"Publicly, Hamas has promised Christians that they would not be harmed,"
a Fatah official said. "Privately, Christian professionals who had been
working in the PA have been told that they would no longer feel comfortable
in a Muslim society."
Since its takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has provided
incentives for Palestinians to adopt Islamic tenets. On Aug. 6, the Hamas
regime announced that inmates could reduce their sentences by one year if
they memorize five chapters from the Koran. Officials said the new directive
was so far limited to Gaza's main prison — with 350 inmates, 30 of them on
death row.
"This new program encourages them to behave according to the Islamic
law," Col. Abu Al Abd Hamid, the prison warden, said.
The Fatah representatives said single Christian women have come under
the greatest pressure to convert to Islam. They said a Christian professor,
Sana Al Sayegh, was abducted by Hamas and forced to convert to Islam.
Ms. Al Sayegh has been dean of the Science and Technology Faculty at
Palestine University in Gaza City. The representatives said university
president Zaher Khail as well as aides of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
facilitated the abduction and conversion of the Christian professor.
"The case of Professor Al Sayegh is a personal one and does not reflect
the policy of the university," the university, which confirmed that Ms. Al
Sayeh, converted, said.
The Fatah representatives said Ms. Al Sayegh, the only female
Palestinian scientist in the Gaza Strip, disappeared in late June. Two weeks
later, the representatives said, her family was summoned to the home of a
Hamas official where relatives met Ms. Al Sayegh and were told that she had
converted to Islam and married a Muslim.
With Hamas gunmen surrounding her, Ms. Al Sayegh acknowledged that she
had converted to Islam. Hamas also displayed documents that the professor
had wedded a Muslim faculty member, Izz Al Arab Awur. Later, the relatives
said, Awur denied any marriage to Ms. Al Sayegh.
The tiny Christian community in Gaza City has sought to win the release
of Ms. Al Sayegh. The Fatah representatives said Haniyeh has refused to meet
Christian leaders.
"She challenged everyone and did what she was supposed to do — become a
devout Muslim," Ala Aklouk, a senior Hamas-aligned Muslim cleric, said.
