ISLAMISTER OG KLUBLIV I GAZASTRIBEN

Resumé

Michael Irving Jensen: Islamists and

Club Milieu in the Gaza Strip

The article deals with Islamic social

institutions in the Gaza Strip. The author

considers these institutions as being part of

Palestinian civil society. However, the bulk

of the article is focused on one aspect of the

work that the Islamic social institutions carry

out; namely sport activities. The article is

based on qualitative interviews, carried out

by the author, with young men playing

football in an Islamic club (ciosely related to

the Hamas movement). Among the

questions raised are: Why do young men

choose to play football in an Islamic club?

What are their perceptions of the political

situation in the Gaza Strip? How do they

view the relationship between Islam and

politics in general? The interviews reveal -

not unsurprisingly - that the young Islamists

playing football do not equal the stereotype

of an Islamist, i.e. a young fanatic with long

beard and a wild look in the face. On the

contrary, they are young men willing and

able to cope with the modem world. From

the interviews it is evident that high moral

standards, more than anything else, attract

these young men. Although further empirical

work needs to be done, one could

conclude tentatively that a good Islamist can

play club football three times a week.