Against the backdrop of the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, journalist Yousuf Al-'Abadi published in the Jordanian state daily Al-Rai an article titled "Allah's Men," in which he praised the Gaza terrorists, calling them "the very best people [Allah] created" and "paragons of manliness, courage, boldness and nobility of spirit." These men, he said, do not fear death. While other people are busy with mundane things like eating, sports and gossip, they spend their days excavating tunnels, manufacturing rockets and pursuing the Israeli enemy.
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"Allah has on this earth men who are different [from us], with qualities that cannot be found in others, and they are the very best of the people he created. Whereas we are preoccupied day and night with making a living, and devote most of our attention to this, they are busy digging tunnels, manufacturing rockets, and keeping the enemy awake at night, preoccupied with building underground shelters in which [the Israelis] can hide like rats. While we are busy looking for something tasty to fill our bellies that have grown slack from inaction, they meet in the tunnels they have dug with their blessed hands, or under a tree near a simple lathe used for manufacturing rockets… While we are busy browsing social media, looking for news about some actress that has left her wretched husband or about some singer who fell from the stage, they spend their days and nights surveilling the enemy positions, without a moment's rest, looking for a chink in [the enemy's] armor in order to rescue a prisoner or carry out an operation that will hurt their enemy and the enemy of Allah.
"While we yell and lose our tempers watching a [football] match between Barcelona and Madrid, and bicker – sometimes literally exchanging blows – over who is better, Messi or Ronaldo, and heap scorn on the English [football] league, they spend the night following a masked commander with a moving voice and a mark on his forehead from kneeling [in prayer], and some of their comrades keep watch against traitors...
"These men have no accounts on Facebook, TikTok or [other] social networks, and they don't get depressed when the internet is down. They don't use drugs, drink alcohol or look for a doctor to prescribe them tranquilizers.
"They constantly rush towards death, [yet] their hands do not shake and they are not sorry… Their feet are planted firmly on the ground, and the storms of this world do not shake them. They do not complain about the summer heat or the winter cold, but praise Allah…
"Everyone knows where these people are. Their address is Palestine, and especially Gaza, and they are paragons of manliness, courage, boldness and nobility of spirit."
[1] Al-Rai (Jordan), May 12, 2023.
