On August 14, 2009, Salafi sheikh Dr. 'Abd Al-Latif Moussa, a.k.a. Abu Al-Nour Al-Maqdisi, gave his last sermon at the Ibn Taymiyya mosque in Rafah. In it, he objected to Hamas' intention to subordinate the mosque to the Hamas Ministry of Religious Endowments, and warned Hamas to keep its hands off the mosque or face dire consequences. He declared that the Salafis would never give up the mosque, and promised to punish all the Hamas leaders responsible for "this hateful, insolent, cheap, and dangerous plot."
Al-Maqdisi also called on Hamas to enforce shari'a in Gaza, promising that if it did, the Salafis would be its loyal servants. He stressed that he and his men had never attacked Hamas members, whom he called their brothers, but threatened that if Hamas began targeting the Salafis, they would retaliate in kind, and much blood would be spilled.
In his sermon, the sheikh declared the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Palestine, and called on all those in Gaza who possess weapons to bring them to the military headquarters at the Ibn Taymiyya mosque and to accept its authority. Finally, he related two dreams he had dreamed: in one, a pack of dogs, representing Hamas, tried to take over his mosque but was driven off by Allah.
Following the sermon, Hamas forces surrounded the mosque complex and attacked it; in the fighting that ensued, 24 people were killed, including Sheikh Al-Maqdisi himself, and over 130 were wounded. [1]
Following are excerpts from the sermon, which was posted on the Al-Falluja jihadist forum. [2]
"Hamas and Its Government Are In Good Shape - [And Will Remain So] As Long As They Stay Away from the Ibn Taymiyya Mosque
"A few days ago, we were suddenly approached by one of those who have sold their souls to the devil, and have turned the good of the party into a god whom they worship instead of Allah... [This person] was enraged by the large number of people who attend the Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya mosque, and decided to pull the rug from under the feet of Dr. 'Abd Al-Latif Moussa and the Salafis by subordinating the mosque to the [Hamas] Ministry of Religious Endowments...
"Let me give the Hamas government some advice... under the heading 'The Golden Admonition to the Isma'il Haniya government'... I ask the internal security officers to send Isma'il Haniya a full transcript of this sermon... The Hamas movement and its government are in good shape [and will remain so] as long as they stay away from the Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya mosque. But if they come near it, they should know that their end is nigh... and I have seen this in a dream.
"[I say to] the Hamas government: either you enforce Allah's law and the punishments set out in the Koran and the penal code... or you become a secular party which is falsely [described] as Islamic, like [the party of Turkish Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdogan... Who are you afraid of? The U.S.? Britain? France? The E.U.? It is Allah whom you should fear...
"By Allah, had the Hamas government implemented [Islamic law], we Salafis would have been willing to act as its servants, even if they flayed us alive and cut our bones with saws. But this government has chosen secularism and democracy as its laws and its guiding lights, giving them legitimacy and deceiving its followers."
We Salafis Will Never Let Hamas Chop Off Our Heads in the Name of Secularism and Democracy
"We have never attacked a single Hamas member, for they are our brothers, even if they have wronged us. But we swear by the Almighty Allah... that if things come to the point where they allow killing us [and taking] our property, [and where they] orphan our children and widow our wives, then we will retaliate in kind... We will not allow anyone at all to take the Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya mosque away from us. We have given you all the mosques in the Gaza Strip, and this is the only one left [for us]... We swear by Allah that we will punish the officials responsible for this hateful, insolent, cheap, and dangerous plot...
"No man in the world can ride on your back unless he finds you bent over - therefore, we Salafis will never bend our backs so you can ride them, and will never extend our necks so you can chop off our heads in the name of secularism and democracy... We all prefer to face the sword in courage, rather than the lash of the whip in humiliation..."
If Hamas Persecutes Us, We Will Take Our Operations Underground
"Our brothers in the Hamas movement, know that it is the intimidation of [other] movements that [drives them to] clandestine activity - for no man chooses to operate in secret if he has the option [of operating] freely. If you take over the Ibn Taymiyya mosque, even at the cost of our lives, we will take our operations underground... [for] it is better to die in obedience [to Allah] than to live in defiance [of His laws]... [I say to Hamas]: by Allah, if I am martyred and return my soul to my Creator... you will wish that Allah had given me another year of life for every day I spent among you, so great will be the bloodshed and the strife that you will witness...
"[Following is] Communiqué No. 1 from the Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya mosque:
"We hereby declare the establishment of a newborn [entity]: Al-Imara Al-Islamiyya fi Aknaf Beit Al-Maqdas [the Islamic Emirate of Palestine]... This emirate will implement the Koranic punishments and the [Islamic] criminal laws and will implement the shari'a. Its roads will be safe, and in it jihad will be waged against the enemies and the booty will be distributed [according to the laws of the shari'a]. [This Emirate] will restore the meaning of our lives and the dignity of [our] humanity...
"[I call on] all the loyal brothers in Rafah and throughout the Gaza Strip who possess weapons, ammunition and [military] equipment, and who wish to be arrows in the quiver of Islam, to bring their weapons and equipment to the military command at the Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya mosque, and to declare their commitment to this command and to its military orders, as of the issuing of this communiqué. Then they must follow its future military communiqués, [which will be issued] in the upcoming Friday sermons...
"I promised to tell you a dream [that I had]. [In my dream,] I was leaving my home on my way to morning prayers, and I saw a pack of dogs surrounding the house. These dogs could speak. Eying them in disdain, I said: 'What do you want?' They said: 'We want the mosque at which you pray.' I asked: 'Why do you want it?' and they replied: 'We want to pray there.' I said: 'Praying dogs?' They said: 'We want it for the regime of the dogs. Haven't you noticed that [we bite people], a different person each time?'
"Suddenly a great light shone out from the west, from the direction of the sea, and all the dogs fled. The light was Allah's. The Ibn Taymiyya mosque is a mosque where only the truth is spoken, and therefore it is supported by Allah's angels of light. The Hamas movement is in good shape as long as it stays away from the Ibn Taymiyya mosque."
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), August 19, 2009.
[2] http://202.71.102.68/~alfaloj/vb/showthread.php?t=79199, August 16, 2009. The sermon was posted as a 35-minute cellphone video.
