Youngsters and jihad

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What would you like to be when you growup?A Hamas children's magazine has a clear answer: a terrorist. A children's story it published calls upon small children and encourages them to commit terrorist acts and sacrifice their souls for Allah.

Western politicians who delude themselves in the belief that Hamas will change have only to consider what Hamas leaders say. On Feb. 3, Hamas chief Khaled Mash'al declared in Damascus: "Before Israel dies, it must be humiliated and degraded," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Hamas gives this message to the present generation. But they also ensure that the next generation of Palestinians, now growing up, receives this message as early as possible. Hamas TV shows impart children with the jihad message when they are toddlers. And for kids who have learned to read, there are magazine comics.

The children's magazine named Fatah -- Arabic for the Muslim who conquers the Kufir States -- in its last two issues carried an illustrated story about the heroism of a very young but courageous Palestinian child, who is determined to be a jihad fighter like his older brothers.

The story demonstrates the indoctrination and "education" to which even the youngest of Palestinian children are exposed by Hamas in schools and publications.

The story was translated from the Arabic by Jonathan Dahoah Halevi of the Orient Research Group in Toronto: Here is the story.

The story begins when the child Basaal (meaning the "brave," in Arabic) is exposed to jihad activities while watching television, reading newspapers and at meetings his brothers hold with their friends to plan fedayeen actions and to attack Israeli reconnaissance convoys. Fedayeen, in Arabic, means to sacrifice oneself for Allah.

The more Basaal sees and hears the jihad message, the more he internalizes it. One day, he decides that he wants to commit a fedayeen action for Allah against the "evil Zionists." He says to himself, "I want so much to sacrifice myself by attacking the evil Zionists that stole our Dear Land." Basaal's father, who knows about his son's desire, tries to cool his enthusiasm by promising to teach him how to be a fedayeen when he grows up. "You are still young. Take heart. Your older brothers are committing such acts, and when you grow up, I will teach you how to be a fedayeen." The father and son close a deal by shaking hands.

Basaal goes to his little bed but can't sleep. He is troubled by questions like, "When will I be able to sacrifice myself for Allah? When?" Then he has an idea, which he decides to carry out the following day.

Basaal waits impatiently for school to end. He rushes home, eats lunch and finishes his homework at breakneck speed. He takes binoculars from a closet and goes to the roof of his home to watch the nearby Israeli command post. He determinately tells himself, "I will observe the Zionists until the time is ripe for action." After a few days, Basaal decides that he has enough information. Now, he must only to wait for the right moment to humiliate the Israelis.