Palestinian group threatens women who don't cover up

'Just Swords of Islam' takes credit for attacks on a dozen Internet caf s in Gaza.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
muslim woman 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
muslim woman 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
A hitherto unknown group calling itself the Just Swords of Islam issued a warning to Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip over the weekend that they must wear hijab head coverings or face being targeted by the group's members. In pamphlets distributed in several places in the Gaza Strip, the group also claimed responsibility for attacks on 12 Internet cafes over the past few days. The warning was directed primarily against female students at universities and colleges who do not cover their heads in line with Islamic tradition. The group said its followers threw acid at the face of a young woman who was dressed "immodestly" in the center of Gaza City last week. They also destroyed a car belonging to a young man who was playing his radio tape too loudly. Addressing female students, the group said: "We will have no mercy on any woman who violates the traditions of Islam and who also hangs out in Internet cafes." According to the group, its members used rocket-propelled grenades to attack 12 Internet cafes and a number of music shops in different parts of the Gaza Strip. It said the places were targeted because they were "distracting an entire generation of Palestinians from their duty to worship and jihad, so that they could serve their Zionist masters and the Crusaders." Hamas officials denied any connection to the group, saying their movement does not resort to "intimidation and terror" against the people. Gazans had mixed reactions to the group's threats. While many seemed to support the demand that all women wear the hijab, others expressed fear that the group was trying to create a Taliban-style regime.