Gaza's schoolyard exorcisms
A video of a teenagers tearfully repenting their sins together at school under the direction of Hamas-affiliated preachers has many Gazans outraged over religious affairs officials' involvement in education.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A video that went viral April 5 showed what looked like collective repentance for mistakes committed by boys as young as 15 years old. These acts of repentance were organized at the Nile preparatory public school in the west of Gaza City by a preaching group affiliated with the Hamas-run Ministry of Awqaf (Endowments) and Religious Affairs.
The highly emotional scene was led by a group of bearded men preaching to young boys, who kept bowing down and wailing. Later, the men embraced the boys, who then bowed down to thank God.
During the episode, one of the preachers, none of whom were named in the video posted on YouTube, explicitly said that they have organized more than 60 such events in Gaza schools.
He was heard saying, "We did not come here to put on a theatrical performance. We came to cast out the devil from our hearts, our minds and our thinking." He was also heard describing the students’ sobbing and prostrating as "a wholehearted and sincere return to God."
