Israel demanded from the UN to condemn suicide bombers as war criminals, and
suicide bombings to be classified as 'crime against humanity'. Friends of
Israel support destruction of homes where the suicide bombers lived. Now, we
have an interesting case.

Yesterday, an Israeli pilot Captain Admon fired a salvo of missiles into a
crowded street in the Palestinian city of Gaza. He killed some ten people,
among them a 12 year old boy, who innocently walked the street near his
home. He also wounded 20 men, women and children. Afterwards, Captain Admon
committed suicide. Should he be considered a suicide bomber?
Should his home in Ramat Efal near Tel Aviv be destroyed and his family
thrown out to the street?

Frequently we, friends of Palestine, are asked about suicide bombers, and we
answer this question as good as we can - from apology to denunciation. There
is one voice that is missing in the discourse: a voice of support. In our
view, it is a voice much needed for forming a correct opinion. This list is
always ready to present views outside of the mainstream Western discourse;
it does not mean we support or reject these views, but we are not the New
York Times and we are ready to give a platform to people shunned by the
Jewish liberal newspaper.

Shamir
www.israelshamir.net

Bearing Witness

Maria Hussain

The core of Islam is Shahada: to bear witness unto the Oneness of Allah and
the prophethood of Mohammed, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. To
bear witness is what it means to be a Muslim. According to the Islamic
religion, all individuals who have faith have been Chosen by God. To
validate the Islamic world view is to reject the Jews' concept of Chosen
status based on race. Allah, the Lord, promises Paradise to all those who
died bearing witness to this concept of human equality, recognizing the
universality of the Creator. To live and die in a state of faith, or Iman,
is the goal of every Believer who strives to submit his will in peace to
Allah. A person who is at peace with himself and at peace with God, who
practices Islam, declares Shahada every day in prayer. A person in a state
of faith does not view death as something horrifying.

Martyrdom is the ultimate Shahada because it proves you would rather die
than to bow before anything other than Allah. You are a free human being who
refused to accept oppression. In Palestine, the State of Israel has imposed
a false doctrine declaring Jews as the Master Race. This false religion is
an idol that the Palestinians refuse to honor, in keeping with the true
prophetic tradition. In Palestine, just going to work or going to school is
a defiant declaration of independence. For a Palestinian, life itself is an
act of refusing to submit to other than Allah. A child killed by a stray
bullet while walking to school is called a "Shahid," as is a suicide bomber.
If a woman's baby dies after she gives birth at a checkpoint, that baby is
called a Shahid. All Palestinians killed by Israel, or who die fighting
against Israel, are considered martyrs. The reason that fighting against
Israel is so important for Muslims worldwide is not because Israelis are the
meanest killers in human history, but because they have lied against God.

To steer one's path in accordance with the Divine Purpose, one has to
constantly pray for purity of intention so that all one's actions are for
the sake of Allah alone. Even lawful actions become "haram" or sinful if
they are done without the proper intention. If a person eats a meal
forgetting to say "Bismillah" (in the name of Allah), prophetic tradition
teaches us that the nourishment then takes on a satanic quality. It is the
consciousness of Allah (Taqwah) in one's actions that makes an action
righteous or commendable. A commendable action requires knowledge. The
Islamic belief is that there is something called faith which is the
knowledge of Allah. You have to live in this state of knowledge, or at least
aspire to that knowledge. Otherwise, you will die in a state of ignorance
and failure.

Jahiliya, or ignorance, the Islamic understanding of Paganism, is identified
by a mythological or pseudo-scientific belief that the worlds are created by
continuous struggle between various gods or natural forces, whereas Islam
upholds a faith in a Unity or Oneness beyond the balance and interplay of
opposing forces. One who lives in a state of Oneness is spiritually
satisfied and at peace. This sense of transcendence is not a "spiritual
philosophy" but a personal experience of reality. Not only is Allah real,
but Allah is the only Reality. A person who is martyred in a state of higher
consciousness gets the best rewards of Allah's Paradise.  Paradise is a
state of unending bliss that is always new, always different, and always
beautiful, like making love to 72 willing virgins. The willingness to die
for the sake of defeating an army that has declared itself an enemy to Allah
and His Prophets is akin to the story of David and Goliath. Palestinians
identify with this story deeply, as it is contained in both the Bible and
the Quran.

The Palestinian boy, Faras Ouda, left home with nothing but a slingshot,
determined to be a hero. He decorated his own wreath in preparation. This
brave kid was shot down by a coward in an armored truck. Children who die
before reaching puberty are reserved a special garden in Paradise. The
Prophet Mohammed, when he ascended into the seven heavens from the rock in
Jerusalem, saw the Prophet Abraham surrounded by children. The Angel Gabriel
told Mohammed that all the innocent children who have died now live under
the guardianship of the Prophet Abraham. The death of a child is an honor
and a mercy to the mother. It elevates the entire family spiritually. The
child waits for his mother at the gate of Paradise, begging Allah to forgive
her sins so that they could someday be reunited. It is said that Allah
cannot break the heart of an innocent child, so He will allow even
undeserving parents, and the baby's wetnurse as well, to come to Paradise
for the sake of the child's happiness. This is as true when the child died
of leukemia as when the child was killed by Israel. The Quran reminds us
that the life of this world is but a trial and that our true home is in the
hereafter.

