Introduction
On May 6, 2023, the Leaders Academy in Philadelphia posted to its YouTube channel a video of a performance made by students of Palestinian heritage at the academy's "One Ummah Day" event. In the video, schoolgirls are seen singing and acting out a song praising "brave" Palestinian girls who are the sisters and daughters of "real men." In one part, the song describes a grandmother who arms her granddaughters with a stone and sells her jewelry in order to purchase firearms. Another part of the song describes a girl sending her brother off to battle and telling him: "I will saddle up your horse, and I will tie a dagger to your belt – enhance your resolve." The video was also posted to the Facebook page of the Alhidaya Islamic Center in Philadelphia, with which Leaders Academy is affiliated.
Same Philadelphia Islamic School Posted Clips Of Children Singing About Chopping Heads In 2019; Following Exposure By MEMRI, School Removed Clip, Claiming It Hadn't Been Vetted; Similar Song Was Posted By School In 2017
The Philadelphia chapter of the Muslim American Society (MAS) has previously posted to its Facebook page videos from the Leaders Academy's "One Ummah Day" events from 2017 and 2019, in which young students sang "Chop off their heads!" and expressed their willingness to become martyrs for the sake of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On May 3, 2019 MEMRI released a clip from a video of an April 22, 2019 "Ummah Day" celebration at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) that had been posted on the MAS Philly Facebook page (see MEMRI TV clip no. 7194). The clip received over two million views on social media, and was denounced by Members of Congress. Following the release of the MEMRI clip, MAS Philly removed the video from its Facebook page.
Screenshot from the 2019 video posted by the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly).
Following MEMRI's exposure of these videos, the Facebook page of MAS Philadelphia was suspended, and the Philadelphia chapter no longer appears on the MAS website. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8054 for more information about the public response to these clips. Notably, on May 15, 2019, MAS Philadelphia and Leaders Academy issued a statement saying that a "process" has been put in place to prevent the repetition of such an "unintended mistake." An earlier video, posted on MAS Philly's Facebook page on May 28, 2017, showed children singing about their willingness to be martyred on Palestinian soil (See MEMRI TV clip no. 7201).
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Screenshot from the 2017 video posted by the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly).
In May 2023 Video, Children Sing About Girls, Women Arming 'Brave' Palestinian Fighters
Below is the transcript from of the video posted by the Leaders Academy in Philadelphia to its YouTube channel, showing students performing at the academy's 2023 "One Ummah Day" event. The video was also posted to the Facebook page of the Alhidaya Islamic Center in Philadelphia, with which Leaders Academy is affiliated.
To view the clip, click here or below:
Girls: "By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian. My grandmother is a beautiful old woman, she armed us with a stone. She sold her Jewelry and bracelets, and bought guns from the money.
"By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian.
[...]
"My brother, I will saddle up your horse, and I will tie a dagger to your belt. I am the star that lights up your night, enhance your resolve, and gird your loins.
"By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian.
"My veil is the most beautiful kaffiyeh. I am brave, I am the sister and daughter of real men. There are glances of victory in my eyes. I am Palestinian."
