Following are excerpts from an interview with, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on June 22, 2012.

Riyadh al-Bustanji: What motivates me to visit here time and again is the fact that on the first day that I entered Gaza I was met by a child of Gaza. The Islamic world in its entirety was yearning to see the children of Gaza, to embrace them, and to kiss them.

When I was met by this child, who I am sure was younger than ten years old…

Anchor: Was this on your first visit?

Riyadh al-Bustanji: Yes. This visit took place a few months after the war, after much suffering.

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When I met this child, I embraced him, kissed him, blessed him, and said to him: "I pray to Allah that He will make you know the Koran by heart." He looked at me, and said: "I already know the entire Koran by heart. Pray to Allah that I may meet Him as a martyr on the land of Jerusalem."

No matter what I have done in the service of Islam, I am dwarfed by that child. This is no child – this is one of the giants of our times. I was dwarfed by that child. Although not yet ten years of age, he knows the Koran by heart, and he wishes to meet Allah as a martyr on the land of Jerusalem.

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Today, when we entered the home of our leader and Emir, Ismail Haniya – may Allah preserve him – I said to his wife: "Tell the women of Gaza that I have brought my daughter to Gaza, so that she can learn from the women of Gaza how to bring up her children on Jihad, martyrdom-seeking, and the love of Palestine, Allah willing.

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