Public march cancelled because intermingling of sexes might lead "women to sin and fall into traps"
Op-ed by Jawad Boulus, a columnist for the official PA daily
“I don’t know if there are organizational ties between the groups that opposed a series of social and cultural activities that were supposed to take place in a number of our villages in the Galilee and the Triangle (a concentration of Israeli-Arab towns and villages adjacent to the Green Line in northern Israel). The organizers of a march in Baqa Al-Gharbiya, the purpose of which was to allow all family members to participate in an educational entertainment activity… were forced to cancel it to prevent a ‘civil war’ – according to an announcement [published] by those in charge. Prior to this, [activists] distributed notices and pamphlets, signed by Islamic movements, which called for the cancellation of the event on the grounds that it was inconsistent with the principles of the Islamic Shari’ah [law], as the intermingling [of men and women] might allow the participating women to sin and fall into traps.
In Acre, a group of members of Takfir (i.e., Muslims who accuse other Muslims of heresy) protested a performance by the Homeland On a String group and prevented the audience from entering the concert hall, claiming that in one of its satirical and critical performances, the group had attacked the Muslim Brotherhood.
Finally, the Islamic Movement in Sakhnin opposed the screening of the film The Savior, which recounts the story of Jesus. To clarify the opposition’s position, five Imams of mosques in Sakhnin published notices in which they explained they opposed the screening of the film because its plot is based on what was written on the life of Jesus in the Gospel according to Luke, and not on what is accepted by the Islamic faith. In addition, the Imams ‘advised’ the Christians that if they wished to screen the film, they should screen it in their churches or homes. They [the Imams] vowed they would continue to be ‘a fortified wall defending our faith, our Shari’ah [law] and our Quran.’
We are on the brink of a nationwide phenomenon that reflects the growth of rapidly spreading Takfir ideas. The proponents of these ideas are no different from their predecessors in the Islamic and Takfir political movements, and so they follow their example and strive to enforce what they believe to be their right and duty of protecting their faith – [their faith] as they understand it…
‘As I have loved you, love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.’ [John 13:34-35] So the Palestinian – or the ‘Savior’, as he was called in the banned film – commanded his followers 2,000 years ago.”
“I don’t know if there are organizational ties between the groups that opposed a series of social and cultural activities that were supposed to take place in a number of our villages in the Galilee and the Triangle (a concentration of Israeli-Arab towns and villages adjacent to the Green Line in northern Israel). The organizers of a march in Baqa Al-Gharbiya, the purpose of which was to allow all family members to participate in an educational entertainment activity… were forced to cancel it to prevent a ‘civil war’ – according to an announcement [published] by those in charge. Prior to this, [activists] distributed notices and pamphlets, signed by Islamic movements, which called for the cancellation of the event on the grounds that it was inconsistent with the principles of the Islamic Shari’ah [law], as the intermingling [of men and women] might allow the participating women to sin and fall into traps.
In Acre, a group of members of Takfir (i.e., Muslims who accuse other Muslims of heresy) protested a performance by the Homeland On a String group and prevented the audience from entering the concert hall, claiming that in one of its satirical and critical performances, the group had attacked the Muslim Brotherhood.
Finally, the Islamic Movement in Sakhnin opposed the screening of the film The Savior, which recounts the story of Jesus. To clarify the opposition’s position, five Imams of mosques in Sakhnin published notices in which they explained they opposed the screening of the film because its plot is based on what was written on the life of Jesus in the Gospel according to Luke, and not on what is accepted by the Islamic faith. In addition, the Imams ‘advised’ the Christians that if they wished to screen the film, they should screen it in their churches or homes. They [the Imams] vowed they would continue to be ‘a fortified wall defending our faith, our Shari’ah [law] and our Quran.’
We are on the brink of a nationwide phenomenon that reflects the growth of rapidly spreading Takfir ideas. The proponents of these ideas are no different from their predecessors in the Islamic and Takfir political movements, and so they follow their example and strive to enforce what they believe to be their right and duty of protecting their faith – [their faith] as they understand it…
‘As I have loved you, love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.’ [John 13:34-35] So the Palestinian – or the ‘Savior’, as he was called in the banned film – commanded his followers 2,000 years ago.”