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Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S.)
Albums and school notebooks imbued with messages of admiration for Palestinian martyrs (shahids), portraying them as role models to be emulated
A poster (slightly reduced in size) appearing in a special memorial scrapbook dedicated to Palestinian martyrs (shahids). This specific poster is dedicated to the memory of a Hamas suicide bomber who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack at the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem (August 9, 2001). 15 people were killed and 110 were injured in that terrorist attack.
Abstract
Children and teenagers, who are often used as cannon fodder by the Palestinian terrorist organizations, are brought up in an environment instilling in them deep-rooted hatred and indoctrinating them with the “armed struggle consensus” against Israel. Part of this consensus is the portrayal of martyrs (shahids), including suicide bombers who perpetrated acts of murder in Israeli population centers, as role models and objects of admiration.
Palestinian children absorb these messages at home; during games with their friends; in mosques; through television broadcasts; through the education system (both formal and informal – such as summer camps); and by a wide variety of other means. Those children and teenagers, who grow up in a culture glorifying suicide bombing attacks and encouraging them to become martyrs themselves, form the cadre of the Palestinian terrorists who perpetrate their deadly missions against Israel.
A commonplace method to indoctrinate children with these violence- oriented messages is creating school notebooks and scrapbooks reflecting the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli violent confrontation and commemorating the Palestinian martyrs. These notebooks and scrapbooks are created both as schoolwork as well as on the students’ own initiative to express their deep feelings of admiration toward the martyrs, their cultural-political heroes. In this information bulletin, we have chosen to present the main aspects of several such school notebooks and scrapbooks seized during the last two years by the IDF in the Palestinian Authority administered territories.
2 Appendices
This information bulletin contains six appendices:
Appendix A. A student’s notebook, probably from the Gaza Strip, containing newspaper clippings and photographs of martyrs (shahids) who died in the course of the ongoing violent confrontation. The notebook, dated 2002, is probably an assignment on the “liberation of Palestine” that the student handed in during his studies. The notebook also contains newspaper clippings and handwritten references to various “cultural-political heroes,” mostly to Yasser Arafat. The notebook contains slogans, poems, and various verses from the Quran as well.
Appendix B. A geography notebook of a 10th grade student named Mahmoud al-Ma’ari of the Abu Yusuf al-Najjar school (a high school for boys in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip). While the contents of the notebook are indeed related to the geography of Greater Palestine (completely ignoring the existence of Israel), illustrations of an assault rifle, a hand grenade and a rocket appear in the beginning of the notebook, while reflections on sacrificing one’s life for the sake of Allah appear on its last pages.
Appendix C. An English notebook actually dedicated to the glorification of martyrs from all the Palestinian terrorist organizations: Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and mostly Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The notebook belongs to an 8th grade student from a junior high school for boys, probably in the Gaza Strip.
3 Appendix D. Memorial scrapbook for martyrs: a calendar of Cairo Amman Bank turned by a Palestinian boy into a memorial scrapbook dedicated to martyrs (shahids) who died in the West Bank (mostly in Jenin) during the years 1992-2001. Some of the martyrs were killed in suicide bombings, including in Israel proper, while some died in targeted killings or clashes with IDF troops. The martyrs are members of various Palestinian terrorist organizations: Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and more.
Appendix E. A student’s notebook called “The Star Team: The martyrs [shahids] of Kalandia refugee camp, Jerusalem.” This work features praise of martyrs, including their photographs and posters, Fatah symbols, flags of Palestine, and images of Israeli soldiers and their weapons. There are no indications to the date of the notebook; however, the martyrs featured therein died during 2001-2002. Likewise, there are no details on the author of the work, but it is our assessment that it was a teenage female student from one of the last grades of elementary school or the early grades of junior high school. The notebook was originally used by one of the Palestinian schools administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (U.N.R.W.A).
Appendix F. The Intifada Album: this elegant album is produced by a commercial company in Nablus and sold for a symbolic sum of half a New Israeli Shekel (NIS), i.e., about 10 cents. Children buy the albums and purchase packs of pictures to be pasted inside. The images depict events that occurred in the course of the ongoing violent confrontation, with an emphasis on glorifying martyrs (shahids) so as to turn them into role models for the young generation of Palestinians.
