Why does Nedhal’s mother have no maternal affection? [Archives:2006/968/Reportage]

By: Hana Al-Jaradi

“Those who don't know about the mother of Nedhal or her faith can't perceive why we prefer martyrdom.” – Umm Nedhal

She is Al-Khansaa of Palestine, (Al-Khansaa is an ancient Arab poet 600 – 670 AC. The Prophet Muhammad is said to have been very impressed by her poetry. Al-Khansa outlived all her three husbands. Four of her sons were killed in the Battle of Qadisiyah.) a mother of three martyrs and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. It's often said that she has no maternal affection and that this is a quality of all Palestinian women who deliver up martyrs and militants. Umm Nedhal has become the most prominent woman in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Interviewed for the Yemen Times, she explained several charges she faced, as the only one in the Hamas movement to face such charges.

Many Arab nations and organizations haven't yet understood why a mother pushes her children to kill themselves, even if it's for the land's sake. How do you react to this?

Really, I can't persuade these nations to follow the required way. This is attributed to the fact that they are far from Islam and its principles. Had these nations learned about the extent of our love for our ideology, it would've been easier for them to understand. They sent me a foreign journalist to ask me about this matter and I was trying to explain these concepts to them in order to understand, but they hardly understood.

It's often said that youths preferring martyrdom belong to frustrated classes suffering unemployment and poverty, which forces them to commit suicide. What's your assessment?

This isn't true. I hope those uttering such words come to Palestine and live with these youths to learn about their motives behind preferring martyrdom. Most youths who favor martyrdom come from good income families.

One of a series of examples is that of martyr Al-Aswabi, who had a BMW car, a huge house and belonged to a rich family. He'd been attending university classes and leading a luxurious life, but he favored martyrdom since he had no other means to defend his homeland.

Regarding my children, who were martyred for the sake of their homeland, they lived in good conditions. Praise be to Allah, we have a good house and my children were married to beautiful girls and have their own children. My children lacked nothing except liberating their homeland, which is why they preferred martyrdom. This is also clear-cut evidence of why these youths leave behind all the luxuries of life and die martyrs.

Several say what is the fault of the Israeli mother whose children are killed, while the Palestinian mother doesn't care about her children and therefore, encourages them to be martyred. What's your opinion about this?

First of all, the Palestinian mother understands well that she's on the right track, which is why she sends her children to fight for restoring Arab land occupied by the Zionists. We don't target children or women; however, the Israeli woman bears in mind that she came from another place to inhabit a land offered by her government. So, we should tolerate such allegations, particularly if she was recruited in the Israeli Army. As all Israelis are armed, one can say that no Israeli victims are civilians, but I reaffirm that we never target women or children.

Despite the fact that you're a politician, you hate politics. How do you explain this?

I do hate political work and had no desire to nominate myself for the Legislative Council, but Khalid Mesha'al persuaded me in Gaza that I'm known to everyone and people love and respect me. This is the interpretation of my win in the election.

Now, the situation has changed and we – all Hamas members – are facing challenges. This is what made me love politics, to serve my relatives in Palestine, even if this was achieved at the expense of my health, which deteriorated badly, particularly after assuming work in the Legislative Council.

Concerns are increasing and we don't know how to deal with them. The embargo has impacted our movement and we can't meet the public's demands. I swear by the Creator that the jihad we've been involved in is easier than our current task – the government. Some people say Hamas seeks power; however, we're characterized by integrity and seek nothing except the public's interest.
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