Mojo, I liked the Earth Times headline better.Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - "We are defenders of homeland, we don't care about troubles," sing the six bearded men standing in a former Israeli army position in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, now used by the Executive Force (EF) of the Hamas administration in the salient. This is the Defenders of the Homeland Band, which, since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has been giving nightly concerts of Islamic songs and supplications, mainly for the benefit of EF officers now in charge of policing the Strip, but also for the prisoners Hamas holds in its jails. And it does so with only a digital audio mixer and a laptop computer.
"We do not use any instrument which violates the Islamic Sharia holy law," says Montasser Abdel Nabi, the band's director. "We use the computers to produce rhythmical drum sounds which are okay in Islamic terms," he adds.
| "It's the da'wa of it all, see." |
"We select songs that can inspire the youth and raise their willingness, and other songs that remind them of Allah and Islam," says Hussam Abu Abdo, 36, the first to join the band.
| "The world exploded with a mighty crash, Israel fell into the sun..." |
| Such a hard-working young man. Always makes time for his Mom as well. |
According to Abdel Nabi, the ministry also plans to form a theatre troup - "the theatre is the best way to deliver an idea to the people"- and the Executive Force is forming a marching band.
| The mind reels. |