4 Appendix A “Martyrs Notebook” handed in by a student as a school assignment on the subject of the “liberation of Palestine”
General description
What follows is a school notebook, militant in nature, of a student named Mustafa Ahmad Hassan Basharat, probably from the Gaza Strip, with newspaper clippings and pictures of martyrs (shahids). Its contents suggest that it was a school assignment on the subject of the “liberation of Palestine” prepared by the student (March 2002).
The notebook is dedicated to six martyrs (shahids) killed in the course of the ongoing violent confrontation; however, it also features Palestinian “cultural-political heroes” – chief among whom is Yasser Arafat, with occasional references to Osama Bin-Laden as well – slogans, poems, various verses from the Quran, and more.
5
Both sides of the notebook’s cover: an innocent fairytale-like childish picture combined with a frightening fully masked face of a Palestinian terrorist
Examples
The inner side of the cover page, with the timetable in the background, features a photograph of a finger pressing a gun trigger and a reference to the date of the targeted killing (January 14, 2002) of Ra’ed Karmi, a leading terrorist who stood at the top of the Fatah Tanzim infrastructure in Tulkarm. The student who made the school assignment embellished the timetable with handwritten references to events that occurred in the course of the ongoing violent confrontation (martyrs’ deaths, the detonation of an explosive charge), completely ignoring the educational use of the timetable.
6
Monday, January 14, 2002: the date [commemorating] the death as a martyr for the sake of Allah (istishhad) of Ra’ed Karmi, who is probably the student’s most revered figure.
7 Main characteristics of the assignment and its messages
Researched and edited by Mustafa Ahmad Hassan Basharat
ID: The jihad [holy war] for the sake of Allah
At the end of the assignment, the student who prepared it presents in the title its purpose, the characteristics of the assignment and its key messages:
Title: The Liberation of Palestine
ID: Jihad [holy war] for the sake of Allah
Date of birth: September 9, 2000, the first day of the [still ongoing] Intifada
8
Color of cover: Red. The blood of the martyrs.
[Dedicated] to the souls of the [following six] warriors: Ashraf al-Bardawila, ‘A’ed Abu Harba, Ra’ed Karmi, Samah Abu Hussein, ‘Atef ‘Abayat, Muhammad Basharat.
The vilest and most despicable: [Ariel] Sharon, [Shaul] Mofaz, Shimon Peres, Binyamin [Netanyahu], [US current president George W.] Bush, [general Anthony] Zinni, [US vice president Richard] Cheney (?), [Kofi] Annan.
The hope: Politically-free [Palestinian state].
March 25, 2002.
“We shall die tall and proud; we shall never kneel down.”
“[Even] if you succeed in fighting [i.e. overcoming] us, you shall [still have to] fight our next generations.”
9
A caption under a photograph of Osama Bin-Laden: “…America will not achieve security while there is no real security in Palestine.”
Photographs of three Palestinian martyrs who died in the course of the ongoing violent confrontation, accompanied by the following caption: “You were murdered treacherously, you were murdered victorious, you were murdered out of cowardice. But the cowards do not realize you will [always] live [deep] inside our hearts.”
10
“All together for the liberation of Holy Jerusalem”
“We are a people of heroes” “The liberation of Palestine”
“We avenge and carry out suicide bombing attacks; even in heavens will their [the victims’] limbs remain ripped apart.” Below: photographs from the scene of a suicide bombing attack somewhere in Israel, perhaps the one that was perpetrated at the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem (see the front cover of this publication)
11
“Shoot, a batch of bullets is the right language.”
“We are all for Palestine”
A picture of Ra’ed Karmi, a leading Palestinian terrorist who stood at the top of the Fatah Tanzim’s terror infrastructure in Tulkarm (a town situated in the northern part of the West Bank); a caption that reads: “Last will of the Hawk of the Brigades” (probably Karmi’s nickname) appears below. The phrases adorning the photograph are dedicated to the memory of Ra’ed Karmi, who is probably the most revered figure of the author of the work (his name already appears in bold letters on the timetable, as noted); he is one of the six martyrs to whom the assignment is dedicated.
