382 happy couples (Illustration)
Photo: Jupiter
Hamas sponsors mass wedding in Syria
Islamist group holds mass ceremony for 382 Palestinian couples in Damascus. Some 10,000 people attend service; Hamas said to give each couple $2,100 as wedding gift
The militant Palestinian group Hamas sponsored a mass wedding of 382 Palestinian couples in a refugee camp in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Hamas has held such weddings in the past in Syria, where the group's exiled leadership is based, but Friday's ceremony at the Yarmouk refugee camp was by far the largest. The mass weddings aim to help young people often put off marriage because they can't afford the costs.
The brides and grooms were separated during the wedding party, which was attended by 10,000 people, since observant Muslims are not supposed to mix in public.
The grooms wore suits and some waved green Hamas banners as fireworks echoed in the background.
"Hamas feels the need of Palestinian society and we felt there was a desire for marriage but high costs were an obstacle," said the Head of Hamas' public relations office in Syria, Talal Nassar. "That's why Hamas helped this group get married."
Nassar said Hamas also encourages such mass weddings because "demographics play a role in the conflict betweenus and the Zionists (Israel)."
Cleric Hussein Khalil al-Aawadeh, an official at the Yarmouk camp, said each couple will receive $2,100 in cash and gifts.
