Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Hamas, pressed by the rise in the Salafist opposition,
has cracked down on young men with long hair.

A Palestinian human rights group said Hamas police have been detaining
young men from the Gaza Strip who do not confirm with the Islamist dress
code.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the latest crackdown
focused on men with long hair and tight pants.

“The police has detained and attacked several men over the past days,
stating that the hairstyle of these men was indecent,” PCHR said.

In a statement on April 7, the human rights group said Hamas police
stopped and detained young men throughout the Gaza Strip. Police were said to have cut the hair of the detainees, beat and forced them to sign a
statement not to wear long hair or “low-waisted trousers.”

“At the police station, they ordered us to stand in a line and they were
making fun of our hairstyles using abusive words,” an unidentified man told PCHR.

“When a detainee protested, he was beaten. The policemen started cutting a young man’s hair and I was the next one to have his hair cut. All young men had their hair cut. I then signed a statement saying I would not grow long hair or have strange hairstyle or wear low waist trousers.”

The young man said he was detained on April 4 just outside Gaza City
with 12 others. He said police did not say why they were being detained.

The Hamas Interior Ministry, which has encountered rising unrest by the
Salafist movement, denied the latest crackdown. Ministry spokesman Ihab
Ghussein said the detentions were conducted by what he called the Islamic
Bloc.

“What is discussed is a campaign launched by the Islamic Bloc namely in
which they address certain forms of negative behavior such as wearing
low-waisted trousers,” Ghussein said on April 6.

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