Following are excerpts from statements made by Hamas clerics about the eruption of the Iceland volcano, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on April 22 and 30, 2010.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/0/0/0/0/0/0/2466.
To view MERMI TV clips for Al-Aqsa TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/content/en/tv_channel_indiv.htm?id=175.
April 30, 2010 Sermon: "That Volcano was a Means of Punishment, for 'Thy Lord is Ever Watchful'"
Sheik Yunis Al-Astal: "A single volcano erupted in Iceland, but its thick blanket of ash covered almost all of Europe.
[...]
"Most of the people on the face of the Earth were harmed by this volcano, but Europe suffered more than the others. That volcano was a means of punishment, for 'Thy Lord is ever watchful.'
"Europe continues to wage war against Allah and His religion. This is manifest in a ban on the building of mosques, in a ban on the construction of minarets, in prohibiting women wearing the niqab from walking down the street, in prohibiting women wearing the hijab from enrolling in schools or universities, and in similar forms of war waged against the religion of Allah.
"Allah wanted to show them one of His miracles. Their greatest crime, perhaps, is that the majority of the European countries are members of NATO, and today they are participating in the shedding of our blood in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Palestine, and in many other countries in which war is waged against Islam and the Muslims." [...]
April 22, 2010 Sermon: "A Soldier of Allah Struck a Blow Against Europe with the Force of God, and Caused Many Losses in Lives and in Property"
Preacher at a Friday sermon in Gaza: "We heard with our own ears and saw with our own eyes what happened at the beginning of this week in Europe. A soldier of Allah struck a blow against Europe with the force of God, and caused many losses in lives and in property, the scope of which is known to Allah alone.
"A devastating volcano, sent by the Almighty, brought all movement to a standstill. A state of emergency was declared, and all civil aviation was halted. The infidels and polytheists were struck with horror and dismay. [...]
"America, despite its multitudes and material means, despite its might and its scepter, despite its planes and its missiles, despite its warships and its destroyers, is weaker, in the eyes of Allah, than a spider-web."
