Hamas children's magazine - educating children for hatred and terrorism

Thursday, November 4, 2004
Special Information Bulletin

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) October 2004 Educating children for hatred and terrorism:

encouragement for suicide bombing attacks and hatred for Israel and the Jews spread via the Internet on Hamas' online children's magazine (Al-Fateh) [1] www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/11_04/edu.htm for illustrations

An example of the articles encouraging hatred and terrorism: the decapitated head of the suicide bomber who perpetrated the attack at the French Hill intersection in Jerusalem on September 22, 2004.

The caption reads, "the perpetrator of the suicide bombing attack, Zaynab Abu Salem. Her head was severed from her pure body and her headscarf remained to decorate [her face]. Your place is in heaven in the upper skies, oh, Zaynab.sister [raised to the status of heroic] men. The logo of the online children's magazine "Al-Fateh."

It contains stories, poems and illustrations to make it "friendly" and attractive to children while preaching hatred and encouraging suicide bombing terrorism

Overview

1.Brainwashing the younger generation of Palestinians with concepts of terrorism and hatred has great importance for Hamas. To that end it devotes many resources and a great deal of effort in both education (from kindergartens to universities) and in the realms of media and propaganda.

2.As part of its indoctrination effort, Hamas makes extensive use of its well-developed Internet capabilities.[2] Among its sites is one for an online children's magazine called Al-Fateh ("The Conqueror"), whose address is www.al-fateh.net. [3] A new issue usually appears every other week. It first came out in September 2002, and since then there have been 38 issues.[4] The Al-Fateh site has a link to the main Hamas site, www.palestine-info.com.

[1] At www.al-fateh.net

[2] Hamas, with its approximately 20 Internet sites in seven languages, leads the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Internet exploitation.

[3] It is apparently a virtual magazine which does not appear in hard copy. In Islam the term al-fateh (the conqueror) has positive connotations. It is taken from the word fath which appears in the Qur'an in the 48 th surah, Al-Fath, and means both "victory" and "conquest" (in the positive sense, as opposed to ikhtilal, which means the same but has a negative connotation. It is used in relation to Allah, but also to Muslim rulers (as "Mohammet al-fateh," "Mohammet the conqueror," a famous Ottoman sultan).

[4] The site, which preaches terrorism and hatred, has as its ISP a Russian company called Corbina Telecom (according to the RIPE database - www.ripe.net/whois and the Haganah Internet site, as of October 2002

3.The magazine has attractive graphics and contains comics-like drawings and photographs to make it "friendly" and attractive to its target audience of young children. There are poems and stories ("The Thrush," "The Troubles of Fahman the Donkey," texts written by children themselves, etc.). There are also articles about religious subjects and stories about battles and tales of heroism from Arabic and Islamic history. Side by side with these "innocent" items are articles preaching the perpetration of terrorist attacks, extolling the suicide bombers and presenting them as role models, and encouraging hatred for Israel and the Jewish people (See Appendices).

4.Following are examples of the aforementioned articles.

Appendix A

Turning the terrorist who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium into a role model for children

1.On the evening of June 1, 2001, Hamas member Sa'id Hasan al-Houtari perpetrated a suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium in Tel Aviv, a club frequented by teenagers. The attack, one of the most deadly of the current ongoing violent Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, resulted in the deaths of 21 Israeli civilians, most of them teenagers, and 83 wounded.

2.The attack was widely praised in the first issue of Al-Fateh. It published the text of the will written by the suicide bomber before he left to blow himself up. The will (probably written by those who directed him) was intended to glorify and extol the image of the suicide bomber and to encourage others to follow in his footsteps, promising the pleasures of paradise in the hereafter.

3.In the will the suicide bomber quoted a well-known verse from the political Islamic theories of Dr. 'Abdallah 'Azam, Al-Qaeda's ideologist and the "spiritual guide" of Osama bin Laden, who is revered by Hamas:[5] "If preparation [for a jihad] is terrorism, then we are terrorists. If defending our honor is extremism, then we are extremists. If a jihad [holy war] against our enemies is fundamentalism, then we are fundamentalists."

[5] His writings and posters bearing his portrait are distributed by Hamas throughout the Palestinian Authority-administered territories.

The text of the will of the terrorist who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium as it appeared in the online children's magazine Al-Fateh - Translation

A shaheed 's will

The will of shaheed Sa'id Hasan al-Houtari The shaheed Sa'id al-Houtari, perpetrator of the act of martyrdom [i.e., suicide] in Tel Aviv, which caused the deaths of more than 21 Zionists and the wounding of 150, leaves after him this will which we are posting here as it was written:

In the name of Allah the all merciful

"Fight them, Allah will chastise them at your hands and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will console the breasts of folk who are believers" [Qur'an, Surah 9 (Al-Tauba) verse 14 .

