Is Ramadan a time for peace or terror? The US thinks peace; the PA promotes terror
Peaceful Ramadan through US eyes:
“The Biden administration has also raised concern over fighting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.” [The New York Times]
“The Biden administration believes there is an urgent need to get a deal… because Ramadan is three weeks away.” [Axios]
“The Biden administration is racing against the clock… [for a ceasefire] before Ramadan.” [CNN]
Terror Ramadan through Palestinian Authority eyes:
“The Prophet [Muhammad] entered the great Battle of Badr during Ramadan... In the month of Ramadan, in the 8th year of the Hijra, the Prophet and the Muslims conquered Mecca... The Prophet did not say… ‘now it’s Ramadan, people are fasting, let’s delay it to after Ramadan’… Ramadan is [now]… as it also was in the life of the Prophet, a month of Jihad, conquest, and victory.”
[Abbas’ advisor Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash]
Observing American statements about the Biden administration’s desire for Israel to stop the war against Hamas before the Muslim month of Ramadan, starting March 10, it is clear that the US is applying liberal Western values where they do not fit. America’s push for a ceasefire assumes the holy Muslim month is a time of peace, in an apparent projection of the Christian teachings of “peace on earth” associated with the holiday of Christmas. Accordingly, the US is pressuring Israel to stop its war against Palestinian terror in the Gaza Strip before Ramadan:
“The Biden administration is racing against the clock to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war before Ramadan.” [CNN, Feb. 21, 2024]
“The Biden administration has also raised concern over fighting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan… could be viewed as particularly provocative to Muslims.” [The New York Times, Feb. 11, 2024]
“President Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk… told Israeli officials that the Biden administration believes there is an urgent need to get a deal… because Ramadan is three weeks away.” [Axios, Feb. 22, 2024]
The US is applying Western cultural and religious values to the Palestinians which are totally out of place. The top Palestinian Authority religious official, Mahmoud Abbas’ personal advisor on Islam, encouraged Palestinian terror specifically during the month of Ramadan in a religious lesson during Ramadan two years ago. He explained that specifically, this month is not a time for “laziness,” but rather is a time to follow the precedent set by Islam’s prophet Muhammad who fought wars during Ramadan. Ramadan, Abbas’ advisor said, is a time for “Jihad, conquest, and victory.”
PA Supreme Shari’ah Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
“Did the Prophet spend Ramadan in calmness, serenity, laziness, and sleepiness? Far be it from him… The Prophet entered the great Battle of Badr (i.e., in 624 CE) during Ramadan... Martyrs fell from among the companions of the Prophet – 14 Martyrs… The companions did not say: ‘O Prophet of Allah, now is a time of fasting and it is hot’... On the 17th of Ramadan he set out to Badr, and the great Battle of Badr took place… Also in the month of Ramadan, in the 8th year of the Hijra (i.e., 629-630 CE), the Prophet and the Muslims conquered Mecca... The Prophet did not say and did not think when he decided to set out to liberate Mecca and to conquer Mecca that ‘Now it’s Ramadan, people are fasting, let’s delay it to after Ramadan’… How can we build [our] lives and lay foundations for Islam if we are lazy, Heaven forbid? Ramadan is not a month of laziness but rather a month of activity, of effort, and of hard work, and as it also was in the life of the Prophet, a month of Jihad, conquest, and victory.”
[Official PA TV, Allah’s Messenger Muhammad, April 3, 2022]
Another indicator of the way the PA associates Ramadan with terror and murdering Israelis was seen last year when Mahmoud Abbas held a special Ramadan dinner for dignitaries, including “ambassadors and consuls in the State of Palestine, [PA] government members, [PA] Security Forces commanders, families of Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded, judges, academics, publicists, journalists, and businessmen.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 16, 2023]
In this picture, the person who Abbas chose to have sitting beside him in the most honored seat in the room was Um Nasser Abu Hmeid – the mother of 6 terrorists, four of them imprisoned, and two “Martyrs,” who are responsible for the murders of at least 10 Israelis.
During another Ramadan, the PA made a point of honoring the murderers of 238 Israelis. Then PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, Issa Karake, visited many of these terrorists in prison, explaining:
"The purpose of this visit during this month (Ramadan) is to emphasize the loyalty and love to the prisoners." [Al-Ayyam, July 16, 2013]
PA TV, which broadcasted special programs throughout the month to honor terrorists, explained this was because the PA "extols" the acts of terror they committed:
"These gatherings of solidarity [for prisoners] are just a reminder... These heroes who we are talking about, they are the ones whose actions we extol."
[Official PA TV, July 24, 2013]
Western leaders fundamentally misunderstand the Israel-Palestinian conflict because they assume their Western culture and outlook are what drives the PA. For example, most Western leaders continue to blindly believe that the PA war and terror against Israelis is only over land, ignoring all the evidence Palestinian Media Watch has exposed showing that the PA, like Hamas, is fighting a religious war for Islam both against the state of Israel and the Jews.
As part of this worldview, every dead Palestinian terrorist, including suicide bombers who murdered civilians, is classified by the PA as a Shahid– a “Martyr” who died for Allah. This means that the killing of Israeli civilians is an Islamic religious act for the PA.
Until the Western countries start looking at the PA properly and listening to the values and goals expressed by the PA, all the interventions and solutions the West is proposing will continue to fail.