Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Palestinians have been quietly converting from Sunni to
Shi’a Islam.

Hundreds of Palestinians are said to have converted to Shi’a Islam over
the last two years. They said the effort was financed by Iran through
proxies in the Gaza Strip.

“Their numbers are not great, but people are noticing for the first time
Shi’ites in the Gaza Strip,” a Palestinian source said.

The sources said the Hamas regime has not acted against the Shi’ite
converts. They said Hamas has decided to tolerate a small Shi’ite presence
amid Iran’s massive military and financial support.

The Palestinians are said to have been proselytized by a small Shi’ite
sect that appeared in the Gaza Strip around 2006. They said
operatives of such Iranian proxies as Islamic Jihad were the first to
convert to Shi’a in what was believed to mark a career promotion.

“We in the Shi’ite stream consider ourselves an extension of the Islamic
republic of Iran and Hizbullah,” a Shi’ite activist, identified as Abdul
Rahim Hamad, said.

Hamad, a resident of the northern Gaza Strip, said the Shi’ite
conversions have been supported by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and
Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. The Palestinian said he has
maintained communications with both Shi’ite leaders.

“Our number now reach into the hundreds, and we will launch political
activities soon,” Hamad said.

The Gaza Strip, with more than 1.5 million people, is predominately
Sunni, many of them linked to families in neighboring Egypt. The strip
contains about 2,000 Christians and no Jews.

The sources said Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad began encouraging Sunnis to
convert after the war with Israel in 2006. They said Hizbullah conducted a
similar campaign in Egypt.

The Hamas regime has denied any Shi’ite presence in the Gaza Strip. But
officials said Hamas and its Palestinian militia allies work closely with
Iran and Hizbullah.

“There are no Shi’ites in Gaza,” Ahmed Yusef, political adviser to
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said. “All we have is sympathy with
Hizbullah and Iran.

But Palestinian sources said Hamas has summoned Shi’ite activists for
interrogation and warned them not to proselytize. Hamad, the Shi’ite
activist, said he was taken to Hamas secuirty headquarters several times
after he helped erect a Shi’ite shrine near his home.

“We as Gaza Shi’ites, along with Hizbullah and Iran, are in the same
boat as Hamas,” Hamad said.

  Ali Khamenei, Gaza Strip, Hassan Nasrallah, Iran subsidizing the conversion of Palestinians to Shi’ites, Ismail Haniyeh, Shi’ite