Islamists' Win Raises More Questions Than Answers--Jordan Times

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan Friday-Saturday, January 27-28, 2006

http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm



ISLAMISTS’ WIN RAISES MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

By Omar Karmi



RAMALLAH — Defying all polls and even exceeding its own expectations, Hamas Wednesday secured an absolute majority in the Palestinian parliament and will now be asked to form the next Palestinian government.



Despite being widely expected to do well, the victory itself, not to mention the extent of the victory, came as a shock to most observers, including Hamas candidates themselves. A stunned Palestinian government submitted its resignation hours before preliminary official results were released. Even though it was a formality, the move showed the overwhelming nature of the election results.




(SNIP)



On social issues, the group has promoted an Islamic worldview, calling, among other things, for the implementation of Sharia. Yet candidates have repeatedly emphasised that it will not force anyone to change their way of life. In an interview in October with The Jordan Times, Mahmoud Zahar, one of the most senior Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip incredulously replied to a question about women's dress code that “there is no indication in the Koran to enforce people to be believers. So are we going to tell people how to dress and how to eat?”



Yet one woman, who did not want to be identified, told The Jordan Times that during a Hamas rally in Ramallah yesterday, one Hamas supporter had entered a restaurant that served alcohol and pointedly announced that “you have two days!”



SNIP


And there can be no doubting the fears of secular society. Hisham Ahmed, a professor of political science at Birzeit University in Ramallah and the author of a 1994 book on Hamas, “From religious salvation to political and social transformation,” called the issue the “most important” for the immediate future.



“We are at a very serious crossroads in Palestinian society,” Ahmed told The Jordan Times. “This will either take us into further radicalisation or provide us with a historic opportunity to revitalise the secular moment on different basis from what we have seen in the past few years.” However, Ahmed also said that Hamas is a political movement “first and foremost.”

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[channa18]

1. Now comes the moronic explanations.....

no, dont look at the obvious fact that hamas won in a landslide...

Rather use empty rhetoric to divert from the fact that NOW IT IS DOCUMENTED the vast majority of palestinians SUPPORT HAMAS.

Looking around the web i found some real insipid mind-twisters...

#1 "They were really just voting AGAINST fatah".

sorry they had other choices than incompetence vs. murder,inc.

#2. "Well other terrorist groups like sein fein came around after they got elected..."

except sein fein/ira never declared its desire to destroy and drive england into the sea and sein fein of course actually was serious enough to actually reciprocate as a sign of their intentions.

#3 "Being in control will make them stop terrorism...."...

really ??......not according to hamas who views this as a SIGN continue its campaign against israel.

#4(and my favorite) "Well....its not serious...hamas will bend to politcal pressure"

hmmm.... was that before or sfter the last suicide attack or kassam rocket ??









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[Gloria]

2. You missed the one in this article which has someone blaming the

media for hyping the Hamas/Fatah thing and not talking enough about the other parties also on the ballot....