Praise be to God, Sovereign of the world. [There is to be] no [act of] aggression, [only] against the conquerors, the invaders and the plunderers [i.e., the Israelis]. May the prayer of Allah and his blessing of peace be upon the commander of the army of warriors fighting the holy war, on the members of his family and on his lucky, noble friends,[6] my beloved brothers in faith, all the sons of my Palestinian people fighting a holy war, and free Muslims everywhere:

Receive the blessing of a heart which bound its fate to Allah which with a strong cord,[7] the blessing of a soul deeply desirous of meeting those it loves - Muhammad and his comrades - the blessing of a living, faithful shaheed , whom the shaheeds who preceded him are waiting for, led by my great teacher and mentor, Yehia Ayash.[8]

Therefore, as a servant of God and in need of Allah's mercy, I, Sa'id Hasan Hussein al-Houtari, from the city of Qalqilia, 22 years old, am about to reach you. Yes, I am coming to meet you, emissary of Allah [i.e., the prophet Muhammad], may the prayer of Allah and his blessing of peace be upon you, around the pool of blessed, divine waters [from which we drink];[9] I am coming to you, the commander of [all those] who chose to die a martyr's death [i.e., suicide bombers], oh, engineer Abu al-Baraa' [ Yehia Ayash's nom de guerre ]:[10] as you avenged your downtrodden nation, avenged the spilled blood of your people and [the desecrated honor of] Al-Aqsa mosque, we announce that we are striding toward you.

Abu al-Baraa', the bravest of heroes: indeed, you taught us that the real heroes are those who write the history of their nation with their blood, who build with their own bodies the glory and pride which reaches heaven, and who with their skulls build impregnable fortresses.

I hereby defiantly say to the world that bears a grudge against our people, that supports the Zionists with money and weapons, what was written before me in the blood of shaheed 'Abdallah 'Azam: "If preparation [for a jihad ] is terrorism, then we are terrorists. If defending our honor is extremism, then we are extremists. If a jihad against our enemies is fundamentalism, then we are fundamentalists."

Prisoners, wounded, shaheeds and widows:

In all your names I sacrifice my life for the sake of Allah, may he be extolled and praised, to avenge your cries, moans and wounds. I will turn my body into shreds and explosions which will pursue the sons of Zion [in an Islamic context, a derogatory name for Jews, and in this case Israelis, mentioned in other anti-Semitic diatribes], will wound them and burn what is left. [As opposed to what is written in the Qur'an and quoted at the beginning of this article:] "And he [Allah] will console the hearts of the faithful."

[On this occasion] It is my desire not to forget my family - my mother, my father and my brothers: I hereby command you, [I repeat,] I command you, to fear Allah, may he be extolled and praised, and to be patient and not mourn for me. For I came from Jordan to Palestine only to meet the Sovereign in the best way possible [i.e., to perpetrate a suicide bombing attack], for is there any [act] more sublime than dying as a martyr [to perpetrate a suicide bombing attack] on the soil of Palestine for the sake of Allah, may he be extolled. Therefore, utter only cries of joy, oh my mother; distribute sweetmeats, my father and brothers. For your son [and brother] is [eagerly] awaiting his marriage ceremony and the beautiful-eyed virgins in the upper heavens - "In the seat of honesty, in the presence of a Mighty King"[Qur'an, Surah 54 (Al-Qamar), verse 55, in the context of a description of paradise].

[6] A similar version appears in a note written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of a group called The Group for the Single of God and Jihad (Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad), in an appeal to Al-Qaeda's leaders, with whom he is affiliated and in whose service he sees himself as working.

[7] I.e., devoutly and publicly performs the commandment of loving God or of the covenant with Allah.

[8] Yehia Ayash, called "the engineer," was head of the terrorist-operational wing of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and specialized in preparing explosive charges and in dispatching suicide bombers between 1994-1996 (when the Oslo Accords were in effect). He was behind a series of lethal attacks and responsible for the deaths and wounding of hundreds of Israeli civilians. Hamas fosters his memory and glorifies him as a role model.

[9] "Hawdh" in the original, which literally means the trough from which camels drink. However, according to Muslim oral tradition, a short time before his death Muhammad said: "After my death, my dear young friends, come drink from my divine trough." Later the trough became a reservoir or pool, the source of divine wisdom and mercy. Thus drinking from it is the dearest wish of every Muslim (especially the younger ones), particularly after their deaths. Those who are considered shaheeds they arrive in paradise where they will reside - according to Muslim tradition - even in the presence of the prophet Muhammad.

[10] It is reasonable to assume that Yehia Ayash adopted the name al-Baraa' because it was the name of a well-known comrade of Muhammad, Al-Baraa' bin al-Maa'rur.

[Signed]

The living shaheed , Sa'id Hasan Hussein al-Houtari Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas Friday, June 1, 2001

The text of the will of the terrorist who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack at the Dolphinarium as it appeared in the online children's magazine Al-Fateh - Original Document www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/11_04/edu.htm for illustrations

Appendix B

Shocking the sensibilities of the children who read the magazine by showing a picture of the decapitated head of a female suicide bomber: part of the effort to brainwash them to hate Israel and support terrorism

1.On September 22, 2004, Zaynab 'Ali 'Issa Abu Salem , a female suicide bomber, detonated an explosive belt at a soldiers' hitchhiking stop at in intersection in the northern Jerusalem district known as the French Hill. Her aim was to perpetrate a mass murder operation. As a result two Border Patrol policemen were killed (when they attempted to examine her) and 17 civilians were wounded. Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

2.Issue No. 38 of Al-Fateh, Hamas' online children's magazine displayed a picture of the suicide bomber next to a photograph of her decapitated head lying on the road. The caption praises the act and notes that she is now in paradise, a shaheeda [11] like her male comrades.

