In his weekly op-ed, Dr. 'Atallah Abu Al-Subh, a columnist for the Hamas[1] weekly Al-Risala (Gaza), writes openletters to prominent figures, ideologies, and events. His most recent letter, No. 163, was titled "To Anthrax":
"The truth is that I wondered how to begin! Should I greet you [i.e. anthrax], or should I curse you? Should I hold my tongue?… I will begin by saying: Oh Anthrax, despite your wretchedness, you have sown horror in the heart of the lady of arrogance, of tyranny, of boastfulness! Your gentle touch has made the U.S.'s life rough and pointless. You have filled the lady who horrifies and terrorizes the world with fear, and her feet almost fail to bear [her weight] in horror and fear of you. Because of you, she has lost confidence in the moment in which she lives, or in which she will live."
"You have entered the most fortified of places; [you have entered] the White House and they left it like horrified mice. Up until a short time ago, this place was the address of the power of brutality, or of the brutality of power! Verily, the owner of that house said, 'Woe to any who dare even to glance at it with a hint of rage – but you have turned all this into vanity, weakness, and wretchedness.'"
"By Allah, are you really so deadly?! Do you not fear America's intercontinental missiles? Do you not fear the torpedo missiles with nuclear warheads, and cluster bombs? Do you not fear the Swift Sword [Omani-British wargames] that Britain drew forth from its scabbard to stab into the heart of our honor in Muscat [Oman's capital], with the agreement of the great sultan, who had no shame in carrying out such a deed? Do you not fear the lady of terror's destroyers, that cross the Suez canal…?"
"The Pentagon was a monster before you entered its corridors… And behold, it now transpires that its men are of paper and its commanders are of cardboard, and they hasten to flee as soon as they see – only see – chalk dust! There are those who think that I exaggerate, but I do not think so. This horror that you have sown – you, the delicate, the uncomplicated, the miserable – in the heart of the bloodsucker [the U.S.]… makes me think as I do. You do not come like a storm, but they see you as one; a terrible storm that destroys everything. They run from you in all directions and their tongues mumble, 'My life, my life.' Our hearts, repressed, exiled, and oppressed, were filled with belief that Allah is capable of defeating America by means of the weakest of his earthly soldiers, after he used you to sow horror in their hearts…"
"I swear that your story is peculiar. The Americans see you as an imminent attack that is about to shake the lady with the proboscises that suck the blood of the peoples… All [the rulers of Arab and Islamic countries] tell [the U.S.] – every time she farts, – "Allah bless you" … Nevertheless, you have found your way to only eight American breasts so far…"
"You make the U.S. appease us, and hint to us at a rosy future and a life of ease… through a [new] Marshall Plan. Why? Because of our beautiful eyes? Or out of fear that we will turn into anthrax, and harm the apple of [the U.S.'s] eye and heart, Tel Aviv…? Without permission, you enter the halls of their courthouses, as if you intended to push the symbols of their sovereignty into the mud of worry and fear…"
"In sound mind, I thank you and confess that I like you, I like you very much. May you continue to advance, to permeate, and to spread. If I may give you a word of advice, enter the air of those 'symbols,' the water faucets from which they drink, and the pens with which they draft their traps and conspiracies against the wretched peoples… Turn the bodies of the tyrants into matches burning slowly and gradually, so that they understand that the truth belongs to Allah and that they should give those entitled to rights their rights."
"Then, and only then, will you return to your place… I hope that we only hear about you when you enter the body of every base man among the arrogant and their agents. Do not enter the bodies of the wretched, like that aging nurse. Peace be upon the oppressed."[2]
[1] As of November 2, 2001 Hamas was added to Executive Order 13224 which "provides the [the U.S. the] authority to act against individuals and organizations that associate with the named [Hamas] terrorist groups."
[2] Al-Risala (Palestinian Authority), November 1, 2001.