12
Captions on the page to the right of Ra’ed Karmi’s photograph “By Allah! One hundred of their heads will not be enough for us, Hawk [Ra’ed Karmi], until we avenge your blood again and again…”
“Oh, Palestine, I shall not return until dawn rises. My blood is the blood of the martyr; with my blood I will write poems on the pavements of the streets…”
Foul language against “cowardly” Sharon, who is murdering the Palestinian people and drinking their blood.
“Beware, for tomorrow your turn will come...”
13
“We are a people whom Allah honored by giving us faith.”
Praise for Yasser Arafat, who began the revolution – “a journey which we will complete.”
“Oh, mountain, not even wind shall move you.”
14
Captions on the page to the right of Yasser Arafat’s photograph
“They would like to see me imprisoned, or killed, or blinded, but I say ‘shahid, shahid, shahid’” [probably a quote from one of Yasser Arafat’s speeches].
“Tomorrow we are going to manufacture a Katyusha…”
Mortar shells were fired at the settlement and exploded.
15
Praise and glorification of martyr ‘Umar Sabah
“I will not be deterred until I seed the earth with my paradise.”
We will not kneel down nor will we ever be oppressed.
16
“The failed assassination [targeted killing]”
“Nothing will harm us unless Allah so desires”
“They frighten us with death but we love self-sacrifice [shahada]”
“A world of liars”
Accusations and derogatory remarks against Arab leaders
“Oh, armies of Arabia, I was raped during the night”
“Oh, armies of Arabia, I groan but you don’t hear me”
17
“Back to you, beloved land”
“We shall return to liberate Jerusalem”
Praise for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades: “He of the [Al-Aqsa Martyrs] brigades, his blood is spilled, he is quick to retaliate and his flight is as swift as the hawk’s…”
18 Appendix B
Geography notebook of a 10th grade student from Rafah named Mahmoud al- Ma’ari
General description
What follows is a geography notebook of Mahmoud al-Ma’ari, a 10th grade student from Abu Yusuf al-Najjar school (a high school for boys in Rafah).
The notebook’s cover
19 The subject of the notebook is the geography of Greater Palestine (there is no reference to the existence of Israel to be found anywhere in the notebook1); moreover, it also includes illustrations and reflections advocating violence and suicide:
The back side of the front page features illustrations of an assault rifle, a hand grenade and a rocket. The words “Mahmoud” (first name), “Assad” (lion), and “al-Hudud” (border/s) appear between the illustrations (the connection between the three words in unclear).
1 Both maps drawn in the notebook refer to Greater Palestine as a single state (in one of the maps, it is referred to as the Military Province of Palestine [Jund Filastin (in Arabic)]—a term drawn from early Islamic tradition, given to the region of the historic Land of Israel following its conquest by the Muslim Arabian armies). 20 The last page of the notebook features reflections on death (including an illustration of a hand grenade), including:
“Are we supposed to die against our will? On the contrary, we can die as martyrs for the sake of Allah in acts of suicide bombing [against Israel] (istishhad).”
[Signed:] “The unit of those who die for the sake of Allah as martyrs in acts of suicide bombing [against Israel] (al- istishhadiyyin).” [following are the names of the members of this unit and a location (perhaps of its headquarters?)].
The last page of the notebook
21 Appendix C
A school notebook dedicated to the glorification of Palestinian martyrs (shahids)
General description
What follows is a student’s notebook dedicated to the glorification of martyrs from all the Palestinian terrorist organizations: Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and, above all, Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The notebook belongs to an 8th grade student named Ibrahim [unclear name] Abu Ni’mah from a junior high school for boys, probably in the Gaza Strip. The subject of the notebook is English vocabulary; however, as mentioned above, it was converted into a notebook dedicated to the glorification of Palestinian martyrs.
