Palestinian Groups Set To Declare A Caliphate
I do not know if I should be worried, or laughing at this story from the Jerusalem Post:
(Hat-Tip courtesy of Captain Ed)
For the first time since the Hamas victory in the parliamentary elections earlier this year, the Fatah central committee, a key decision-making body in the Palestinian Authority, began a three-day meeting in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss internal reforms and relations with Hamas.
Meanwhile, a radical Islamic group called Hizb al-Tahrir (Liberation Party) is planning to declare the birth of an Islamic caliphate in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The relatively small party, which is seen as more extreme than Hamas, is said to have increased its popularity following what is perceived as a Hizbullah victory over Israel.
On Tuesday, thousands of the party's supporters staged a demonstration in Gaza City to mark the anniversary of the end of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It was the first demonstration in the Gaza Strip in which demonstrators called for establishing an Islamic caliphate that would rule not only in the PA territories, but the entire world.
Buoyed by the large turnout, the party's leaders are now considering declaring an Islamic caliphate in the Gaza Strip during Friday prayers, sources close to the party said.
Jordanian security forces recently foiled a similar attempt by the party's followers in the kingdom and arrested most of their leaders. Ramzi Sawalhah, the leader of Hizb al-Tahrir in Jordan, was arrested shortly after he delivered a sermon in a mosque in which he called for replacing the monarchy with an Islamic caliphate.
Coming froma group of people who cannot even govern themselves well, the idea of a caliphate is extremely laughable. However it is no laughing matter when one considers the situation in the Middle East, and within the Palestinian government. Fatah's defeat compared to Hamas's supposed rising star shows a significant shift in politics, at least as terrorist groups go. I do believe that Fatah under Abbas was trying to make peace with Israel. Of course, many people would consider that naive, and so be it; under Abbas, the Palestinians were not nearly as bold as Hamas. It was Hamas, through their proxies in Islamic Jihad, that started this latest round of violence there when they kidnapped an IDF soldier.
Furthermore, the idea of a caliphate continues to push the Iranian agenda of such a feat. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to reestablish the Persian Empire as it once was, and under the rule of a caliphate. So in a way this is hardly a laughing matter. If there is enough of an outrage towards the status quo in Gaza from the people, they could elevate the Liberation Party into positions of power in coming years through election; no different than the tactics used by Hamas and Hezbollah in their grab for power within the legitimate government. But it all boils down to the same glaringly obvious fact: These are terrorists, and no amount of political power or responsibility is going to make them legitimate.
But Captain Ed has an astute observation regarding this little development:
"It's not likely to succeed. The Iranians want a new Caliphate -- based in Teheran. The Saudis want a new Caliphate -- based in Mecca. Arabs don't trust Persians, Sunni don't trust Shi'a, and so on. No one will trust Hizb al-Tahrir with the leadership of the Muslim world, and while some may humor the newcomers as a way to tweak the Israelis, none of them will take direction from upstarts among a people that they scorn except for their value in rabble-rousing in their own nations."
He is correct. This will only strain relations there, and not just in the context of "tweaking" Israel; we have seen these groups fight it out before. Fatah, Hamas, Hib al-Tahrir, Islamic Jihad, the PLO--it does not matter who is involved. Each one want their own little group to control, and they have no problem going to war against one another. Remember the elections that propelled Hamas into the cat-bird seat? Anyone remember the photos from those elections? The gunmen parading around, and the rhetoric from both Fatah and Hamas members was increasingly hostile towards each other. And these people think they can govern? That is what truly tends to be comedic about this. They think they can govern. Right.
And pigs can fly ...
Marcie
I do not know if I should be worried, or laughing at this story from the Jerusalem Post:
(Hat-Tip courtesy of Captain Ed)
For the first time since the Hamas victory in the parliamentary elections earlier this year, the Fatah central committee, a key decision-making body in the Palestinian Authority, began a three-day meeting in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss internal reforms and relations with Hamas.
Meanwhile, a radical Islamic group called Hizb al-Tahrir (Liberation Party) is planning to declare the birth of an Islamic caliphate in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The relatively small party, which is seen as more extreme than Hamas, is said to have increased its popularity following what is perceived as a Hizbullah victory over Israel.
On Tuesday, thousands of the party's supporters staged a demonstration in Gaza City to mark the anniversary of the end of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It was the first demonstration in the Gaza Strip in which demonstrators called for establishing an Islamic caliphate that would rule not only in the PA territories, but the entire world.
Buoyed by the large turnout, the party's leaders are now considering declaring an Islamic caliphate in the Gaza Strip during Friday prayers, sources close to the party said.
Jordanian security forces recently foiled a similar attempt by the party's followers in the kingdom and arrested most of their leaders. Ramzi Sawalhah, the leader of Hizb al-Tahrir in Jordan, was arrested shortly after he delivered a sermon in a mosque in which he called for replacing the monarchy with an Islamic caliphate.
Coming froma group of people who cannot even govern themselves well, the idea of a caliphate is extremely laughable. However it is no laughing matter when one considers the situation in the Middle East, and within the Palestinian government. Fatah's defeat compared to Hamas's supposed rising star shows a significant shift in politics, at least as terrorist groups go. I do believe that Fatah under Abbas was trying to make peace with Israel. Of course, many people would consider that naive, and so be it; under Abbas, the Palestinians were not nearly as bold as Hamas. It was Hamas, through their proxies in Islamic Jihad, that started this latest round of violence there when they kidnapped an IDF soldier.
Furthermore, the idea of a caliphate continues to push the Iranian agenda of such a feat. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to reestablish the Persian Empire as it once was, and under the rule of a caliphate. So in a way this is hardly a laughing matter. If there is enough of an outrage towards the status quo in Gaza from the people, they could elevate the Liberation Party into positions of power in coming years through election; no different than the tactics used by Hamas and Hezbollah in their grab for power within the legitimate government. But it all boils down to the same glaringly obvious fact: These are terrorists, and no amount of political power or responsibility is going to make them legitimate.
But Captain Ed has an astute observation regarding this little development:
"It's not likely to succeed. The Iranians want a new Caliphate -- based in Teheran. The Saudis want a new Caliphate -- based in Mecca. Arabs don't trust Persians, Sunni don't trust Shi'a, and so on. No one will trust Hizb al-Tahrir with the leadership of the Muslim world, and while some may humor the newcomers as a way to tweak the Israelis, none of them will take direction from upstarts among a people that they scorn except for their value in rabble-rousing in their own nations."
He is correct. This will only strain relations there, and not just in the context of "tweaking" Israel; we have seen these groups fight it out before. Fatah, Hamas, Hib al-Tahrir, Islamic Jihad, the PLO--it does not matter who is involved. Each one want their own little group to control, and they have no problem going to war against one another. Remember the elections that propelled Hamas into the cat-bird seat? Anyone remember the photos from those elections? The gunmen parading around, and the rhetoric from both Fatah and Hamas members was increasingly hostile towards each other. And these people think they can govern? That is what truly tends to be comedic about this. They think they can govern. Right.
And pigs can fly ...
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:04 PM
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