July 16, 2012
Special Dispatch No. 4834

Jordanian Cleric Riyadh Al-Bustanji: I Brought My Daughter To Gaza To Learn Jihad And Martyrdom-Seeking

In a recent TV show, Jordanian cleric Riyadh Al-Bustanji said:"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."

In the show, which aired on June 22, 2012 on the Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV broadcasting from Gaza, Al-Bustanji also extolled a young boy whom he said he met in Gaza and "who knows the Koran by heart and... wishes to meet Allah as a martyr in the land of Jerusalem."

Following are excerpts from the program.

Praise For Young Boy Who Yearns For Martyrdom

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."

[…]

"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."

[…]

"I Have Brought My Daughter To Gaza... To Learn To Bring Up Her Children On Jihad, Martyrdom-Seeking, And Love Of Palestine"

"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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