The son of an imam whose family has lived in Gaza for generations published an article in which he spoke of how his father, whom he said was seized by Hamas, said as he was taken that if he should die, his family should publicize the real reason for his death: that he would not preach that obedience to Hamas and violent resistance to Israel is Gazans’ best path.
Ala Mohammed Mushtaha, son of Imam Mohammed Mushtaha, began his article by saying his father was seized on December 30, as 20 masked men took his father from his home.
“I know that if Hamas kills my father, they’ll say that the Israeli army did it,” Ala Mohammed Mushtaha wrote. “My father was very keen that even if he died, we should make known the despicable demands they made of him. It was his last request to us, literally as he was being carried out of the door, that should he die, we should publicize the real reason for his death, and it is this: He wouldn’t preach what Hamas told him to. He refused to tell Gazans that violent resistance, and obedience to Hamas, is the best way out of our current hell.”
Mohammed Mushtaha had worked for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, his son wrote, but when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, they forced him out. His father studied and eventually became an imam.
“To keep my father in line, ensuring that he would deliver only Hamas-approved Friday sermons and allow Hamas to use his mosque as a clandestine weapons depot, they arrested my brother and me at least ten times between 2016 and 2019,” Ala Mohammed recalled. “Sometimes they would speak politely, sometimes they would ask us to comply ‘for the sake of your sisters,’ but always the threat of violence loomed in the background. And several times we were beaten and humiliated in front of our father. They beat him, too, once nearly blinding him.”
He noted that as the keeper of his mosque, Hamas forced his father to use the mosque as a warehouse to store money, weapons, and equipment.
“They instructed him to brainwash people with their politics, to stick with Hamas and with the ‘resistance,’ and that it’s the only choice,” Ala Mohammed stated. “That those who died fighting would be rewarded with 72 black-eyed virgins. Patience, jihad, all of that stuff. Hamas exploits our religion, pretending to be modern-day prophets, likening themselves to the companions of the prophet Muhammad.”
Noting that Hamas preaches that Hamas itself is the only way to alleviate Gazans’ suffering, he continued, “They do all this brainwashing to make you think the cause of our suffering is Israel. But I see very clearly who causes our suffering.”
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“ … now we have reached a time when nearly everyone in Gaza is saying Hamas caused the death of 20,000 in Gaza and the injury of 50,000 more,” he declared, adding, “Before October 7, people were afraid—and of course some people are still afraid—but ironically, when there is fighting, Hamas goes underground, and people can be more vocal about how Hamas has ruined our lives. People are starting to publicly violate the laws, rules, dictates, and orders of Hamas. They are openly cursing Hamas and its leaders in the streets and markets, and ignoring the directives of the few Hamas officials and police still above ground.”
“They have caused so much damage, it’s undeniable,” he asserted. “They’ve imposed themselves on our society, on my father, for too long. We’re all paying the price. People want freedom. We hope deeply that this war will end, and that Hamas will end with it.”