Muhammad ordered kids to throw rocks at Jews, according to PA-funded PLO magazine for children
A poem in the Palestinian youth magazine Zayzafuna teaches children that throwing rocks at Jews is something mandated by Muhammad, Islam's prophet. The funders of the magazine include the Palestinian Authority.
The following lines were part of the poem printed in the magazine's October issue together with the image above of a kid throwing rocks:
"O children of my country, sing to the occupied homeland so it will be liberated...
The story of a stone or tree beckoning a Muslim to kill a Jew appears in numerous Islamic texts. One example is the following Hadith from the Sahih Muslim book of Hadith:
Click to read PMW's study of Zayzafuna from 2011
Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children partially funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine's staff and child readers, shows the kind of messages the publishers deem suitable for youth and also serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. Zayzafuna's website no longer exists but stated (in May 2016) that the magazine's advisory board is comprised of PA officials and educators, including Jihad Zakarneh, PA Deputy Minister of Education, and Abd Al-Hakim Abu Jamous, Head of the Media Department at the PA Ministry of Education. Zayzafuna included a note on its third page acknowledging the PA Ministry of Culture for its financial support of the printing of the magazine. It also included a disclaimer, stating that: “The opinions and texts in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Zayzafuna Association. In May 2011, the Deputy Chairman of the Zayzafuna organization Abd Al-Karim Ziyada explained on PA TV that the PA gives "a monthly payment of 10,000 shekels ($2,700) to cover the magazine's [costs]." [Official PA TV, May 9 and 13, 2011]
The following is the full version of the poem in the youth magazine:
A poem by Syrian poet Sulaiman Al-Issa
Headline: "The children of my country"
"O children of my country, sing to the occupied homeland so it will be liberated
Sing for a wide space that will inspire the revolutionaries and the revolution
In the field so they will strike roots
Sing to the sun so it will send light for freedom
Sing to the moon so we will remain awake at night
Together with those who love my country
On summer nights
Inspiring those who love Allah
To hold the morning prayers
Together with those who come to the mosque
Sing by the order of Prophet [Muhammad]
that we carry a rock
That we will throw at the people of the Gharqad [tree]