Hamas alarms Bethlehem's Christians
By Betsy Pisik
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 3, 2006

BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- While Israelis struggle to come to terms with the election of Hamas in Palestinian elections last week, another group also is worried by the rise of the avowedly Islamist organization -- the Christian Arab minority centered here in Jesus' birthplace.

The Palestinian draft constitution of 2003 establishes Islam as the official religion while noting that Christianity will be "equally revered." It also names Islamic Sharia law as "a major source for legislation."

The secular Fatah government, which drafted the language, posed little threat to the estimated 30,000 Christians living in the West Bank and Gaza. But some are wondering whether Hamas will use the articles to make their daily lives more difficult.

"I know they are not Taliban," said one Bethlehem mother of two, who did not want her name used. "But I wonder what they mean by 'Islamic.' We are Christian, we don't want trouble."
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