken before we invaded Iraq. . . and it is even worse that you can claim it needs to change from within for Palestine, yet you still think troops should be in Iraq.

Spin spin dodge dodge dodge.

Try and follow along skippy. IF Countries/Govts/dictators/factions etc refuse to stop preaching and carrying out violent attacks, then we should continue to impose our own force to prevent such attacks on our own citizens.

If terrorstinians want to blow each other up daily, I say have at it. But if they continue to blame the US and Israel for their own people acting like savages, and inciting them to act against us, we need to step in BEFORE they act.

Our troups shouldnt be fighting in Iraq, their shouldnt be anyone left their for us to fight. The war was faulty in it's execution, not in it's reason.