Gaza Islamists uproot statue for Arab dead

Gaza Islamists uproot statue for Arab dead
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA, June 17 (Reuters) - Radical Islamists in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip destroyed a cement statue, long considered a symbol of Palestinian hopes for statehood, because they see the depiction as a violation of strict religious laws.

A Hamas security source said those who attacked the statue were members of the so-called radical Salaf group, which abides by strict religious edicts. "The whole issue is under investigation. We do not agree with what happened," the Hamas security source said.

The presence of radical Islamist groups in Gaza has grown recently. Some say they follow the lead of al Qaeda.

The Islamists also ransacked the house of Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, during a looting spree that followed Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip last week after days of bloody fighting with the secular Fatah faction.

Hamas denied Arafat's house and belongings had been "touched".

For many Palestinians, the cement statue for the Unknown Soldier has been a symbol of the Arab fight against Israel. It was erected during Egyptian rule in Gaza in the 1950s but was destroyed by Israel. Arafat rebuilt it in the 1990s.

more:http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17533336.htm

That's a real insight to the "radical" religious mind, somewhat similar to the Taliban blowing up the ancient statues in Afghanistan a few years ago.