Hamas has a bold new campaign strategy. Khaled Abu-Toameh at Gatestone titles it, Hamas: Vote for us or go to hell." I really feel like this should have been more of an"and" than an "or" considering the moral implications of voting for Hamas and how well Hamas runs things.
The first sign of Hamas's frightening platform emerged when one of its top muftis, Yunis Al-Astal, issued a fatwa banning Palestinians from voting for any other party other than Hamas. "Any person, male or female, who votes for a party other than Hamas will be considered an infidel and apostate and his or her repentance will not be accepted even if they fasted or prayed or performed the hajj [pilgrimage] to Mecca," the mufti ruled.
I thought that declaring other Muslims to be infidels was the sort of radical thing that ISIS did, not the moderate Hamas Muslim Brotherhood.
The Hamas fatwa sparked a wave of anger from many Palestinians, who were quick to accuse the Islamist movement and its leaders of waging a campaign of intimidation and terror against voters.
"This is the policy of the Muslim Brotherhood [of which Hamas is an offshoot]," commented Hisham Sawalhi, a Palestinian from the West Bank. "Those who support Muslim Brotherhood are believers, while those who oppose them are infidels."
Tell it to Obama and McCain.
A Hamas-affiliated cartoonist from the Gaza Strip, Baha Yasin, published a cartoon that carries the same message as the fatwa. "A Palestinian Muslim does not vote for secular infidels," he captioned a cartoon that depicts supporters of Fatah as unbelievers who smoke nargilas and cigarettes. The caption accompanying the cartoon also denounces the Fatah supporters for "insulting Allah" and Islam.
"A vote for Hamas is a vote for the resistance and a vote in support of Allah and Islam," reads one of Hamas's election banners. Other banners posted on social media highlight the fact that most of the Fatah representatives are not faithful Muslims and do not pray or practice any of the other pillars of Islam.
But they all practice Jihad. Isn't that what counts?