22 The notebook’s cover Examples of the notebook’s contents
“Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Fatah movement”
The caption in the center of the page reads: “Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades”. The names of Palestinian martyrs who attempted to set an explosive charge on a traffic artery at Kisufim appear on the left. [Note: below appear a flag of Palestine along with the flag of Iraq as it was redesigned (with the addition of the words “Allahu Akbar”) since the first Gulf War (1990-91) until very recently, in the wake of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, at least. The two flags symbolize a strong bond between the Palestinians and the Iraqis. Moreover, the words “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) also serve as the battle cry of Islamic terrorists, Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike].
23
Photographs of Palestinian martyrs who perpetrated the terrorist attack (setting an explosive charge) at Kisufim (a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip).
Handwritten captions on the right read: “Fatah”, “Hamas”, “The Popular Front”, “The Democratic Front”. In the center: the emblem of the Al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
24
Top caption: “Al-Qassam Brigades”, “the Hamas movement”. Below: “Palestine will never die, for it is at the heart of the Quran that will not die.”
Martyr (shahid) Fathi Shiqaqi [former leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, killed in 1995] [ARROW]
Dr. Ramadan Shalah [Fathi Shiqaqi’s successor as leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad]
A poster dedicated to the memory of martyr (shahid) Fadi Taysir al- Azazi, who was killed on March 6, 2002, and, as written in the poster, it is wished that he reaches heaven in order to stay there permanently with the virtuous and the other martyrs. [Note: the aforesaid terrorist attempted to set an explosive charge at Karni checkpoint in the Gaza Strip, and was shot dead by IDF troops.] A caption in the top part of the poster reads: “The Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement”.
25
A picture dedicated to the memory of Ra’ed Karmi, nicknamed “Hawk of the Brigades”. A handwritten caption below the picture reads: “You, who [is known as] the killer of the [Israeli] soldier, do not rush to the kill—as the soldier will be killed on his own.”
A poster with photographs of martyrs from the Fatah movement; at the center is a photograph of well- known martyr Abu Jihad [Khalil al- Wazir, second in command in the Fatah and the head of the organization’s military wing, killed in Tunis by Israeli commando troops in 1988]. Handwritten notes below the picture read: “Fatah youth”, “Fatah movement” [i.e. the Fatah Youth Movement, known in Arabic as the “Shabibah”)].
26
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
“National Resistance Brigades”. The striking military wing of the Democratic Front.
Salah Shehadeh [former head of the Hamas military infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, who died in a targeted killing by Israeli security forces in 2003].
27
The emblem of Fatah’s Al- ‘Asifa (the military wing of the Fatah movement and predecessor of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades)
The emblem of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
A Palestinian suicide bomber who was killed on November 29, 2001, in an attempt to infiltrate into the Bdolah settlement in the Gaza Strip
A Palestinian suicide bomber who was killed by an IDF force while trying to sabotage the opening of a traffic artery in the north of the Gaza Strip (September 5, 2002)
Photographs dedicated to the memory of Palestinian martyrs (shahids) from Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The photographs clearly distinguish “regular” martyrs (shahids) from suicide bombing martyrs [al-istishhadiyyun].
28 Appendix D Calendar produced by Cairo Amman Bank converted into a commemoration scrapbook for Palestinian martyrs (shahids)
General description
What follows is a calendar produced by Cairo Amman Bank that was converted into a commemoration scrapbook for Palestinian martyrs who were killed in the West Bank (mostly in Jenin) in the years 1992-2001. Some of the martyrs were killed in suicide bombing attacks, including in Israel proper, while others died in targeted killings by or clashes with IDF troops. The identity of the author of this work is unclear; however, from its contents it is evident that that person clearly gave the scrapbook considerable thought.
The Palestinian martyrs who appear in the scrapbook are members of various terrorist organizations: Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and more.
29 The cover page of the scrapbook: a calendar produced by Cairo Amman Bank
Examples of the scrapbook’s contents
The inner side of the cover page features the following caption:
Name: Palestinian
Date of birth: December 2, 1917 (date of the Balfour Declaration, considered to be the day of the foundation of Palestine according to the Palestinian National Covenant).
Place of residence: A tent in the Arab desert of disgrace [a description indicating the author’s sense of strong criticism at the Arab states that had left the Palestinians alone in the “desert”].
Date of the heroic death for the sake of Allah [i.e. act of suicide]: Ever since birth.
