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Arafat's Legacy: A More Islamic Palestinian Society

[Washington Times] Joel Mowbray - In a keynote speech earlier this month to the American Task Force on Palestine, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice compared the Palestinian cause to her own civil rights struggle growing up in "segregated Birmingham, Alabama." Rice said if she could overcome such tremendous odds to become Secretary of State, Palestinians could achieve their dream of statehood. She based this belief on "the commitment of the Palestinian people to a better future." Where is the evidence of this "commitment?" Poll after poll has indicated majority Palestinian support for suicide bombings. Whereas children across the world have posters in their room of sports stars or famous artists, Palestinian youths decorate their living space with posters celebrating "martyrs." What about the very real possibility, or even likelihood, that the Palestinian people elected Hamas precisely because it's a "violent terrorist group"? Palestinians are not stupid. Is it even possible that Palestinians didn't understand that they were electing a "violent terrorist group" with the stated goal of eliminating the Jewish state? Palestinian society was Islamicized by Yasser Arafat. Once he was given the reins following the 1993 Oslo accords, Arafat instituted an aggressive program of Islamic indoctrination, primarily through the schools and the media. PA-run schools placed far greater emphasis on Islam than ever before, and every Friday PA television still broadcasts sermons of fiery and bitterly anti-Semitic imams. The indoctrination worked. The original PLO terrorists had an inherent limitation, as the prospect of their own deaths was a deterrent. Arafat thus turned to Islam, which enabled him to breed a new generation of terrorists who were far more effective. Not only were they not afraid to die, but they actually desired death. With the Islamic indoctrination that continues largely unabated, the sad reality is that Palestinians are likely to move further and further away from accepting peaceful coexistence with the Jewish state.
2006-10-27 01:00:00
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