| In the minds of suicide bombers | 2001-10-13 14:13 24 comments |
 by Flemming FunchAn interesting glimpse into the culture of suicide bombers: [link] It is from WorldNetDaily, which is a rightwing christian news source that I'll always take with a grain of salt, but this looks useful. Kindergarten kids are taught the virtues of killing their enemies. And if you do you are a martyr, bringing great pride to your family. And, this is the kicker: there will be 72 pristinely beautiful virgins waiting for you in heaven, and you can have sex with them all day, and you will lie on fine soft carpets and receive their delights forever, just because you're a great martyr. Wow, that's juice enough to screw up the mind of any young teenage boy. The secret world of suicide bombers Religious devotion, sexual desire drive youths to 'martyrdom' © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com With reports from Israel that the United States, after its current campaign against Afghanistan's Taliban is concluded, plans to target Palestinian terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, a wider audience than ever may soon be hearing about the secret world of suicide bombers. Although Americans find it difficult to understand what could induce Islamic militants – including the 19 hijackers who all willingly died in the Sept. 11 attacks – to so enthusiastically commit suicide while committing acts of terrorism, some reporters have managed to obtain passage into the secretive culture and shed light on how Islamic "martyrs" are created and nurtured. November's edition of Whistleblower magazine – WorldNetDaily's popular monthly print publication – includes a shocking, in-depth story by reporter Jack Kelley, titled "The secret world of suicide bombers." Subtitled, "Religious devotion and sexual desire drive youths to 'martyrdom,'" it profiles the Hotari family as they prepare for a party to celebrate the killing of 21 Israelis earlier in the month by their son, a suicide bomber. "Neighbors hang pictures on their trees of Saeed Hotari holding seven sticks of dynamite," writes Kelley, a reporter for USA Today. "They spray-paint graffiti reading '21 and counting' on their stone walls. And they arrange flowers in the shapes of a heart and a bomb to display on their front doors." The boy's father, 54-year-old Hassan Hotari, reports Kelley, says he is "very happy and proud of what my son did and, frankly, am a bit jealous." Hotari's son was responsible for the June 1 terrorist bombing outside a disco in Tel Aviv – the worst such incident in four years. "I wish I had done it. My son has fulfilled the Prophet's (Mohammed's) wishes. He has become a hero! Tell me, what more could a father ask?" Although Muslim organizations, both in the United States and internationally, have condemned the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, many have continued to support the terror bombings of civilians in Israel. In fact, fund-raising for Hamas – the organization claiming responsibility for most of the suicide terror attacks in Israel – is often carried out in the United States, sometimes with the help of supposedly "mainstream" Islamic organizations. "The secret world of suicide bombers" paints a surreal picture of an entire culture that revolves around farming and harvesting youthful suicide terrorists: In Hamas-run kindergartens, signs on the walls read: "The children of the kindergarten are the shaheeds (holy martyrs) of tomorrow." The classroom signs at Al-Najah University in the West Bank and at Gaza's Islamic University say, "Israel has nuclear bombs, we have human bombs." At an Islamic school in Gaza City run by Hamas, 11-year-old Palestinian student Ahmed's small frame and boyish smile are deceiving. They mask a determination to kill at any cost. "I will make my body a bomb that will blast the flesh of Zionists, the sons of pigs and monkeys," Ahmed says. "I will tear their bodies into little pieces and cause them more pain than they will ever know." "Allahu Akbar," his classmates shout in response: "God is great." "May the virgins give you pleasure," his teacher yells, referring to one of the rewards awaiting martyrs in paradise. Even the principal smiles and nods his approval. Virgins? It's a reference to the ubiquitous promise to "holy martyrs" of "unlimited sex with 72 virgins in heaven." Explains Kelley: "The Koran, the sacred book of Islam, describes the women as 'beautiful like rubies, with complexions like diamonds and pearls.' In one of the passages of the Koran, it is said the martyrs and virgins shall 'delight themselves, lying on green cushions and beautiful carpets.' Since the time of Mohammed, martyrs have always been considered those willing to die defending Islam." It's not just among Palestinians, but in other Arab nations as well, that school teachers, textbooks, religious leaders and even television programming routinely teach that killing the enemies of Islam – Jews in particular – will earn the killer a special place in heaven. One Palestinian "Sesame Street"-style children's program called the "Children's Club" – complete with puppet shows, songs, Mickey Mouse and other characters – focused on inculcating intense hatred of Jews and a passion for engaging in and celebrating violence against them in a perpetual "jihad." In one song on the "Children's Club," very young children are shown singing songs about wanting to become "suicide warriors" and to take up "a machine gun" to direct "violence, anger, anger, anger" against Israelis. During the show, which features children aged 4-10, one young boy sings, "When I wander into Jerusalem, I will become a suicide bomber." Afterward, other children stand to call for "Jihad! Holy war to the end against the Zionist enemy." In another segment, a boy who appears to be no more than 8 or 9 years old chants: "My patience has run out. All Arab existence cries for revenge" against the Jews in Israel. |