A new aggressive strategy by Islamists in the Middle East

Embolden by Hamas'victory, Hezbollahi fighters detained a Lebanese police patrol yesterday in Southern Beirut and held them for "entering a Hezbollah security zone." The timing of the incident which was described as the first of its kind clearly was chosen to send a direct warning to the Lebanese Army to watch out and learn lessons from the fate of their colleagues in Gaza. Other analyst read that as a manifestation of an preemptive strike to warn the Lebanese Army from any future attempt to disarm Hezbollah militia.

Surely we are living in interesting times these days. These latest developments in the region represent the rising of a new phenomenon in the region. In the past, and apart from Algeria, where the Islamic (Jabat Al-Inkath) chose a bloody route to establish a radical Islamic rule, most Islamic parties in the region declared a peaceful commitment to transform societies gradually to adopt Islamic Sharia through dialogue and education. The recent shift to establish a "state within state" entities indicate that supporters of the peaceful approach within those parties are loosing ground to a radical element within those groups pushing more for aggressive approach. It also might indicate that the peaceful approach is more lengthy and inefficient.

Regardless of the various theories out there, the new approach which has been adopted so far by Islamists in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq (Mahdi Army) seem to be working faster in terms of spreading ideology and propaganda; this time by force. As Hamas spokesman Islam Shahwan triumphantly told Hamas Radio,``The era of justice and Islamic rule has arrived." For most moderates in the region like "me" who love to see the region one day endorsing "democracy" as a political system; my deepest fear is that Hamas, Hezbollah and Mahdi Army presented the essential vision of Islamists shorn of all caveat, compromise or apology. Let us all hope that I am wrong.