by Rainer Rupp
Global Research, December 18, 2006
Global Research, Originally published in German by Junge Welt, Berlin
".......
R.R.Is Hamas the movement of religious fanatics, as it is portrayed in the West? A movement with which one cannot deal? Yet, Hamas has been accepted and invited to Moscow by the Russian government and here (in Syria) you are guests of a secular state. Is this all a disguise? Which is the true Hamas.
K.M.
Well, let me give you an example. We have for instance good relations with Christians
R.R.Are you actually working together with the Christians in Palestine?
K.M.
Yes, with some of them.
This image of religious fanaticism has been fabricated by Israel and the American administration. It is an image that does not reflect the facts. You know that the American administration gives itself the right to classify people just the way they like. But how can respectable states in Europe, like Britain, Germany or France, be influenced by this propaganda. Should they not search for the truth themselves? Should they not form their views on the basis of reason instead of rumours and hearsay.
But how should the West discover the truth about Palestine and Hamas? First the Western journalists should come here to meet the people and see the facts with their own eyes. Go to Palestine and see how the people live. Listen to what the people have to say. Listen to leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian movements. You should learn the truth through direct contacts and not through others. And if you want to know about Hamas then go and meet the people from Hamas. We are ready for dialogue.
If you are looking for reasons, why Hamas won the election, then it is because the Palestinian people trust us and because Hamas reflects the feelings and the aspirations of the Palestinian people. And if you scrutinize Hamas closely then you will not find any corruption whatsoever. But you will find, that Hamas is very close to the people, that it is really serving the needs of the people. And if the people of Palestine elected Hamas, then the will of the people should be respected, also by the West.
R.R.But what about the reproach of religious fanaticism?
K.M.
That is easy to refute. If Hamas was a movement of religious fanatics, it wouldn’t have been elected by the Palestinian people, because in Palestine there are many groups. And there are also Christians, who work together with us. For instance one of the Members of Parliament in Gaza who was elected on the Hamas list is a Christian doctor. And the majority of Muslims and Christians gave him their vote. The fact is, that the ideas of Hamas are moderate. We practice tolerance with everybody. And we deal with Muslims and Christians at the same level. And on this level we deal with everybody, either religious, liberal or secular, either inside or outside of Palestine. And we have relations within the Middle East but also in Europe and Africa. Hamas is an open movement. We do not combat Israel because they are Jews but because they are occupying our land.
...Continued."
No comments:
Post a Comment