Binghamton, NY -- Has Hamas changed its tune?

Many analysts are saying that, if anything, at least the Hamas election has awoken the world to the true desires of the Palestinian people. I'm not so sure about that. I mean, if I had lived under a completely corrupt foreign government (the bulk of the Fatah leaders had come in from Tunisia in 1993) for the last 13 years, I think I'd want some change -- even if that change isn't really any better than what I had before.

So the big question is will Hamas recognize Israel and denounce terrorism?

A few weeks ago, on one of their "educational" websites: al-fateh.net, Hamas laid out a demand for the return of Seville, Spain to Muslim rule. The Spain Herald reports

"The lost paradise of Al Andalus," explicitly mentioned in the text, is a common meme in the Muslim world. It has led to concrete fatwas declared in order to recover territories conquered by Christian "infidels," such as that of three years ago by the Islamist sheik Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, which explicitly says that "Islam will return to Europe as the conqueror." Al-Qaradhawi is the leader of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, and the spiritual leader of many other Islamist organizations around the world.

Doesn't it trouble anyone that there is a European Council for Fatwa and Research?

posted by Ari @ 11:29 AM Trackback Link