Hamas mourns a ‘holy warrior’

3 May 2011

HAMAS condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden as the assassination of an Arab holy warrior.

The Islamist group’s response contrasted sharply with that of the Palestinian Authority, their partner in a new unity deal, which described it as “good for the cause of peace”.

Instead, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, accused the US of pursuing a policy based on “oppression and the shedding of Arab and Muslim blood”.

He said: “We ask God to offer him mercy with the true believers and the martyrs. We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior.”

The response from Hamas was mirrored by some others in the Arab world who view bin Laden as the only Muslim leader to take the fight against Western dominance to the heart of the enemy with the September 11 attacks.

“Bin Laden defended the dignity of Muslims and now the US and the West will answer for their occupation,” said Egyptian Abdullah Ali, a Salafist taxi driver in his 60s.

Tareq al-Zumar of Egypt’s Islamist group al-Gama’a al-Islamiya, which took up arms against the state in the 1990s, said: “Bin Laden will become a symbol of resistance to occupation.

The US killing of bin Laden will undoubtedly galvanise reaction and retaliation attempts.”

Some militants appeared to share that sentiment.

One al Qaeda idealogue who goes by the online name Assad al-Jihad2 said: “The battle between us and international tyranny is long and will not be stopped by the martyrdom of our beloved one, the lion of Islam.
How many martyrdom seekers have been born today?”

(heraldscotland.com)
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