Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) has lauded the slain Hizballah terror master Imad Muginyeh as well as Alaa Abu D’heim, who perpetrated last week’s massacre in Jerusalem’s Mercaz Harav seminary, in which eight people, all but one in their teens, were killed. Mugniyeh was a veteran terrorist who, until his death in a car bomb explosion in Damascus on February 12, 2008, was wanted by 42 countries and appeared on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. He was behind the 1982 Hizballah suicide bombing of the U.S, Marines barracks in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of 242 U.S. servicemen.
Within two days of Mugniyeh’s death, the Abbas/Fatah-controlled daily, Al Hayat Al Jadida, produced an article by Ahmad Dahbur, former undersecretary of the PA Ministry of Culture which included the following praise for the mass-murderer Mugniyeh:
“The treacherous Zionist enemy will never permit us to lessen our revenge towards him, or to stray from our confrontation against him, until he is wiped off this land, which is saturated with the blood of the Shahids (Islamic Martyrs). And what is the fall of the Knight of Lebanese Resistance, Hajj Imad Mugniyeh, if not one of the signs of the nation’s Jihad – persistent and definitely unstoppable till the Zionist Project [Israel] will be defeated … From the time he joined Fatah as a youth, and till he later became a unequalled Hezbollah commander, when his name became a beacon of light shining from The Lebanese July Victory [Second Lebanon War, 2006].
Hajj Radwan deserves all glory and praise for evoking confusion and alarm among the Zionists, whether he be alive or a Shahid [i.e, Islamic Martyr]. Such an extraordinary hero can cause the enemy to lose its wits. Evidence of this is that Olmert directly threatens to eliminate the leaders of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance, and the Mossad commits a murder in broad daylight, while at the same time confused and conflicting Hebrew press releases declare that Olmert disassociates himself from the crime, for fear of the inevitable retaliation … but also publish [Israeli MKs] Dani Yatom, Ephraim Sneh, and Arieh Eldad’s gloating congratulatory messages to the Mossad which are drenched with poison.
It makes no difference whether the Zionist bat camouflages himself by hiding in the dark, or whether the crazy hyenas take pride in the crime, because the enemy announces his criminal presence with such language that it is as if he is caught with a smoking gun. The criminal’s hands are still covered in blood, when he gives us more reasons to intensify our hate towards him, though we do not lack reasons for this [hate] in the first place. This rage and hatred will rage with even further resistance [i.e. terrorism] and with a blow of death…
Today the body of the Shahid Hajj Imad Mugniyeh will exit the “Sayyid al-Shuhada” mosque in a procession in which the brave Lebanese resistance [Hezbollah] will escort the body down the [wedding] aisle, and the sister [organizations of the] Palestinian resistance will congratulate it and the beloved faces of Shahids [former Islamic Martyrs] from all around the world will surround it [his body]…
…In the presence of the Shahada [Martyrdom] and blood which prevails over the Phantom [jet] and the Merkava [Israeli tank], our souls seek … to stand at the head of the ranks when they offer their condolences to the Lebanese resistance movement lead by Hezbollah. Along with [Hezbollah Leader] Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, we will ask ourselves who is the one consoling and who is the one being consoled as this is a tragedy that has hurt every Lebanese, every Palestinian, every Arab, and every free man on the face of this earth. This is because every free man partakes in Hajj Radwan’s (Mugniyeh’s) glory…
Indeed the thing that consoles [us] is what we hear of the Mujahideen‘s [Jihad fighter’s] pledge to the combatant Shahid [martyr], that they will avenge his blood… not out of a desire to die but out of an understanding of the meaning of resistance [terror], as either victory or Istishhad [Death as a Shahid].
If there is any reason to give the enemy [Israel] advice, we advise the pack of hyenas not to rejoice, because in war – the scale tips at times to one side and at times to the other. They are treacherous and they will retreat, and the resistance will retaliate and prevail.
An abundance of mercy is due to the Shahid – Hajj Rudwan Imad Mugniyeh. May his blood serve as the ink for a new document of fraternity, which will unite the Jihad’s fighters, as they all join to escort one of their most noble symbols to his burial… The companions of the Shahid, his relatives and acquaintances, will be blessed with this radiant decoration which he has been honored with today, and with it he has become a crown for Arab Lebanon, precious, exalted and Jihad Fighter. And from Lebanon to all the Arabs – “Hail the victory of the Mujahidun! [Jihad Fighters!]” (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, February 14, 2008, translation courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch).
Also, in recent days, the same PA-controlled newspaper honored Alaa Abu D’heim, the perpetrator of last week’s Jerusalem massacre, by calling him a Shahid [Holy Islamic Martyr]. The Al Hayat Al Jadida prominently placed a picture of the killer on the front page, with the caption, “The Shahid Alaa Abu D’heim.” In a Page One article on the terror killings, his act is again defined as a “Shahada achieving” action.
Other examples of PA religious leaders sanctioning terrorism:
Sheikh Yusu Abu Sneina, Al Aqsa Mosque: “Shahada [Islamic Martyrdom] is an honor, only those who Allah desires, attain the privilege” (Friday Sermon, Palestinian Authority Radio, Dee. 28, 2001).
Dr. Isma’il al-Raduan: “When the Shahid meets his Maker, all his sins are forgiven from the first gush of blood, and he is exempted from the torments of the grave. He sees his place in Paradise. He is shielded from the Great Shock and marries 72 dark eyed [maidens]. He is a heavenly advocate for 70 members of his family. On his head is placed a crown of honor, one stone of which is worth more than all there is in this world” (Friday Sermon, PATV, Aug 17, 2001).
Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Razak: “The believer was created to know his Lord to fulfill Islam… to be a Shahid [Islamic Martyr] or intend to be a Shahid. If the believer does not hope for Shahada he will die as in the Jahiliya [pre-Islam]… We must yearn for Shahada and request it from Allah. If we truthfully request it from Allah, he will grant us its rewards even if we die in bed” (PA TV Friday Sermon, March 22, 2002).
Sheikh Ibrahim Mudyris: “We are not like you, because we do not desire life. If you threaten to kill President Arafat, we will pray to Allah: ‘Grant the President Shahada [Islamic Martyrdom] for you.’’ Yes, we do not pray – like other preachers pray – for longevity for the rulers; here in Palestine we pray: ‘Lord, grant the President Shahada for you.’” (PA TV Friday Sermon, April 30, 2004).
- Sheikh Imad Hamato: “When a man sees one of his brothers being killed for Allah, a person with no head, no legs, his body completely burned. Intestines outside, fingers are gone… The most difficult thing which we fear is what the Shahids [Islamic Martyrs] wish for most of all. They ask Allah: ‘Oh God, bring us back [to earth] to be killed by the Apache, so the planes will blow us up, that our heads will be cut off…’ We shouldn’t forget that Allah, praise him, in blessing the blood of the Shahid, He forgives him from the first gush of blood. And he sees his place in Paradise. He is shielded from the Great Shock and marries 72 Dark-Eyed Maidens (virgins)” (PA TV religious program, Nov. 3, 2006).