On March 23, 2023, the first day of Ramadan, Palestinian journalist Rashid Hassan published in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour a column titled "Ramadan, the Month of Jihad". In it, he stressed that the most important aspect of Ramadan is that it is the month of jihad and martyrdom, as evident from the fact that the most important and decisive victories in Muslim history occurred during this month. He therefore called on the Palestinians to mobilize and come to Jerusalem during Ramadan in order to defend Al-Aqsa, and urged the Muslim nation to stand with the Palestinian people, stop the normalization with Israel and sever their ties with the Jews, who "do not honor any covenant or promise and are naturally disposed to treachery."
It should be mentioned that Hassan often publishes articles supporting armed struggle against Israel that include antisemitic motifs.[1]
Ramadan poster on Telegram channel of Hamas' military wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (March 22, 2023)
The following are translated excerpts from his recent column:[2]
"The month of Ramadan is replete with mighty meanings and content, and it comes to us as a great boon and blessing. The most important meaning of this noble month is undoubtedly that it is the month of jihad, the month of shahada [martyrdom], and the month of istishhad [martyrdom-seeking]. It is the month of conquests and of great battles, not a month of pleasures. The greatest significance of the month of Ramadan is readiness for shahada and sacrifice. In this blessed month, souls submit completely to their Creator and yearn for Paradise, for its breezes and fragrances.
"Ramadan saw the most important and decisive battles in Muslim history, [such as] the great [Battle of] Badr,[3] which historians unanimously call "the Battle of Distinction" because it forever drew the line between truth and falsehood. Truth was victorious, and 'falsehood withered away: for, behold, all falsehood is bound to wither away!' [Quran 17:81]. Polytheism was defeated, and its star started to fade.
"Did Allah's Messenger [the Prophet Muhammad] not call for Allah's help [in the Battle of Uhud[4] when he saw the mighty armies of the [Quraysh] tribe, which outnumbered the Muslim army two to one, saying 'O Allah, do not allow this group [the Muslims] to be defeated, for there will be nobody to worship you'? Then there was a clear [Muslim] victory and the leaders of polytheism, who had hurt Muhammad and his Companions, got what they rightly deserved… The resounding conquest of Mecca took place during Ramadan as well…[5]
"Also in Ramadan were the battles of Hattin,[6] [following which] Jerusalem was liberated, and the Battle of 'Ain Jalut,[7] in which the light of Islam defeated the great forces of darkness. It defeated the Tartars and defended the very existence of Islam and the lands of Islam from the foolishness of the benighted and the ignorant. Finally, [Ramadan] also saw… the battles of the crossing in 1973,[8] in which the Egyptian and Syrian armies managed to deliver a humiliating defeat to a thousand of the enemy's generals in the sands of Sinai and on the soil of the Golan…
"The spirit of Ramadan flows in the veins of our mighty [Palestinian] people. Our heroic prisoners have announced an unlimited [hunger] strike starting on the first day of Ramadan, brandishing the timeless slogan 'Freedom or Martyrdom!'
"This [Palestinian] nation of giants has decided to escalate the resistance during Ramadan, [the month of] blessing and success, [seeing this] as the only way to defend the holy sites and the women and children from the Zionist madness that has gone out of control to the extent that the terrorist [Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich denies the existence of the Palestinian people. This stupid fool does not know that the first people created by Allah were the Canaanites, who settled in Palestine, built Jerusalem and spread civilization throughout the region.
"In Ramadan, the month of martyrdom and martyrs, we call on our mighty people to mobilize, come to Jerusalem and stay in Al-Aqsa,[9] to defend it from the Zionist madness. We call on our [Muslim] nation to breach its silence, announce its support for the Palestinian people, tear up the documents of normalization and subordination [to Israel] and sever the ties with the descendants of the Jews of Khaybar,[10] now that it has been proven that they do not honor any covenant or promise and that they are naturally disposed to treachery…"
[1] See MEMRI reports: Special Dispatch No. 10420 - Jordanian Journalists React To Israeli Minister Ben Gvir's Visit To Temple Mount: Only Confrontation, To The Point Of Martyrdom, Will Drive Out The Enemy And Purge Palestine Of The 'Despicable Nazi Occupation'; This Is A Death Sentence For The Oslo Accords - 01/12/23; Special Dispatch No. 7811 - Columnists In Jordanian 'Al-Dustour' Daily Praise Terror Attacks In West Bank, Palestinians' Readiness To Die As Martyrs - 12/18/18; Special Dispatch No. 5171 - Jordanian Journalist: 'The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion' Are The Basis For Jewish Actions Against Islam And The Palestinians - 02/04/13.
[2] Al-Dustour (Jordan), March 23, 2023.
[3] This battle between the Prophet Muhammad's forces and the Meccan forces took place in Ramadan in the year 2 AH (624 CE).
[4] This was the second battle between the Quraysh tribe and the Muslims. It took place during Ramadan in 3 AH (625 CE), at the foot of Mount Uhud near Medina.
[5] According to Muslim sources, the conquest of Mecca took place during Ramadan in 8 AH (December 629-January 630).
[6] This battle between the Crusaders and the Muslim forces of Saladin Al-'Ayyubi, in Ramadan 583 AH (1187 CE), ended with the defeat of the Crusaders and led to the Muslim conquest of the entire Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem within a short period of time.
[7] This battle was fought between the Mamluks and the Mongols in the Galilee in Ramadan 658 AH (1260 CE), and ended with a decisive Mamluk victory.
[8] The reference is to the October 1973 war between the Arabs and Israel, in which the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and breached the Bar-Lev Line, a chain of Israeli fortifications along the canal. This war too took place during Ramadan.
[9] The reference is to the Islamic practice of i'tikaf, which involves spending several days in the mosque and engaging in worship, especially during the last ten days of Ramadan.
[10] According to Muslim tradition, in 628 CE, Muhammad expelled the two Jewish tribes of Medina – Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir – from the city. Another Jewish tribe, Banu Qurayza, was completely destroyed – all its men were executed and the women, children, and property were distributed as booty among the Muslims. Muhammad also defeated the Jews of Khaybar (including the Jews of Banu Nadir, who settled there after their expulsion from Medina), but allowed them to stay there and continue working their lands on the condition that they give half of their crop yields to the Muslims of Medina. During the time of the second Muslim Caliph, 'Omar ibn Al-Khattab, the Jews were expelled from Khaybar and their lands were divided among the Muslims.