[11] The female form of shaheed.

A picture of the suicide bomber and a photograph of her decapitated head as they appeared in the children's magazine. www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/11_04/edu.htm for illustrations Beneath the picture appears the following caption: www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/11_04/edu.htm for illustrations

It reads: Zaynab Abu Salem, who carried out the suicide bombing attack Her head was severed from her pure body and her headscarf remained to decorate [her face]. Your place is in heaven in the upper sky, Zaynab.sister [raised to the status of heroic] men.

Appendix C

How is hatred for Israel and the Jews inculcated into children? Some excerpts from "The Stories of Uncle Izzedine for the Little Girl Israa'

Al-Quds" about the boy Muhammad al-Durra. By: Walid al-Hawdli Illustrations: 'Uqayl Sabri Overview

1.In issue no. 38 of Al-Fateh there is a feature called "The Stories of Uncle Izzedine for the Little Girl Israa' Al-Quds."[12] It contains biased, pointed stories which brainwash the children with the virtues of violence and hatred for Israel and the Jewish people.

[12] The names have special significance for Muslims and Palestinians. The name Izzedine is associated with Izzedine al-Qassam, who was killed by the British near Jenin in 1935 and who, after his death, became a source of inspiration and of the name for the Hamas' terrorist-operational wing. "Israa' Al-Quds" was the prophet Muhammad's night ride from Mecca to Jerusalem (mounted on his winged horse), whence he rose to heaven.

2.The following excerpts come from a story about Muhammad al-Durra, a Palestinian child who died at the beginning of the current ongoing violent Israeli-Palestinian confrontation when he was trapped in crossfire between Israeli soldiers and armed Palestinians. Everything about the story is biased and a total fabrication intended to portray Israeli soldiers as a band of evil sadists who enjoy killing both adults and children, and to turn a tragic incident into a tool for inciting Palestinian children to hate Israelis and the Jewish people.

3.To intensify the children's hatred for Israelis, it is noted that Israa' Al-Quds, the little girl to whom the story is told, lost her eye when she threw stones at Jews in Al-Aqsa mosque.

Excerpts from "The Stories of Uncle Izzedine"

"Israa' fought against the pain in her eye with exceptional bravery.She thought of herself as a soldier in the ranks of Allah's army, and was of the opinion that Allah honored her and counted her as one of the defenders of blessed Al-Aqsa mosque [a motif appearing in Houtari's will and on posters commemorating shaheeds].She was happy and felt like a heroine, one of the female warriors in Palestine's holy war.

"At exactly ten o'clock in the morning her mother and grandmother came to the hospital to visit her.It made her very happy was to hear her grandmother 's stories and news about the Al-Aqsa intifada.

"Today her grandmother said.'Do you know, Israa', that your missing eye will be proof and like a medal of honor., proof of the crimes of the Jews, and a medal of honor for your having stood up to their crime of wanting to desecrate our holy places.'

".'What about news of the intifada, granny?' [And she answered: 'Today I will tell you a story that roused the emotions of the entire world and exposed the Jewish crime very clearly. With Allah's grace, a photographer who happened to be present took pictures of the crime and afterwards the incident was broadcast by all the media and all the television stations.' [Note: The death of Muhammad al-Durra is then presented in detail using expressions which emphasize the evil and wickedness of the Israeli soldiers: ".The soldiers' teeth protruded as they laughed aloud [when Muhammad al-Durra was shot] like the protruding teeth of wolves grinding the bones of an innocent lamb they have hunted out of the arms of its mother.].

And the story ends: "Israa' called to Firas [a Palestinian child who had also lost an eye] to hear the story as well from her grandmother's lips. He got out of bed quickly. Israa''s grandmother asked him: 'Do you know why your mother hasn't come today?'. [He answered:] 'I don't know! Maybe something is delaying them' [And Israa's grandmother said:] 'Your family won 't come today, because everyone who comes from the West Bank to Jerusalem is sent back by the Jews at their roadblocks.' [Firas says:] 'If that's so, they sent my mother back at the roadblock. Wasn't stealing my eye enough for them? I want to go back to school [and to be] together with my friends with two eyes.' [Israa''s grandmother answers:] 'Don't be afraid, my son. You will be given a beautiful new eye, if Allah wills it.'" [The story ends with a question from Israa', who threw stones at the Jews at Al-Aqsa mosque: "Will Allah let me enter paradise because of it?" The grandmother answers: "Yes, Allah will allow you into paradise and give you everything you want without your having to do anything for it."

How is hatred for Israel and the Jews inculcated into children? Some excerpts from "The Stories of Uncle Izzedine for the Little Girl Israa' Al-Quds" about the boy Muhammad al-Durra - Original Internet site screen capture

www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/11_04/edu.htm for illustrations