Daily Alert Archives

Songs in the Classroom and the Roots of Terror

[Times-UK] Michael Gove - Just over a week ago the BBC screened footage of some girls in a Middle Eastern school. Beautifully turned out, and with faces shining, the children sang a carefully prepared anthem for their parents, friends, and relatives. But the lyrics committed to heart by the girls of the al-Khalil al-Rahman Young Girls' Association sat a little incongruously with the innocence of their appearance. "We all sacrifice ourselves for our country," they sang. "We answer your call and make of our skulls a ladder to your glory. A ladder." We saw young girls dancing to music which proclaimed: "Fasten your bomb belt, oh would-be martyr, and fill the square with blood so that we get back our homeland." The songs were recorded for a Panorama special presented by veteran BBC reporter John Ware investigating donations to the charity Interpal. Ware's painstaking work suggested that some of the institutions which benefit from the charity are linked to the Hamas terrorist organization. It is natural to believe that all one can do in the way of helping to end the suffering is simply to join the chorus demanding a cease-fire. But don't we owe our children, and the children of the Middle East, a few moments more reflection and questioning? What are the chances of a lasting peace when young girls are taught to celebrate suicide bombings in kindergarten? And what are we going to do about it?
2006-08-11 01:00:00
Full Article