>What the heck are you talking about? The basic division between >thePLO
and
>Hamas is based on the issue of secularism versus Islamic >fundamentalismas
>goals of the movement. Hamas's suicide bombing is part of its harder
>militancy but is as well tied to its adherents religious view of their
>martydom.
this may be true to some extent, but i think you're oversimplyfying things.
there are divisions that exist between the plo and hamas that are based not only on religious grounds but also on what type of concessions the plo constantly makes to israel and the u.s. i was referring to hitchens' specific reference to "sharia" in the palestine context, which i think is a non-issue. and martyrdom operations are supported by secular groups such as the pflp. i think to paint them crudely as actions taken by "fanatical religious fundamentalists" turns the attention away from asking ourselves what conditions would drive an otherwise rational young person to do this to themselves? in fact, many "suicide bombers" were not involved with the religious fundamentalists at all, and some were women.
--*-- Marc Rodrigues Voicemail: 866.206.9067 x4217 Students for a Free Society: http://qcsfs.tripod.com
"I cock back tha sling to stone a settler And breaks him off clean, call me the upsetter" -Zack de la Rocha