- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marc Rodrigues" <cuito61 at onebox.com>
>His >allusion to Palestine is totally out of
place and the connection he tries >to make is
weak, at best. what conflict is there in
Palestinian society >between those who "want
sharia" and those who don't? this is a
non-issue, >really. there are many conflicts
amongst palestinians but that aint >one of them.
Then Nate.org replied:
>What the heck are you talking about? The basic
>division between the PLO and Hamas is based on
>the issue of secularism versus Islamic
>fundamentalism as goals of the movement.
I think you are wrong again Nathan. The biggest disagreement among Palestinians is liberation and how to achieve it--that is, how collectively to deal with the Israeli behemoth and expansionist zionism. Forces for compromise and co-existence (some might call them realists) grouped under Arafat's PLO.
Some who might be called secular (e.g., Abu Nidal) and some who fit the term fundamentalist thought much more absolutely about liberation of Palestine, and took up armed conflict against Arafat. A Palestinian doesn't necessarily have to be a fundamentalist Muslim to think compromise with Israel is wrong.
It really does seem that Israel's strategy all along has been to encourage extremists of both fundamentalist and secular ilk to undercut any peace process Arafat might pursue. Certainly, it has done everything it can to punish Arafat first, even holding him responsible for atrocities committed in areas where only Israeli forces control security.
C Jannuzi
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