“Behind every Martyr there’s a mighty mother!” – The PA’s twisted ideal mother
“They confront death in a manner that amazed everyone, and despite the pain and the tears, gusts of joy burst forth, as if they were laughter rising from the rubble. With roses, with fragrant herbs, with sounds of joy – this is how the mothers accompanied their sons and sons of the Fatah Movement to Heaven”
“As is fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs, [she] accompanied her son to the wedding. She shed two rose tears and did not seclude herself in clothes of mourning. She marched at the front of the participants in the funeral and called out loudly: ‘With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you Martyr’”
“She made sounds of joy while making the sign of victory. With determination and resolution she raised his rifle and shot a bullet of joy and pride, while saying: ‘Today is the wedding day of my beloved, give me blessings and well-wishes’”
“She did not cry at all”
“She drew attention with her composure, her firm willpower, and her control over her sorrow”
Motherhood in general is imbued with all kinds of expectations – both from the mother herself and her surroundings. She should be loving, kind, and understanding, and yet establish rules, set boundaries, and remain firm when needed. And much more.
But who is the ideal mother for the PA and what is expected of her?
A recent incident exemplified a twisted aspect of the ideal mother that the PA has encouraged and cultivated for decades.
When three young terrorists who had carried out several shooting attacks against Israelis and were planning an imminent additional attack were recently killed and “ascended to Heaven” as “Martyrs” in PA terminology, it was a welcome opportunity for the PA to remind Palestinians what an ideal Palestinian mother looks like. Reporting from the funerals of the three terrorist “Martyrs,” the official PA daily explained what is “fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs.” The following model behaviors were listed under the headline “Behind every Martyr there is a mighty mother!”:
“Standing upright like [Mount] Gerizim and [Mount] Ebal, they confront death in a manner that amazed everyone, and despite the pain and the tears, gusts of joy burst forth, as if they were laughter rising from the rubble. With roses, with fragrant herbs, with sounds of joy – this is how the mothers accompanied their sons and sons of the Fatah Movement Adham [Mabrouka], Muhammad [Al-Dakhil], and Ashraf [Mubaslat] to Heaven...”
“As is fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs, the mother of Martyr Adham Mabrouka accompanied her son who is called Al-Shishani to the wedding (i.e., Martyr's funeral is considered wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam). She shed two rose tears and did not seclude herself in clothes of mourning. She marched at the front of the participants in the funeral and called out loudly: ‘With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you Martyr.’…”
“She made sounds of joy while making the sign of victory. With determination and resolution she raised his rifle and shot a bullet of joy and pride, while saying: ‘Today is the wedding day of my beloved, give me blessings and well-wishes.’”
“She consoled everyone instead of them consoling her, and she did not cry at all but rather caused everyone to cry…”
“She drew attention with her composure, her firm willpower, and her control over her sorrow, while bidding farewell to the flesh of her flesh with sounds of joy…”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2022]
Palestinian Media Watch has exposed the PA’s cultivation of its Martyrdom cult which asserts that Palestinian women are like no other, as they “view their children as insignificant compared to the homeland… they make sounds of joy for the Martyrs.” PMW reports have also documented how the resulting parental “celebration” and show of “joy” by bereaved parents whose children were killed – i.e., died as “Martyrs” - while carrying out terror attacks against Israelis are also being promoted and underscored by the PA.
The long and detailed account above is how the official PA daily described two of the three mothers acting at their sons’ funerals - or as Palestinian Islamic belief has it, at their “weddings” to the 72 virgins in Paradise. With these descriptions the PA clearly indicates to the Palestinian public that this behavior is admirable, heroic, and expected – “as is fitting.”
However, not all Palestinian mothers are able to live up to this twisted ideal. In an almost parenthetical note, the paper mentioned the third mother:
“The situation was different for the mother of Martyr Ashraf Mubaslat. She had no strength to sound calls and make sounds of joy, and her tears and sighs touched the hearts of millions. This is the sorrow of a mother who lost her only son…”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2022]
To remedy this less-than-ideal impression, the paper ended the funeral report by citing the three mothers allegedly stressing that “their sons are not more precious than the land of Palestine, and that they are now adorning themselves with pride and honor. Being called ‘mother of a Martyr’ was the greatest honor for them.”
