Hamas-organized mass wedding of adult men and little girls

[Coyote]

Except...it's a hoax.

snopes.com: Hamas Mass Wedding for 450 Little Girls

Pictures of a line of men holding hands with little girls in white have circulated widely in support of a hoax that is little more than anti-Islamic and anti-Palestinian hate mongering.

According to Snopes, quoting a NYT article from 2008, officials in Gaza have organized a number of mass-wedding celebrations:

The grooms were resplendent in white shirts while the brides all wore black. At a sports stadium one recent October evening, thousands of Palestinians — 300 newly married couples along with relatives and friends — gathered for a mass wedding celebration, the 10th here this year courtesy of Hamas.

Hamas has been observing a truce with Israel, allowing its underground fighters to resurface but leaving them without much to do. At the same time, hundreds of the group's women have been recently widowed, their husbands having been killed either in confrontations with Israel or in the fighting between Hamas and its secular rival, Fatah.

Taking advantage of the pause in violence, the Hamas leaders have turned to matchmaking, bringing together single fighters and widows, and providing dowries and wedding parties for the many here who cannot afford such trappings of matrimony.

Photographs and videos from these events were circulated and accompanied by commentary asserting that "most (or all) of the brides at the wedding were actually "pre-pubescent girls" who, despite being under ten years of age, were being married off to men in their mid- to late-twenties (in large part because the older women who were the real brides were not visibly evident in those images)."

What are the facts? According to Snopes investigation:

"...the young girls in these pictures were not being married off to adult males; they were relatives of the brides and grooms (typically nieces and cousins ranging in age from three to eight years old) who were merely ancillary participants in the ceremony, performing a function similar to that of flower girls in western-style weddings. Even though news accounts document that they were undeniably present, the older women who did get married that day weren't apparent in the recorded images because, unlike the style of weddings most westerners are accustomed to, brides don't take center stage at this type of event"


Most interesting, it concludes with a statement by the very reporter who covered one of those events:

Dozens, and I mean dozens, of websites took the video of the event and wrote lurid stories about Hamas mass paedophilia with headlines about '450 child brides', and endless copy about how disgusting this was, how it showed how depraved Islam is, et al, ad infinitum. Site after site jumped on the story, linking from one totally wrong load of rubbish to the next.

It showed how much some people want to believe nonsense like this, as it reinforces their prejudices, always a comfortably fun thing to do. But Hamas, and the jihadists do enough terrible things without having to make things up about them. Most of the stuff I read was outright, unthinking, gleeful, Islamophobia from people who clearly knew nothing about Arab popular culture. It's as if they really believe that because there are [real] examples of child brides, it means all weddings are with child brides.

Who would you believe, the reporter who went to the event, or a desperately poor version of citizen journalist, sitting at home, making things up, not checking anything, and either unknowingly or deliberately, writing hysterical anti Islamic nonsense?

 

[Lipush]

That was published in Ha'aretz long ago.

They were the first ones to jump into Hamas' defense, imagine that.

 

[Coyote]

That was published in Ha'aretz long ago.

They were the first ones to jump into Hamas' defense, imagine that.

I kept seeing that photo floating around here with they typical anti-muslim diatribe and couldn't imagine it was real, but until now - I could not find anything on it. I probably didn't know the right search terms.

Good for Ha'aretz

 

[aris2chat]

Forced Underage Marriages Continue in Gaza - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

 

[Coyote]

Forced marriages are a serious problem in many parts of the world, including Gaza.

Meanwhile, the deliberate spreading of a hoax like this, who's sole purpose is to inflame anti-Islamic bigotry does nothing to help the real issue.

 

[aris2chat]

Forced marriages are a serious problem in many parts of the world, including Gaza.

Meanwhile, the deliberate spreading of a hoax like this, who's sole purpose is to inflame anti-Islamic bigotry does nothing to help the real issue.

The mass marriage and picture were real, just the captions were misleading. To people who are not familiar might easily assume the girls were the brides.
Massages are no unusual from South Africa to Syria. Temporary marriages are also quite frequent unfortunately.
Underage marriage is common enough. Girls as young as 8 have been married off to men 40 and older. 10 million young girls a year are married to men old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. The idea of a man having had more than 80 wives is also bothersome to many. So to assume that the young girls might be the brides in a mass wedding is not out of the realm of possibilities, especially such a public display.
Hoax? No. Misinformation, that particular time, yes.

 

[Coyote]

Forced marriages are a serious problem in many parts of the world, including Gaza.

Meanwhile, the deliberate spreading of a hoax like this, who's sole purpose is to inflame anti-Islamic bigotry does nothing to help the real issue.

The mass marriage and picture were real, just the captions were misleading. To people who are not familiar might easily assume the girls were the brides.