Following is a verse from a poem, popular as a poem of heroism and death for the sake of Allah (including in posters of Palestinian martyrs and suicide bombers), that appears inside the notebook:
“While throwing my life away to the abyss of doom, peace of mind shall I still maintain; [Thereafter,] my friends will be delighted, my enemies – furious even though dead shall I remain”.
30 Abd al-Rahim Mahmoud
The caption
The poem
The next page features a drawing of several flowers under a caption that reads: “I will give the nectar of my life as a gift to those I used to love.”
31
The next pages feature photographs of Palestinian martyrs with “suicide bomber’s verses” from the Quran.
32
A photograph (a poster reduced in size) commemorating martyr (shahid) Fadi Amin Dabaya Turkuman, who died in Jenin on October 29, 2000.
A photograph (a poster slightly reduced in size) commemorating martyr (shahid) Muhammad Rateb Abu Taleb of the Fatah, who was killed in Jenin on December 8, 2000, at the age of 21.
33
A photograph (a poster slightly reduced in size) dedicated to the memory of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who perpetrated the suicide bombing attack in Hadera (May 25, 2001) [that incident involved two suicide bombers who detonated in a car, injuring 66 Israelis].
A photograph (a poster slightly reduced in size) dedicated to the memory of the Hamas terrorist who perpetrated a suicide bombing attack at Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, killing 15 people and injuring 110.
34
A photograph (a poster slightly reduced in size) dedicated to the memory of Abu Ali Mustafa, Secretary General of the terrorist organization, the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who died in a targeted killing [according to the poster’s pejorative language: “who was assassinated by the Zionist treacherous hand…”] on August 27, 2001.
35 Appendix E
School assignment submitted by a student from Kalandia refugee camp: A testimony to the glorification of violence and terrorism prevalent in schools across the Palestinian Authority administered territories
General description
This is a student’s notebook called “The Star Team: The martyrs [shahids] of Kalandia refugee camp, Jerusalem.” Among else, this work features praise of martyrs, including their photographs and posters,
36 Fatah symbols, flags of Palestine, and images of Israeli soldiers and their weapons. There are no indications to the date of the notebook; however, the martyrs featured therein died in 2001-2002. Likewise, there are no details on the author of the work, but it is our estimation that it was a teenage female student from one of the last grades of elementary school or first grades of junior high school. It should be noted that that notebook was used by one of the schools administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (U.N.R.W.A).
The notebook contains, among else, the following statements:
“Think not of those, who are slain for the sake of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their lord they have provision.” This well-known Quran verse [Chapter 3 (Al-Imran), verse 169] is widely used as a motto in posters and announcements on the deaths of Palestinian suicide bombers.
A handwritten caption appears next to the photograph of Ali Ibrahim al-Julani, who was killed while carrying out a shooting attack in the middle of Tel-Aviv on August 5, 2001 (see below). A heart (symbolizing love) is drawn after “Ali” and “Al-Julani” (similar hearts are drawn after the names of other martyrs).
Multiple captions: “Steadfastness”, “Our Jerusalem”, “Our Palestine”, “Fatah—the revolution”, “The revolution in Palestine”, are combined with flags of Palestine and flags of the Fatah.
Masked individuals holding weapons, including an image of a masked individual pasted onto the back cover of the notebook.
37
It should be noted again that the notebook was used by a school administered by U.N.R.W.A and was probably provided by the school. The U.N.R.W.A emblem appears on the notebook’s back cover, and an image of a masked individual, armed and firing his assault rifle while kneeling, is pasted on top of the emblem. This notebook therefore seems to be an example of the way Palestinian schools in refugee camps administered by U.N.R.W.A are used as hotbeds for the dissemination of messages of hatred to Israel and support of violence and identification with terrorism among the future generations of Palestinian youth.
The back cover of the notebook. An image of a kneeling masked Palestinian firing his assault rifle is pasted over the word “U.N.R.W.A”.
38
The back cover of the notebook with the U.N.R.W.A emblem (without the image of the masked individual pasted on top). Handwritten captions appear on the back cover: “Palestine”, “Fatah—the revolution”, “Jerusalem belongs to us”.
