Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Gaza Strip)
Encyclopedia
The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is a group in the Gaza Strip
responsible for enforcing Muslim
codes of behavior. According to journalist Khaled Abu Toameh
and Middle East researcher Dr. Jonathan Spyer, the group forms part of the police forces of the Hamas
de-facto government.
In 2009, the Hamas government’s "Islamic Endowment Ministry" has deployed Virtue Committee members to warn citizens of the "dangers" of immodest dress, card playing and dating.
The force was aimed to “fight those who are being corrupted by Satan, and do not observe sharia law.”
as, "the devil's path leads to perdition [...] Young people are our main target since they commit many transgressions whether name calling that involves God or through hanging out late at night in the streets, smoking and disturbing people." The group also claimed responsibility for severely beating up two members of a Khan Younis clan, "for committing sins such as disrespect for God and disturbing people [...] That was a warning for them. Hopefully, they will come to their senses." Citing a report in Al-Quds Al-Arabi
, Al-Arabiya said one of the first acts of the group was to beat up a singer in Gaza after he gave a concert in Khan Younis. Al-Arabiya noted that "There was no official comment from Hamas leaders on the acts or declarations of Gaza's self-styled religious police."
reported that the Committee is a police force that operates under the command of the Hamas Ministry of the Waqf
(Islamic Endowment), and includes dozens of plainclothes police officers who patrol public places such as beaches, parks, restaurants, hair salons and cafes to ensure that males and females are not mixing together and that the women are dressed modestly. A special all-female unit within the force is said to number 100-150 officers who enforce female modesty and handle female suspects, with uniforms that include a niqab
and gloves, "with only an eye slit visible". Citing unnamed local Gaza reporters, the newspaper states that the Hamas de-facto government has not publicly acknowledged the force's existence because it fears being branded fundamentalist.
Another incident attributed to the group by The Jerusalem Post concerns Asma al-Ghul, a female Palestinian journalist, who stated that policemen from the force:
while swimming. Another commander claimed" that the offense was "smoking
nargilas and partying in a public place". The Guardian
reported the same incident also citing al-Ghul, but attributing it only to "Hamas police". Their report noted that Islam Shahwan, the Hamas police spokesman, denied it ever happened.
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
responsible for enforcing Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
codes of behavior. According to journalist Khaled Abu Toameh
Khaled Abu Toameh
Khaled Abu Toameh is a Israeli Arab journalist and documentary filmmaker. Abu Toameh is the West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and U.S. News and World Report, and has been the Palestinian affairs producer for NBC News since 1988...
and Middle East researcher Dr. Jonathan Spyer, the group forms part of the police forces of the Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
de-facto government.
In 2009, the Hamas government’s "Islamic Endowment Ministry" has deployed Virtue Committee members to warn citizens of the "dangers" of immodest dress, card playing and dating.
The force was aimed to “fight those who are being corrupted by Satan, and do not observe sharia law.”
Overview
The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was mentioned in a 2007 report on Al-Arabiya. They were described as an "unknown" group that have released a statement declaring a campaign to hunt down all, "slaves of the devil who commit blasphemy and roam the streets". Their statement called upon youth to resist temptation from the devilDevil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
as, "the devil's path leads to perdition [...] Young people are our main target since they commit many transgressions whether name calling that involves God or through hanging out late at night in the streets, smoking and disturbing people." The group also claimed responsibility for severely beating up two members of a Khan Younis clan, "for committing sins such as disrespect for God and disturbing people [...] That was a warning for them. Hopefully, they will come to their senses." Citing a report in Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi , is an independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London since 1989. The paper is owned by Palestinian expatriates, and edited by Abd al-Bari Atwan who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza Strip in 1950. Its motto is . Its circulation is estimated to be...
, Al-Arabiya said one of the first acts of the group was to beat up a singer in Gaza after he gave a concert in Khan Younis. Al-Arabiya noted that "There was no official comment from Hamas leaders on the acts or declarations of Gaza's self-styled religious police."
Detention of Asma al-Ghul
In 2009, The Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
reported that the Committee is a police force that operates under the command of the Hamas Ministry of the Waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
(Islamic Endowment), and includes dozens of plainclothes police officers who patrol public places such as beaches, parks, restaurants, hair salons and cafes to ensure that males and females are not mixing together and that the women are dressed modestly. A special all-female unit within the force is said to number 100-150 officers who enforce female modesty and handle female suspects, with uniforms that include a niqab
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
and gloves, "with only an eye slit visible". Citing unnamed local Gaza reporters, the newspaper states that the Hamas de-facto government has not publicly acknowledged the force's existence because it fears being branded fundamentalist.
Another incident attributed to the group by The Jerusalem Post concerns Asma al-Ghul, a female Palestinian journalist, who stated that policemen from the force:
attempted to arrest her under the pretext that she came to a Gaza beach dressed immodestly and was seen laughing in public..."They accused me of laughing loudly while swimming with my friend and failing to wear a hijab," Ghul told a human rights organization in the Gaza Strip. "They also wanted to know the identity of the people who were with me at the beach and whether they were relatives of mine."Al-Ghul added that the officers confiscated her passport, and that she had received death threats from anonymous callers following the incident. Regarding the incident, "Hamas security commanders initially said that [al-Ghul] and her friends were stopped because they were having a mixed party at the beach. Later, one of the commanders said that al-Ghul was stopped [for] not wearing a hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
while swimming. Another commander claimed" that the offense was "smoking
Women and smoking
The cigarette industry began a strong marketing campaign geared toward women beginning in the 1920s. These campaigns became more aggressive as time has progressed and marketing in general became more prominent...
nargilas and partying in a public place". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported the same incident also citing al-Ghul, but attributing it only to "Hamas police". Their report noted that Islam Shahwan, the Hamas police spokesman, denied it ever happened.
See also
- Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Afghanistan)
- Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)
- Swords of TruthSwords of TruthThe Swords of Truth is a Palestinian Islamist group based in the Gaza Strip.In 2007 the group threatened to behead female TV broadcasters who don't wear strict Islamic dress...
- Public moralityPublic moralityPublic morality refers to moral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media, and to conduct in public places...
- MutaweenMutaweenThe word mutaween most literally means "volunteers" in the Arabic language, and is commonly used as a casual term for the government-authorized or government-recognized religious police of Saudi Arabia....
- TalibanizationTalibanizationTalibanization is a term coined following the rise of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan referring to the process where other religious groups or movements come to follow or imitate the strict practices of the Taliban....
- Modesty patrolModesty patrolA modesty patrol is a type of criminal gang which fights what it deems violations of Tzniut in the Haredi public through violence and intimidation. Such groups are said to operate in several predominantly Haredi communities in Israel...
- Islamization of Gaza