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Hamas Pushes Islamization of Gaza

Following Al-Aqsa University's decision last week to impose the jilbab on female students, Abeer Ayyoub reports on a wider push by authorities to press Islamic law on Gaza's society.

A Palestinian woman walks past a clothing store in the West Bank city of Ramallah September 4, 2012. Palestinian dreams of building a powerful economy to speed their drive towards independence could soon be plunged into darkness. The cash-strapped government of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority, is so behind with its bills that an Israeli electricity supplier has threatened to cut the power unless they pay outstanding debt of almost $80 million. Picture taken September 4, 2012. To match Feat
A Palestinian woman walks past a clothing store in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sept. 4, 2012. — REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

When Muhammad, who refused to give his family name out of security concerns, asked the DJ at his brother’s wedding in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, to play music for slow dancing, the DJ refused on the grounds that he would be punished by the authorities.

Bemused, Muhammad warned the DJ that the family wouldn't continue the wedding if he didn’t play the song. The DJ shrugged off the threat and stood by his refusal.

“We were really angry, because we were never informed that the slow dance wasn’t allowed,” Muhammad said.

When Muhammad sought clarification from the club administrator, he was told that such dances were prohibited for “social concerns” — the dance moves were sexually suggestive and might induce single females to behave inappropriately.

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