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.

Massages are no unusual from South Africa to Syria. Temporary marriages are also quite frequent unfortunately.
Underage marriage is common enough. Girls as young as 8 have been married off to men 40 and older. 10 million young girls a year are married to men old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. The idea of a man having had more than 80 wives is also bothersome to many. So to assume that the young girls might be the brides in a mass wedding is not out of the realm of possibilities, especially such a public display.
Hoax? No. Misinformation, that particular time, yes.

I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.

Muhammed married a six year old bride. But Islam has evolved in 1500 years. In Hamas land, in 2009, the brides are almost seven.

Mass Muslim Marriage

450 Grooms Wed GIRLS Under Ten In Gaza

A gala event has occurred in Gaza.

Hamas sponsored a mass wedding for four hundred and fifty couples. Most of the grooms were in their mid to late twenties; most of brides were under ten.

Muslim dignitaries including Mahmud Zahar, a leader of Hamas, were on hand to congratulate the couples who took part in the carefully staged celebration.

"We are saying to the world and to America that you cannot deny us joy and happiness," Zahar told the grooms, all of whom were dressed in identical black suits and hailed from the nearby Jabalia refugee camp.

Each groom received a gift of 500 dollars from Hamas.

The pre-pubescent girls, dressed in white gowns and adorned with garish make-up, received bridal bouquets.

"We are presenting this wedding as a gift to our people who stood firm in the face of the siege and the war," local Hamas strongman Ibrahim Salaf said in a speech.

The wedding photos tell the rest of the sordid tale.
Read more at snopes.com: Hamas Mass Wedding for 450 Little Girls

It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

 

[aris2chat]

Forced marriages are a serious problem in many parts of the world, including Gaza.

Meanwhile, the deliberate spreading of a hoax like this, who's sole purpose is to inflame anti-Islamic bigotry does nothing to help the real issue.

The mass marriage and picture were real, just the captions were misleading. To people who are not familiar might easily assume the girls were the brides.

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.

Massages are no unusual from South Africa to Syria. Temporary marriages are also quite frequent unfortunately.
Underage marriage is common enough. Girls as young as 8 have been married off to men 40 and older. 10 million young girls a year are married to men old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. The idea of a man having had more than 80 wives is also bothersome to many. So to assume that the young girls might be the brides in a mass wedding is not out of the realm of possibilities, especially such a public display.
Hoax? No. Misinformation, that particular time, yes.

I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.

Muhammed married a six year old bride. But Islam has evolved in 1500 years. In Hamas land, in 2009, the brides are almost seven.

Mass Muslim Marriage

450 Grooms Wed GIRLS Under Ten In Gaza

A gala event has occurred in Gaza.

Hamas sponsored a mass wedding for four hundred and fifty couples. Most of the grooms were in their mid to late twenties; most of brides were under ten.

Muslim dignitaries including Mahmud Zahar, a leader of Hamas, were on hand to congratulate the couples who took part in the carefully staged celebration.

"We are saying to the world and to America that you cannot deny us joy and happiness," Zahar told the grooms, all of whom were dressed in identical black suits and hailed from the nearby Jabalia refugee camp.

Each groom received a gift of 500 dollars from Hamas.

The pre-pubescent girls, dressed in white gowns and adorned with garish make-up, received bridal bouquets.

"We are presenting this wedding as a gift to our people who stood firm in the face of the siege and the war," local Hamas strongman Ibrahim Salaf said in a speech.

The wedding photos tell the rest of the sordid tale.
Read more at snopes.com: Hamas Mass Wedding for 450 Little Girls

It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

 

[Coyote]

The mass marriage and picture were real, just the captions were misleading. To people who are not familiar might easily assume the girls were the brides.

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.



I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.

Muhammed married a six year old bride. But Islam has evolved in 1500 years. In Hamas land, in 2009, the brides are almost seven.

Mass Muslim Marriage

450 Grooms Wed GIRLS Under Ten In Gaza

A gala event has occurred in Gaza.

Hamas sponsored a mass wedding for four hundred and fifty couples. Most of the grooms were in their mid to late twenties; most of brides were under ten.

Muslim dignitaries including Mahmud Zahar, a leader of Hamas, were on hand to congratulate the couples who took part in the carefully staged celebration.

"We are saying to the world and to America that you cannot deny us joy and happiness," Zahar told the grooms, all of whom were dressed in identical black suits and hailed from the nearby Jabalia refugee camp.

Each groom received a gift of 500 dollars from Hamas.

The pre-pubescent girls, dressed in white gowns and adorned with garish make-up, received bridal bouquets.

"We are presenting this wedding as a gift to our people who stood firm in the face of the siege and the war," local Hamas strongman Ibrahim Salaf said in a speech.