The following is a longer excerpt of the report on the bereaved mothers’ “ideal” behavior at their sons’ funerals:
Headline: “Behind every Martyr there is a mighty mother!”
“In the presence of the mothers of the Martyrs the land is embarrassed and the stones are embarrassed, the homeland’s skies tremble in embarrassment and pride, and the words bow down in admiration and loyalty to them and to the homeland.
Three mothers embrace the same sorrow, the same loss, and the same pride, and their eyes sketch the map of Palestine for which they gave as a present that which is most precious of all to them. Standing upright like [Mount] Gerizim and [Mount] Ebal, they confront death in a manner that amazed everyone, and despite the pain and the tears, gusts of joy burst forth, as if they were laughter rising from the rubble. With roses, with fragrant herbs, with sounds of joy – this is how the mothers accompanied their sons and sons of the Fatah Movement Adham [Mabrouka], Muhammad [Al-Dakhil], and Ashraf [Mubaslat] (i.e., terrorists who were killed while planning an imminent shooting attack) to Heaven, after cruel Israeli forces executed them at point blank range in one of the neighborhoods of Nablus on Feb. 8 [2022].
As is fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs, the mother of Martyr Adham Mabrouka accompanied her son who is called Al-Shishani to the wedding (i.e., Martyr's funeral is considered wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam). She shed two rose tears and did not seclude herself in clothes of mourning. She marched at the front of the participants in the funeral and called out loudly: ‘With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you Martyr.’ His comrades responded to her with one voice: ‘O mother of the Martyr, fortunate are you, all of the men are your children.’ She made sounds of joy while making the sign of victory. With determination and resolution she raised his rifle and shot a bullet of joy and pride, while saying: ‘Today is the wedding day of my beloved, give me blessings and well-wishes.’
The same situation repeated itself when the mother of Martyr Muhammad Al-Dakhil participated in the same wedding of Martyrdom, among thousands of participants. She consoled everyone instead of them consoling her, and she did not cry at all but rather caused everyone to cry, as if she knows that an entire people will cry over Muhammad in her stead. She drew attention with her composure, her firm willpower, and her control over her sorrow, while bidding farewell to the flesh of her flesh with sounds of joy…
The situation was different for the mother of Martyr Ashraf Mubaslat. She had no strength to sound calls and make sounds of joy, and her tears and sighs touched the hearts of millions. This is the sorrow of a mother who lost her only son…
During the reception of those giving congratulations over the death of the moons of Nablus as Martyrs, the three mothers emphasized to [the official PA daily] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that Fatah is a movement that gives greatly, which will continue to give birth to heroes who will continue the path of Adham, Muhammad, and Ashraf. They emphasized that their sons are not more precious than the land of Palestine, and that they [the mothers] are now adorning themselves with pride and honor. Being called ‘mother of a Martyr’ was the greatest honor for them.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2022]
The article included pictures of the mothers of terrorists Adham Mabrouka Al-Shishani, Muhammad Al-Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat.
Adham Mabrouka Al-Shishani, Muhammad Al-Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat – Palestinian terrorists and members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military wing) who were shot and killed by Israeli security forces in Nablus on Feb. 8, 2022. When killed the terrorists were armed with two M-16 semi-automatic assault rifles and intelligence indicated that they were planning an imminent terror attack. The terrorists had already committed six shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in previous weeks, among them: Jan. 25, 2022 - shooting on an Israeli military post near Nablus. Jan. 27, 2022 - shooting on a military post between the Israeli towns of Elon Moreh and Itamar east of Nablus. Jan. 29, 2022 - shooting on an Israeli military vehicle as it drove next to the PA village of Tell southwest of Nablus. Feb. 2, 2022 - shooting on a military post at an entrance to Nablus. PMW was unable to determine the details of the remaining two attacks, which reportedly targeted Israeli towns.