Philadelphia Children Sing About Girls, Women Arming 'Brave' Palestinian Fighters At Islamic School Previously At Center Of Controversy Involving Children Singing About Martyrdom, Chopping Off Heads

On May 6, 2023, the Leaders Academy in Philadelphia posted to its YouTube channel a video of a performance made by students of Palestinian heritage at the academy's "One Ummah Day" event. In the video, schoolgirls are seen singing and acting out a song praising "brave" Palestinian girls who are the sisters and daughters of "real men." In one part, the song describes a grandmother who arms her granddaughters with a stone and sells her jewelry in order to purchase firearms. Another part of the song describes a girl sending her brother off to battle and telling him: "I will saddle up your horse, and I will tie a dagger to your belt – enhance your resolve." The video was also posted to the Facebook page of the Alhidaya Islamic Center in Philadelphia, with which Leaders Academy is affiliated.

It should be noted that the Philadelphia chapter of the Muslim American Society (MAS) has previously posted to its Facebook page videos from the Leaders Academy's "One Ummah Day" events from 2017 and 2019, in which young students sang "Chop off their heads!" and expressed their will to become martyrs for the sake of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. For more information, see MEMRI TV Clips Nos. 7201 and 7194. Following MEMRI's exposure of these videos, the Facebook page of MAS Philadelphia was suspended, and the Philadelphia chapter no longer appears on the MAS website. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8054 for more information about the public response to these clips. Notably, on May 15, 2019, MAS Philadelphia and Leaders Academy issued a statement saying that a "process" has been put in place to prevent the repetition of such an "unintended mistake".

Girls: "By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian. My grandmother is a beautiful old woman, she armed us with a stone. She sold her Jewelry and bracelets, and bought guns from the money.

"By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian.

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"My brother, I will saddle up your horse, and I will tie a dagger to your belt. I am the star that lights up your night, enhance your resolve, and gird your loins.

"By Allah, I am a brave Palestinian, the sister and daughter of real men. I am Palestinian.

"My veil is the most beautiful kaffiyeh. I am brave, I am the sister and daughter of real men. There are glances of victory in my eyes. I am Palestinian."