Hamas's Rise Poses no Threat: Palestinian Christians

"I am not afraid of Hamas, even of the Islamic religion," Anton Shuhaiber, a church council member and member of the board of the local Young Men's Christian Association, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, March2 .

The Palestinian resistance group has swept the legislative elections, winning 74 of the132 -seat legislature, entitling it to form the new government.

Since then, feelings of concern and unease have been high among some Christians that the new Hamas-led government would seek to impose Shari`ah on both Muslims and Christians.

Some were also concerned that the government would force Palestinian women to wear hijab and impose harsh punishments for common crimes.

But the majority of Christians in Gaza, a Hamas's stronghold, said these concerns were groundless.

"For Christians who read the Qur'an carefully and with an open mind there is no fear," asserted Shubaiber, a68 -year-old doctor who studied in England.

He counted as friends Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdulaziz Rantissi, both assassinated by Israel, and points to a spot on his sofa where they used to sit.

Covenant of Omar

Father Artemios Dimitriades agreed.

"We are not afraid of anything, because the Muslims and the Christians here, from the time Islam came, are living in peace and love," said Artemios.

He cited as a case in point a recent mass demonstration against Danish cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

Father Dimitriades went down of the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Perfilios to meet hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators, scores of whom were Christians.

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