At a briefing on Aug. 15, Habash outlined measures imposed during
the crackdown. The minister said authorities were ensuring that only
authorized personnel could preach in West Bank mosques.
The PA crackdown has sparked criticism from the rival Hamas regime in
the Gaza Strip. Hamas has accused the PA of following the dictates of Israel
and the United States to quell Muslim sentiment in the West Bank.
"They will not succeed in their war against Islam because it is a war
with God," Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said.
The PA also imposed a ban on such leading Hamas clerics as Hamed Bitawi
and Nayef Rajoub. Nayef is the brother of Fatah leader and former PA
security chief Jibril Rajoub.
"Hundreds of preachers in the West Bank have also been prohibited from
addressing believers during Friday prayers in the mosques," Bitawi said.
“The government in Ramallah wants only yes-men as preachers."
Officials said Hamas has penetrated the mosque network in the West Bank.
They said Hamas clerics and seminary students have sought to take over
PA-financed mosques in such cities as Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah
and Tulkarm.
In his briefing, Habash said the PA also ordered that mosques could not
broadcast verses from the Koran. He said this practice was distracting to
Palestinians workers.
"The Koran should be listened to when recited, and we know that people
are busy with their daily lives and won't pay attention to the mosque
loudspeakers," Habash said.
Officials said security forces have also closed Hamas-dominated Koran
education centers and dismissed suspected Hamas teachers and clerics from
civil service. They said Hamas has been using the Koran centers for
recruitment and planning.
For his part, Habash, a former Hamas representative, said the PA has
built 90 mosques in the West Bank over the last year. He said the PA has
rejected Hamas's practice of using mosques for hostile purposes.
"We built mosques and taught many people the Koran," Habash, referring
to the bloody Hamas assault on a Rafah mosque in August 2009, said. "We also
trained many imams and Koran-readers. Unlike Hamas, we didn’t fire rockets
at mosques and kill children and the elderly inside mosques."
ShareThis
