JUST ANOTHER POLITICAL PARTY:

Hamas and social services: Food not bombs: a review of Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza: Engaging the Islamist Social Sector. By Sara Roy (The Economist)

Palestinians are pragmatic when it comes to social care. Many go from one organisation to the next--both Islamic and secular--to scavenge as much support as they can, regardless of politics or ideology. Parents often choose religious schools and hospitals because the services are better there than those provided by secular NGOs or the feeble Palestinian state. Palestinians of all social classes, including the secular and the wealthy, send their children to Islamic schools, just like many agnostic London parents send their children to church schools renowned for their discipline and education

Some employees of Islamic NGOs sound equally sanguine about the role of religion. One director of an organisation that distributes money, clothing and food to the poor tells Ms Roy that beyond appropriate dress and "respectful behaviour" (admittedly a worryingly vague term), he was not concerned with the religious purity of those he served. He is happy to help anyone in need: "if we discriminate we become fanatics."

The social work that Hamas does has certainly empowered the organisation. But Ms Roy argues that this indirect appeal for votes "is very different from mobilising people into collective action in support of an activist Islamist agenda". It is not as if Hamas uses its social institutions to launch political or military activities, she adds.

Posted by oj at October 18, 2011 5:34 AM
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