A well-known hadith (a saying of the Prophet Mohammed accepted by Muslims as canonical and weighty), relating to the prospective end-of-days battle between Muslims and Jews, states:
The Prophet … says: 'The hour of judgement shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: "Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him" …'
This hadith is approvingly quoted in the 1988 Charter (or constitution) of the Hamas, the fundamentalist Palestinian organization that controls the Gaza Strip and won the 2006 Palestinian general elections.
And last week it received the approval of 73 percent of Palestinians in a poll run by American pollster Stanley Greenberg, conducted jointly by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, based in Beit Sahur in the West Bank, and the Israel Project, a peace-promoting international nonprofit organization. The finding was based on lengthy interviews with 1,010 Palestinian adults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. About 80 percent of those polled agreed that it was the duty of all Muslims to participate in jihad to eradicate Israel.
The poll also found that 61 percent of Palestinians rejected the American-Israeli formulation for a settlement of the conflict based on two states for two peoples, one for the Arabs and one for the Jews. Only 34 percent of Palestinians questioned supported a "two-states-for-two-peoples" solution.
The poll reflects the decades of Palestinian—PLO-Palestine National Authority and Hamas—education and incitement of the population of the territories against Israel and, more generally, the Jews. Fifty-three percent of those polled favored teaching in Palestinian schools songs promoting hatred of Jews. But 66 percent of those polled adopted the PLO-PNA gradualist approach of a two-stage "solution" to the problem of Israel, approving a first stage in which there would be two states before moving onto "stage two" with the establishment of one Palestinian Arab-majority state over all of Palestine. (The Hamas rejects this strategy and speaks frankly of its goal as being the elimination of Israel at one go, without any prior or intermediate stages or agreements with the Jews.)
Most of the poll's findings conformed to this outlook. Only 1 percent of Palestinians thought that Jerusalem should be Israel's capital; 92 percent thought it should be Palestine's capital. Only 3 percent thought the city should serve as the capital of both states.
The poll also reflected former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's famous denial (at Camp David in July 2000) of the Jews' historic link to Jerusalem and, by extension, to the Land of Israel/Palestine. Seventy-two percent of those polled denied that there was any historic link between the Jewish people and Jerusalem.
Interestingly, the poll found that only 22 percent of those polled supported firing rockets into Israel, 65 percent favored a diplomatic-political solution to the conflict and only 20 percent preferred the road of violence. This perhaps reflects the average Palestinian's tiredness of the conflict and unwillingness to pay the costs of violence while supporting the goal of Israel's elimination. Eighty-three percent of those polled thought that PNA President Mahmoud Abbas's priority should be creating jobs. But only 2 percent thought it should be peace talks with Israel.
Most Palestinians—64 percent—backed the current PNA initiative of unilaterally declaring statehood and obtaining UN support for such a declaration later this summer.
Perhaps the international quartet that is currently prodding Israel and the Palestinians to restart negotiations should take this poll, and what it tells us, into account when considering Netanyahu's fears regarding the Palestinian leadership's real aims in pressing on with its intention to unilaterally declare independence and obtain international endorsement of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, along the 1967 borders. Abbas's people, if this poll is to be believed, clearly regard this diplomatic initiative only as part of "stage one," and nothing more.
Comments
This hadith is central to the surrounding Arab perception of Israel. It's good to see it placed up front and plonk smack bang on the table for consideration. It is one of the realities that Israel must live with every day. / The fundamental tragedy of this region is that the Arab and Muslim nations that surround Israel owe the Jews a huge reparation for the damage inflicted on its people, both those within Israel and those having to flee surrounding countries to seek shelter in Israel. That damage requiring reparation has a historical depth dating back to Mohammad's time. / What is sad is that the Arab and Muslim nations are far too bankrupt - both morally and economically - even to take tiny steps toward a reparation. Instead, the damage continues to be inflicted, day after day, year after year. / And always with a ready helping hand from the Christian world. / {I've added "/" where a paragraph break would occur since this comment software seems unable to render it normally.}
The hadith at the beginning of the article is another example of Islamic texts that are taken out of their contexts to present Islam as a religion and Muslims as people hateful, bloodthirsty and intolerant. By misquoting the Islamic resources the author helps those who try to use this great religion to harm others for personal aggrandisement and fame. Muslims will seek peace till the end of times, I wish the author shared this goal and instead of accusing Palestinians with insincerity, tried to understand their suffering and search for security.
I don't suppose you could supply us with a corrected quote and context for this hadith. Its meaning seems pretty evident to me. And besides, Morris is doing no more than reporting how this hadith is currently being used. By Hamas and like minded Muslims. Are you talking to them directly about their own apparent misquoting and misrepresentation of this hadith?
Isnt that ironical that while Israel was established illegally on terrorist activities against the innocent Palestenians and subsequent massacre and migration of Palestenians and while Israel has always been a state sponsered terrorists, killing innocent people, children, plundering Palestenian homes and destroying lives and properties of innocent Palestenians,,,, people lose no time to demonize Palestenians. How ironic it is that while the so called "democratic" Nations like USA, Israel, India etc have proactively occupied and massacred millions of Muslims all over the World, people lose no time to present monstrous image of Islam and Muslims through lies and propagandas.
The irony, my friend, is in your comment but I doubt you'd have the self reflective capacity to see that.