39 The page dedicated to Ali Ibrahim al-Julani
“Ali Ibrahim al-Julani, who died as a martyr on August 5, 2001.”
40 The page dedicated to Ali Ibrahim al- Julani
Translation
In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful
The heroic martyr: Ali al-Julani
Thus speaks the Quran: “Think not of those, who are slain for the sake of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their lord they have provision.” [the same verse mentioned earlier].
The national movement for the liberation of Palestine regretfully informs of the death of its martyr, the hero, who arrived carrying his automatic rifle [or submachine gun] at the Israeli Ministry of Defense in the Tel-Aviv region.
Ali [a heart is drawn inside the “I” in the Arabic original] al-Julani [a heart is drawn inside the “I” in the Arabic original]
You who storm[ed] the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
A drawing of a submachine gun accompanied by the words “Fatah—the revolution”.
41 Note: The aforesaid terrorist is Ali Ibrahim Abd al-Rahman al-Julani, from northern Jerusalem, who perpetrated a shooting attack (August 5, 2001) at the junction of Kaplan st. and Petah Tikva Road in Tel-Aviv (the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Defense is situated nearby). He arrived in a car and opened fire at passersby, injuring ten people. Al-Julani was killed in the terrorist attack. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military arm responsible for perpetrating many terrorist attacks, claimed responsibility for the attack.
42 Appendix F
The Intifada Album
General description
This is a sticker album produced by a commercial company from Nablus and sold in the Palestinian Authority administered territories for half a New Israeli Shekel (slightly less than 10 US cents). The children who purchase the albums are asked to fill them with sticker photographs, available for half a shekel for a pack that contains four stickers (reminiscent of albums of sports or television stars). The stickers are kept in a tank-like box titled “The Intifada Album”. In the foreword to the album, its producers explain to the children that it is a document designed to serve as a record of the history of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and its various events through photographed images.
The stickers sold depict violent confrontations of Palestinians with IDF troops (such as throwing stones, young children struggling against an Israeli tank), mothers crying for their children, praise of martyrs (shahids), and images depicting the pain and suffering of the population. The album glorifies the heroism of the martyrs (shahids) in an effort to turn them into role models.
43
Details
A slogan, a saying or a sentence appears under each one of the album’s images, providing a colorful description of the violent event or photograph or its inherent violent message, such as:
We love death but we shall never surrender to death (image no. 50)
Oh, Mother, bid me farewell, [for] eternal heaven [is my final destination] (image no. 73)
Oh martyr, Palestine and her children weep for you … But [rejoice, for] you found what you sought (image no. 83)
The courageous lions, and they alone, can restore the homeland [i.e. Palestine, filled] with faith in their hearts and fire and stone in their hands (image no. 87)
44
As the wheat sprouts in our land [i.e. Palestine]… so do the [Palestinian] martyrs (image no. 98)
Oh, my son… scream… I shall be gathered unto you and seek to enter [your body]… Farewell, mother’s son (image no. 100)
We shall make poems out of your wounds (image no. 124)
Lay the wedding flowers at my dead body; let the women cry cries of joy at my wedding (image no. 130). [It should be noted that the terminology used by the Palestinians in their posters and death notices honors their “martyrs” and treats them as bridegrooms and their violent action, including suicide bombing, as a wedding].
To become a martyr is what you seek… Come closer—this is your path to heaven (image no. 132)
Oh, mother, do not weep for me… for I will not be back again. Oh, mother, bid me farewell, [for] eternal heaven [is my final destination] [the reconstructed words of a martyr several minutes before his death] (image no. 168)
Oh, mother, do not grieve for me, for I am a bird in paradise; tell those who ask about me that your son is [in fact, still] alive… [he is] not dead [despite actually being dead] (image no. 171)
Tell them: the martyrs are sign and symbol of our victory (image no. 189)
45 Their bodies have passed away from this world… And yet, their names are alive amongst us… and their memories are engraved upon our chests (image no. 184)
image no. 184
Stretch out your hand unto the martyr and thus our oath of allegiance [to him] shall be renewed (image no. 217)
Die we will, but Jerusalem shall live [for ever] (image no. 239)
46