Why proposed blasphemy law horrifies many in Gaza
One scholar's call for an anti-blasphemy law has riled Gazans across the Strip, with some saying the idea is better suited to the Islamic State and will damage Hamas' image as a moderate Islamic movement.
Hamas declared in its founding charter created in August 1988 that it bases its ideas, concepts and perceptions on Islam and refers to it for guidance on all of its activities.
Hamas views itself as an Islamic movement with a moderate ideology. It does not accuse anyone of disbelief, does not condone any killing based on religion and according to its scholars, religious freedom is a right guaranteed by the Quranic verse 256 of Surat al- Baqarah, “There is no compulsion in religion.”
But since Sept. 9, Khaled al-Khalidi, a professor of Palestinian history at the Islamic University in Gaza with ties to Hamas, has been posting statements on social media calling for the enactment of an anti-blasphemy law, provoking a storm of reactions online.
It all started when Khalidi, whose studies have taken him from Palestine to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, called on the Legislative Council to enact an anti-blasphemy law to protect Muslims’ ideology from disbelief and misguidance and for professors of Islamic law to participate in its drafting to define "blasphemers" and the corresponding punishment according to Sharia.