While Zionists think of the Jewish Holocaust as a burnt sacrifice offered to
Yahweh to justify the State of Israel, Islam does not teach that death in
itself grants expiation for sins and automatic rewards. The most dramatic
act of sacrifice - death in battle against an oppressive regime - does not
necessarily guarantee Paradise. That is why Palestinian suicide bombers pray
for the acceptance of their sacrifice. The Prophet Mohammed once told a
story of a man who died in battle, after having killed several enemy
soldiers. The prophet explained that although this man appeared to others as
a war hero, the man was going to hell because he was not fighting for the
sake of Allah alone. His intentions were mixed with the desire for glory.
Other traditions tell of the great warrior saint, Ali, who, while dueling
with an opponent, reached a point where the enemy soldier was on the ground.
Ali was about to kill him when he spat in Ali's face. At that point, Ali
immediately released the enemy soldier unharmed. He asked the great Muslim
why his life had been spared. Ali answered that if he had killed the man out
of anger, it would be a grave sin. Passions can nullify the reward for
Jihad, or the struggle against oppression. The person who by the command of
Allah commits an act of war, not out of hate, but for the ultimate goal of
establishing justice, and who dies in the process, whether he or she is
killed by an Israeli bullet or on a suicide mission, is a Shahid. However,
someone who kills or is killed in an act of desperation or ethnic
nationalism, has served Satan.

The whole idea behind Islamic warfare is that it is not allowed to be
motivated by revenge. However, there is such a thing as retaliation in war.
Allah's law says a life for a life is just, though it is better to forgive.
So far, the Palestinians have not even come close to that, so there is not
much sense in being outraged at suicide bombers, as it just feeds into the
false doctrine of unconditional Jewish innocence.

While terrorism does claim lives, it is more symbolic and theatrical than
efficient, and in the end, may reduce civilian casualities. For every ten
Israelis killed in a pizzaria, there might be 10,000 Israelis that decided
to move to Sweden, and 10,000 Romanians who decided to stay in Romania. The
more "civilized" approach would be to carpet bomb Tel Aviv from an airplane.
However, mass loss of life would be guaranteed as collatoral damage. Islam
says to establish justice for all people including non-Muslims. Allah
commanded the Palestinians to win this war. They are not fighting for greed,
they are fighting because they have no other option since they are under
attack. As such, they have to use successful strategies to win the war for
the sake of Allah.

Perhaps the main difference between Zionist killers and Islamic killers is
attitude. Israelis do their bulldozing and indiscriminate shooting of
civilians in a state of hate, often while drunk. Their ultimate goal is
erasing Palestine. Islamic soldiers go to battle with a sense of the sacred,
with solemn purpose and clear mind. At worst, they seek a life-for-life
retaliation. Their ultimate goal is to bear witness to the Oneness of Allah.
Until the recent past, I had no opinion one way or another about Palestinian
suicide bombers, considering them irrelevant to the question of whether
Israel should continue to exist. I left it to Allah to send them to heaven
or hell. To be ready to die for a cause is the proof of one's sincerity. But
as with all acts of worship, we can never be totally sure of Allah's
approval. All we can do is ask for Signs. The story of the mother who prayed
for ten Israelis to be killed by her daughter's martyrdom, and the exact
answer to her prayer seemed to me to be a sign that Allah blessed the
sacrifice, at least in this particular instance. I don't see any
contradiction between viewing suicide bombing as a successful strategy of
war, and as a service to Allah that goes beyond the desire for attaining a
specific worldly goal.

It is hard for some of us to accept that God may have commanded good people
to fight against the Jews, even knowing that the Jews are committing
genocide in Palestine. As for me, there was a time when I felt sorry for the
Jews, but those days are over. Israel supporters are not stupid. They are
satanic. What kind of person moves onto property when he knows the previous
owners were forced off by gunpoint and made homeless? As long as Zionists
continue to buy and sell stolen property in Israel like some kind of
criminal mafia, I don't think it is reasonable to expect that Jews should
feel free to live in Israel and think they should not be killed. My biggest
issue with suicide bombings is that so many Palestinians have to die in the
process.

No American or Israeli has the moral authority to judge the Palestinians,
most of whom have no passports and are not allowed to live legally anyplace
on earth. It actually appears that the Jewish community demonizes Arabs out
of a neurotic need to perceive themselves as victims, even when this defies
logic. Apparently, they want Palestinians to kill them. Jews only feel
comfortable when they are surrounded by people who want them dead. It may be
that they need us to force them to give up the concept of the Jewish State
to help them save face. They will leave Israel, but they can't do it by
agreeing to it in a rational way. They can't just admit they were wrong and
give back the stolen property. They can't just admit that non-Jews are their
human equals and give them equal rights and live in peace. They need to
preserve the sense that the world wants to mass murder them, without which
they lose their sense of identity. They need us to help them leave with
their victimhood intact.

I would personally recommend for some civilized country to send their Air
Force to bomb the Jewish settlements, dismantle the racist State of Israel,
and return the Palestinian refugees to their homes in Palestine with
financial compensation and full citizenship rights. While Zionist criminals
should face Guantanamo, the most Islamic way to deal with the Israeli public
would be a general amnesty. Either Jews should apply for Palestinian
citizenship, or they should leave. Palestinians and their well-wishers
should stop begging for a "state." All of historical Palestine belongs to
the Palestinians. The Israeli Wall is proof that compromising with racists
is not an option. For all those who strive with their lives and with their
possessions in the cause of Allah, bearing witness to the Truth that Allah
is One, who are not fighting for a nationalist cause but for a future free
of artificial national borders and false racial identities, I pray Allah
help them.

World View News Service - Islam News
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vwns/