Muslim ERA watch: Hamastan bans hairdressers

In 2007, the New York Times happily published a lying op-ed by Ahmed Yousef that said, among other things:

“Palestinians want, on their terms, the same thing Western societies want: self-determination, modernity, access to markets and their own economic power, and freedom for civil society to evolve.”

[…] Our stated aim when we won the election was to effect reform, end corruption and bring economic prosperity to our people. Our sole focus is Palestinian rights and good governance. We now hope to create a climate of peace and tranquillity within our community

This was a blatant lie, but that didn’t stop the Times from continuing to publish Hamas’ lying op-eds. As for the freedom Hamas talk about? Well, if my hairdresser worked in Gaza, he’d be out of a job today.

Gaza’s Islamic Hamas government on Thursday banned men from working in women’s hair salons, the latest step in its campaign to impose strict Islamic customs on Gaza’s 1.5 million people.

And here is the AP twisting itself into knots trying to whitewash the constant stream of Hamas trying to force Islamic law on Gaza:

Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has taken steps in that direction while avoiding a frontal assault on secularism. The majority of Gaza residents are conservative Muslims, but Hamas is under growing pressure from more radical groups to prove its fundamentalist credentials by imposing ever harsher edicts.

You have to head down nine paragraphs before the AP writes:

Fares said Hamas’s new ruling takes away one of the last remnants of a more liberal lifestyle in Gaza that flourished decades ago, when the territory had cinemas and bars. All cinemas and bars were closed years ago.

Let me just repeat the Hamas spokesliar’s words from 2007:

“Palestinians want, on their terms, the same thing Western societies want: self-determination, modernity, access to markets and their own economic power, and freedom for civil society to evolve.”

Many probably do want that. But Hamas does not.