The wedding photos tell the rest of the sordid tale.
Read more at snopes.com: Hamas Mass Wedding for 450 Little Girls

It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

I'm not sure what your point is? The hoax was referring to children under ten...

edited to add - I think I misunderstood, do you mean mass marriages? Do you have a source? (I have not heard about those)

 

[dreolin]

The mass marriage and picture were real, just the captions were misleading. To people who are not familiar might easily assume the girls were the brides.

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.



I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.

Muhammed married a six year old bride. But Islam has evolved in 1500 years. In Hamas land, in 2009, the brides are almost seven.

Mass Muslim Marriage

450 Grooms Wed GIRLS Under Ten In Gaza

A gala event has occurred in Gaza.

Hamas sponsored a mass wedding for four hundred and fifty couples. Most of the grooms were in their mid to late twenties; most of brides were under ten.

Muslim dignitaries including Mahmud Zahar, a leader of Hamas, were on hand to congratulate the couples who took part in the carefully staged celebration.

"We are saying to the world and to America that you cannot deny us joy and happiness," Zahar told the grooms, all of whom were dressed in identical black suits and hailed from the nearby Jabalia refugee camp.

Each groom received a gift of 500 dollars from Hamas.

The pre-pubescent girls, dressed in white gowns and adorned with garish make-up, received bridal bouquets.

"We are presenting this wedding as a gift to our people who stood firm in the face of the siege and the war," local Hamas strongman Ibrahim Salaf said in a speech.

The wedding photos tell the rest of the sordid tale.
Read more at snopes.com: Hamas Mass Wedding for 450 Little Girls

It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

And none of those allegations changes the fact that the story was a hoax and that child brides occur all over the world.

Imagine what haters could do with the father/daughter dances that occur regularly in the USA.

You are justifying and supporting racial, ethnic, and religious hatred, aris2chat, whether you know it or not.

Shall we move on to the practices of Haredic/Hasidic rabbis right here in the USA, or are their "dalliances" somehow less horrible to you because they are not Muslims.

 

[toastman]

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.



I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.



It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

And none of those allegations changes the fact that the story was a hoax and that child brides occur all over the world.

Imagine what haters could do with the father/daughter dances that occur regularly in the USA.

You are justifying and supporting racial, ethnic, and religious hatred, aris2chat, whether you know it or not.

Shall we move on to the practices of Haredic/Hasidic rabbis right here in the USA, or are their "dalliances" somehow less horrible to you because they are not Muslims.

And there he goes again LOL !!

Attacking a pro - Zionist poster for absolutely no reason at all, and then somehow bringing Jews into the mix.

You just can't help yourself, can you 'dreolin' . So pathetic

And how is justifying and supporting racial, ethnic and religious hatred?? All he did was bring up examples of countries that have allowed (and likely encouraged) child marriages.

You're like a pest that simply won't go away.

 

[aris2chat]

That is true but it was deliberately spread in a misleading way designed to demonize - the article the pictures were taken from made it clear what the event was and what the pictures were of.



I see how it could be a "misinformation" but, that implies benign intent. People who believed it and spread it - might be guilty of "misinformation". However, the person who originated it, created a hoax. When you read the articles that the photos came from - and you read the hoax email - I think it's easy to see the intent was to mislead.

Hoaxes are defined as "deliberately fabricated falsehoods made to masquerade as truth".

The original email was titled: HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA

The text of the hoax was as follows.



It's pretty clear that the author took information out of the articles, added his own invention (about children) and then spread it. People were willing to believe because it fed their own prejudices.

I should add - forced marriages and underage marriages are a real problem, but even in those countries where they occur - the marriages of children this young are relatively uncommon. And mass marriage of children - where has anytbhing remotely like that occurred? People are unwilling beyond the surface.

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

I'm not sure what your point is? The hoax was referring to children under ten...

edited to add - I think I misunderstood, do you mean mass marriages? Do you have a source? (I have not heard about those)

Mass marriages of children, though most in Nigeria were older, some of the brides were only 13. It is tragic when children are wed even before they have their first cycle. Too many children and though Islam is not the only religion, it is one of the more visible in the abuse of child brides and therefore more visible in the media.
Islam is supposed to allow the bride to refuse, in theory, but practice it is not the case.
When a child can have a nose, ear, even a foot cut off for trying to get away from an abusive much older husband, there is a serious problem with morality.
When children not yet twenty are grandmothers we should question the society they are raised in. Question the care and well being of the children and why such practices are still carried out. Girls not give enough education to know their rights and how to get help from abuse or enough maturity to make an intelligent decision about what marriage is or that divorce can be an option. To have enough strength of character to say no if pressured. These are denied to child brides, singular or in mass weddings.

That child brides might have been acceptable 1500 yrs ago or 3000 yrs ago does not make it acceptable today.

