Children honor the martyrs

A 13-year-old boy entered a shop in Nablus and asked for the portrait of his cousin Iyad Abu Al-Zaru be engraved on a metal medallion. Abu Al-Zaru, 18, was martyred after infiltrating the settlement of Shafi Shamron, carrying a semi-automatic weapon.

The boy went to the store a few days ago after the curfew that had been imposed on the city was lifted for a few hours, wishing to honor his cousin by wearing the medallion around his neck. It has been noted that almost one in two children in Nablus, especially in the Balata refugee camp, is wearing a necklace in remembrance of a martyr.

Nihad Abdul-Kareem, owner of the only shop in Nablus performing laser engraving, said, “The families and friends of martyrs come to the shop with pictures of those they have lost and ask that the pictures be engraved on metal pieces that they can wear.” Others have the pictures engraved on key chains.

Said Abdul-Kareem, “They ask for 20 or 30 pieces, and in some instances as many as 100, depending on who the martyr is.”

Continued Abdul-Kareem, whose business specializes in making signs and plaques for companies, “At first, engraving the pictures of martyrs accounted for one percent of my business, but today it accounts for 50-60 percent.”

The picture of Mohammed Titi, 28, who was martyred on 22 May while sitting with friends underneath a tree at the Balata Cemetery, is considered one of the most sought after. The Israeli occupation army confessed that a tank had targeted Titi and his two friends, all of whom were active members in Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah.

Occupation authorities accuse Titi, known throughout the West Bank as ëAl-Aqsa Dynamoí, of planning a series of shooting and bombing attacks in the occupied territories and inside the Green Line, including a mission at a hotel in Netanya that killed 29 Israelis.

Titi won the respect of his peers at the camp and especially the respect and admiration of children, who race to carry his picture engraved in metal.

Said Abdul-Kareem, “I have received hundreds of orders for pictures of Titi and Raed Al-Karmi.”

Karmi was the leader of Al-Aqsa Brigades in Tulkarem. He was assassinated on 14 November, when a bomb planted on the side of the street was discharged by remote control as he walked by. Karmi immediately became a hero, and children started wearing his picture engraved on medallions, the other side of which shows the emblem of the brigades.

A storeowner in Nablus called Isam seized the opportunity, ordering medallions carrying the portrait of Karmi and offering them for sale at a price of about $3.

Said Isam, “A child came to me once and asked for a medallion of Karmi, but when he heard the price he knew he could not afford it and decided to start saving immediately.”

At least five children entered Abdul-Kareem’s store during the few hours that the curfew was lifted to ask about their orders.

A laser engraving measuring 3.5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide needs takes approximately five minutes using a machine that Abdul-Kareem bought three years ago for $40,000. The machine scans the picture and calibrates its settings before it begins etching.

In Gaza, Hamas and Palestinians terrorists again celebrate death they
have brought to democracies and the West. They cheer the deaths of innocents
as Israel and America slowly bleed by their actions.

In Gaza, children support terror last night.

In Gaza, Hamas terrorists carry perp Mohamad Meqdad, 22,
shot by Israeli soldiers Saturday, Aug. 3 2002, near the Jewish settlements of Dugit and Alei Sina
as he arrived armed and dressed in a wet suit.

In Jenin and Nablus, Israel destroyed four homes of the homocidal bombers.

In Jerusalem, mourners carry a innocent murdered in the fireball bus bombing Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002.

In Meron Junction, Israel, Israeli children pray at the site of the bus bombing, 8/4/02.

I find this interesting considering the Islamic ban on graven images. In most Islamic countries it is strictly forbidden to put images on currency and coin, stamps and even in paintings. It is considered detrimental to one's soul to have an image made of one's self.
By making these medallions of the "martyrs" are they denying the "martyrs" right to their virgins or even their right to enter into heaven itself? I would like to hear from a Muslim scholar on this subject.

By making these medallions of the "martyrs" are they denying the "martyrs" right to their virgins or even their right to enter into heaven itself? I would like to hear from a Muslim scholar on this subject.

That's an interesting observation. I've heard there are also some sort of collectable "martyr" card.

I also suspect someone who sends a child on a suicide mission may not care about the virgin availability in the afterlife.

Nice post, as usual, Diogenesis.

It is lunacy to propound the "Arafat must go" argument.

Whether he goes or stays, there are millions of others waiting to be the next Arafat.

Israel is just going to have to push them all into Jordan by force, and win its independence.

And, unfortunately, there will not be so much as a syllable of encouragement from Bush, the GOP, or from most conservatives.

I will encourage the Israelis: Go, drive the Pals out. You are where we were in 1776. Fight for your freedom from tyranny, just as we did. And don't listen to naysayers; this is your fight, and ultimately it will by your victory alone to savor.

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