A prominent Palestinian Christian found dead this past weekend on a Gaza City street was publicly beaten by Islamic gunmen who accused him of spreading Christianity, witnesses and Palestinian Arab security officials have reported.
And although no group has yet taken responsibility for the attack on 32-year-old Rami Khader Ayyad, at least one group says such attacks will persist if "missionary activity" continues to take place now that Hamas has seized complete control of the Gaza Strip.Since the Islamic group came to power in June, "the situation has changed 180 degrees in Gaza," Islamic leader Sheik Abu Saqer told the New York Sun for a report that appeared Thursday. Saquer's Islamic outreach movement, Jihadia Salafiya, recently formed a military wing to enforce Muslim law in Gaza.
"Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public," he said.
"Also, the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls, and bars must be stopped," Saqer added. "If it goes on, we'll attack these things very harshly."
This past Sunday, the body of Rami Khader Ayyad was found with visible signs of torture, including a gunshot wound in the head and numerous stab marks.
Witnesses and security officials associated with the Executive Force of the Islamic group Hamas told the Sun that Ayyad - who was the director of Gaza's only Christian bookstore - was publicly beaten a few blocks from his store before being shot to death.
The witnesses reportedly said they saw three armed men, two of them wearing masks, beat Ayyad repeatedly with clubs and the butts of their guns while accusing him of attempting to spread Christianity in Gaza. The witnesses said that after the three men beat Ayyad, they all shot him.
Though Saqer claimed that his group "didn't carry out the Ayyad attack," the Islamic leader said all Christians engaging in missionary activity in Gaza would be "dealt with harshly."
"This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza," he told the Sun.
Saqer also said there is "no need" for Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory and that Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."
About 3,000 Christians live in Gaza among 1.5 million Muslims and relations between two communities have generally been good.