 

[HenryBHough]

Would have been more believable were those white shirts hanging onto goats.

 

[Coyote]

two years ago Gujarat
two years ago Afghanistan
two year ago Iran
last month Nigeria, some of the 1,000 brides were only 13

I'm not sure what your point is? The hoax was referring to children under ten...

edited to add - I think I misunderstood, do you mean mass marriages? Do you have a source? (I have not heard about those)

Mass marriages of children, though most in Nigeria were older, some of the brides were only 13. It is tragic when children are wed even before they have their first cycle. Too many children and though Islam is not the only religion, it is one of the more visible in the abuse of child brides and therefore more visible in the media.
Islam is supposed to allow the bride to refuse, in theory, but practice it is not the case.
When a child can have a nose, ear, even a foot cut off for trying to get away from an abusive much older husband, there is a serious problem with morality.
When children not yet twenty are grandmothers we should question the society they are raised in. Question the care and well being of the children and why such practices are still carried out. Girls not give enough education to know their rights and how to get help from abuse or enough maturity to make an intelligent decision about what marriage is or that divorce can be an option. To have enough strength of character to say no if pressured. These are denied to child brides, singular or in mass weddings.

That child brides might have been acceptable 1500 yrs ago or 3000 yrs ago does not make it acceptable today.

Totally agree. In most societies where it still occurs, the girls often end up very abused. It's particularly a bad problem in very poor areas where a woman has little value beyond her dowery and it's not uncommon to "sell" girls into marriage or to take care of a debt. They are usually poorly educated and marriage stops what little educational opportunities they might have. It's almost impossible to escape those marriages. I just had not heard of "mass weddings" like that.

 

[Coyote]

Of course none of this alters the fact that this particular item was a massive hoax - taking an innocent event and trying to make it out to be a mass marriage of children under the age of ten.

 

[toastman]

I'm not sure what your point is? The hoax was referring to children under ten...

edited to add - I think I misunderstood, do you mean mass marriages? Do you have a source? (I have not heard about those)

Mass marriages of children, though most in Nigeria were older, some of the brides were only 13. It is tragic when children are wed even before they have their first cycle. Too many children and though Islam is not the only religion, it is one of the more visible in the abuse of child brides and therefore more visible in the media.
Islam is supposed to allow the bride to refuse, in theory, but practice it is not the case.
When a child can have a nose, ear, even a foot cut off for trying to get away from an abusive much older husband, there is a serious problem with morality.
When children not yet twenty are grandmothers we should question the society they are raised in. Question the care and well being of the children and why such practices are still carried out. Girls not give enough education to know their rights and how to get help from abuse or enough maturity to make an intelligent decision about what marriage is or that divorce can be an option. To have enough strength of character to say no if pressured. These are denied to child brides, singular or in mass weddings.

That child brides might have been acceptable 1500 yrs ago or 3000 yrs ago does not make it acceptable today.

Totally agree. In most societies where it still occurs, the girls often end up very abused. It's particularly a bad problem in very poor areas where a woman has little value beyond her dowery and it's not uncommon to "sell" girls into marriage or to take care of a debt. They are usually poorly educated and marriage stops what little educational opportunities they might have. It's almost impossible to escape those marriages. I just had not heard of "mass weddings" like that.

Another disturbing fact is that the government doesn't do anything to cease these barbaric 'practices' . In fact, they allow it

 

[Billo_Really]

And there he goes again LOL !!

Attacking a pro - Zionist poster for absolutely no reason at all...

Then riddle me this, Batman...

..."Why did that big fucking goon for Phoenix attack Swaggy P a week ago?"

 

[Hossfly]

And there he goes again LOL !!

Attacking a pro - Zionist poster for absolutely no reason at all...

Then riddle me this, Batman...

..."Why did that big fucking goon for Phoenix attack Swaggy P a week ago?"

Ah, good evening Bevis.......,er, Butthead. I get you two mixed up.

 

[toastman]

And there he goes again LOL !!

Attacking a pro - Zionist poster for absolutely no reason at all...

Then riddle me this, Batman...

..."Why did that big fucking goon for Phoenix attack Swaggy P a week ago?"

Because Kobe Bryant injured his Achilles Tendon

 

[aris2chat]

Of course none of this alters the fact that this particular item was a massive hoax - taking an innocent event and trying to make it out to be a mass marriage of children under the age of ten.

I doubt it was intended as a hoax. The pictures were real, just the context of the event was misunderstood. Hamas did stage the event and most people seeing girls in bride dresses during a mass wedding could understandably assume the girls were not stand ins but the actual brides.
Without context people did not understand the mass wedding of 200 kindergarten students in china either. Just because people don't understand does not mean it is a hoax.