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The Teacher's Bookshop

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The Christian bookstore, Gaza also called The Teacher's Bookshop was operated by the Palestinian Bible Society and located in Gaza City. It was the sole Christian bookstore in Gaza.

Store

The store, established in 1998, sold Bibles and Christian books, contained an Internet cafe and offered computer classes.

Islamization

The Islamization of Gaza under Hamas has put increasing pressure on the tiny Christian minority. Following the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that announced the founding of a "military wing" to enforce Shariah law in Gaza, said: "I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza." Sheik Saqer has asserted that there is "no need" for Christians in Gaza to maintain Christian institutions and demanded that Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."

Bombings

The store, located in the center of Gaza City, was bombed on February 3, 2006, and, with more severe damage, on April 15, 2007. Following the 2006 attack, the store employees received a note demanding that they close the store. The armed gunmen who set the 2007 bomb abducted the security guard, beat him and left him outside the city. He recovered from his injuries.

Murder of bookseller

Bookshop manager Rami Ayyad, 26, was kidnapped, and found after he had been beaten, stabbed and shot to death in October, 2007. Ayyad, who was active in the Gaza Baptist Church, left a pregnant wife and two young children. "Muslim extremists" were suspected in the killing. Witnesses claim to have seen 3 armed men, 2 of whom wore masks, beating Ayyad rwith the butts of their guns and with clubs as they accused him of working to spread Christianity in Gaza.

According to Haaretz, this was one in a series of attacks on the Christian store by what were "assumed to be radical Islamic groups." The store had received an unsigned letter demanding that it close. According Ayad's widow, Pauline, 2 months before her husband was murdered, a man had entered the store and demanded to know why Ayad was not a Muslim. When Ayad responded that he believed in Jesus, the man had said, "I know how to make you become a Muslim."

A Palestinian Christian in Gaza who requested anonymity told an AP reporter that Ayyal, "paid his life for his faith, for his dignity, and the dignity of the Bible and Jesus Christ."

Ayyad's widow and 3 children moved to the West Bank and the store closed.

External links

See also

References

  1. ^ "Christian Bookstore Manager Martyred in Gaza City; Rami Ayyad received death threats after store bombing in April," Deann Alford, 10/08/2007, Christianity Today.
  2. ^ [http://www.nysun.com/foreign/christian-bookstore-owner-was-tortured-before-his/64354/ "Christian Bookstore Owner Was Tortured Before His Death," Aaron Klein, October 11, 2007, New York Sun.
  3. "Palestinian Christian activist found dead in Gaza City". The Jerusalem Post. 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  4. "After murder, Gaza's Christians keep low profile". Associated Press. MSNBC. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  5. ^ "'I know how to make you a Muslim'; The murder of a young Baptist bookseller has Gaza's small Christian community on edge," Catrin Ormestad, November 1, 2007, Haaretz.
  6. ^ "Palestinian Bible Society building bombed in latest Gaza incident ," ABP Staff, April 20, 2007, Associated Baptist Press.
  7. 'Christians must accept Islamic rule' - Israel News, Ynetnews
  8. "Bombed Gaza Christian Bookstore Vows to Re-Open," Michelle Vu, April 17, 2007, The Christian Post.
  9. "Bombs hit Christian bookshop, Internet cafe in Gaza," Nidal al-Mughrabi, April 15, 2007, Reuters.
  10. ^ "Tested by fire; Gaza’s sturdy but small Christian population confronts Islamic militancy and the Israeli blockade," Mindy Belz, May 8, 2010, World Magazine.
  11. "Palestinian Christian activist killed in Gaza," October 08, 2007, Kuwait Times.
  12. "Palestinian Christian activist stabbed to death in Gaza". Associated Press. 07.10.07. Retrieved 22.08.10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Gaza's Christian bookseller killed," Eric Silver, 8 October 2007, The Independent.
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