Another Rationale for Palestinian Violence
Reader comment on item: Hope for the Middle East

Submitted by Yochanan ben Daniel (Israel), May 22, 2002 at 11:32

In addition to the three reasons for the persistence of Palestinian violence that are mentioned in this article, one should not forget the very powerful influence of the Islamic religion and Scriptures. A striking example of this influence was revealed to me the other day in a conversation with a Muslim friend. It concerns one of the Sayings of Mohammed - one of the most popular in the Palestinian areas nowadays:
"Judgement Day shall not come until Muslims fight the Jews, whereas the Jews will hide behind trees and stones, and the tree and the stone will speak and say: 'Muslim, behind me is a Jew, come and kill him, except for the al-Ghargad tree, which is a Jewish plant'."
The implication is, of course, that even if the violence fails to destroy the State of Israel, and replace it with the Palestinian State, at least it will have the effect of bringing the Day of Judgement upon us!
Yours sincerely,
Yochanan ben Daniel

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.