Peace in Gaza depends upon ridding its mosques and schools of radicalism

The international community, particularly key global actors, addresses the reconstruction file of the Gaza Strip with an intense focus on structural aspects and security arrangements, such as weapon bans and dismantling tunnels, and the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure. However, limiting efforts to the physical dimension merely treats the symptoms of the crisis rather than its root causes. Indeed, ideas entrenched in minds are far more dangerous and profound in their impact than military hardware.

Before October 7, a Hamas minister and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council representing the Hamas bloc delivered daily sermons at his local mosque. He spoke of Hamas’s virtues and the beauty of its ideology, while attacking the Palestinian Authority, labelling it a regime of spies collaborating with Israel. He continuously preached about the beauty and blessings of war, insisting that "there is no peace with the Jews". This scenario was replicated across Gaza’s more than 1,000 mosques packed into an area of 365 square kilometres; sermon scripts were drafted by the Hamas-run Ministry of Endowments and distributed to preachers before they took the pulpit.
Dismantling the infrastructure of radicalism and countering ideological mobilisation in mosques and schools is no less vital than disarmament. In fact, it is the fundamental prerequisite for ensuring that violence does not reignite the moment the rubble is cleared. Rebuilding mosques without altering the rhetoric that prevailed prior to October 7 means recycling the very same concepts, giving rise to a new generation that reproduces the crisis – an outcome directly opposed to the interests of Gaza, its residents, and regional stability. The Strip requires a permanent end to conflict and the attainment of its rights through diplomatic and legitimate avenues.
Achieving this demands an end to the monopoly over the pulpit and the classroom. For decades, the educational and religious systems were exploited to steer collective consciousness exclusively toward armed conflict, with pulpits utilised for factional mobilisation and attacks on dissenters. Thus, an urgent need has emerged to restore the mosque's original role as a place of worship and a hub for enlightened thought, promoting values of tolerance and coexistence – drawing inspiration from successful, developing regional models such as the United Arab Emirates.
Stripping ideological control from the pulpits requires institutional oversight and independent bodies to ensure they are not converted into tools for factional mobilisation that tear the social fabric apart. Similarly, the educational environment must be reformed and protected. This goes beyond purging curricula of incitement to prohibiting paramilitary activities within schools and insulating educational facilities from partisan exploitation, thereby safeguarding children from early radicalisation.
Nevertheless, banning extreme ideas alone is insufficient, as human consciousness cannot remain a vacuum. The success of these endeavours hinges on presenting a civil, intellectual, and cultural alternative grounded in citizenship and the rule of law. Replacing narrow ideological affiliations with full citizenship guarantees equal rights and duties under judicial and institutional frameworks, reinforcing the view of a young person as an independent individual possessed of dignity, ambition, and the capacity to contribute to society.
Disarming Hamas without ridding educational and religious institutions of their radical ideas will keep the door to conflict wide open. Gaza's future will be determined inside classrooms and atop pulpits, where a consciousness is forged that will either repeat past mistakes or lay the foundation for a generation committed to peace, development, and investment in the future.

Moumen al-Natour is a Palestinian lawyer, co-founder of the We Want to Live movement in Gaza, a former political prisoner held by Hamas, and president of Palestinian Youth for Development