'Arab Idol' Victory Polarizes Hamas
The euphoria surrounding Mohammed Assaf's "Arab Idol" victory has sparked debate within Hamas circles over whether it conflicts with their Islamic outlook.
Young Palestinian artist Mohammed Assaf has unexpectedly captured the attention of Palestinians across all their different geographical regions, both at home and abroad, in refugee camps, in all their different political and intellectual tendencies — both secularists and Islamists —regardless of their financial situations.
This is what drove Palestinians to generate, as reported by Palestinian cellular communications company Jawwal, more than 1.4 million messages since the beginning of this season of "Arab Idol." This comes out to 250,000 shekels ($680,000) in a country where the average annual income is close to 2,000 shekels ($600).
Along with the artistic and entertainment aspects of what has come to be known as the “Assaf phenomenon,” the young singer has unintentionally sparked intense debates within the ranks of Hamas and its religious references, as with any social issue taken on by Hamas in recent times. It deals with the issue of Islamization in Palestinian society, such as education for women, the penal code and others. Al-Monitor correspondents in Gaza have looked at these issues in previous articles.
Assaf, however, is different for many within Hamas, as he was capable of implementing a true “curfew” on Friday and Saturday each week during the past two months. The streets of Gaza would empty in the first hours of the evening in anticipation of Assaf winning and progressing beyond his competitors.
