Arab Information Center

Under the title the map of Greater Palestine (in the colors of the Palestinian Authority flag) appears superimposed on the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock. It is surrounded by a ring of artistic Arabic script reading “Arab Islamic Palestine from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea.”

Name : Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa Intifada and the War of Globalization ⁵
Author : Dr. Ahmed Sidqi al-Dajani
Published in the series : Book of Jerusalem (number 13)
Publisher : Arab Information Center, al-Giza, Egypt
Year : 2002 (second edition)
⁵ The term war of globalization is used here as a substitute for the expression the American government's war on terrorism .

Ahmed Sidqi al-Dajani is a professor, philosopher and the doyen of Palestinian scholars. An old Fatah member, his permanent residence is in Egypt. He is a member of the Palestinian National Council and bodies belonging to it, and of the Fatah's High Council for Education, Culture and Science. In 2000 he was head of the Committee for Arab-European Dialog.

General description

The book, according to the author's introduction (p. 4), deals with the current violent Israeli-Palestinian conflict (the al-Aqsa intifada) from the point of view the American post-9/11 war on terror. The author's outlook is extremely hostile to the United States. He calls the American anti-terrorism efforts a war of globalization waged by “the oppressive, tyrannical forces of globalization led by the American government against those who oppose it.” The war, according to the introduction, is being fought in two main arenas: Palestine and Afghanistan [the book was written and published, the second edition included, before the second Gulf War in Iraq started (March 20, 2003)].

The book praises and glorifies the suicide bombing attacks in both the American and Palestinian contexts. It claims that in both arenas in which the United States is fighting, the “ death of martyrs for the sake of Allah ” (i.e., suicide bombing attacks) has shown itself to be “ the most impressive manifestation” of the active resistance against “the force of American oppression ,” which is perpetrating, according to the book, acts of terrorism covered by diplomatic immunity. The results of the suicide bombing attacks are also praised in the Israeli-Palestinian context where they “cause the colonialist Zionist settler to panic and become helpless.” (p. 6)

Throughout, the book supports violent Palestinian activity against Israel with the emphasis on suicide bombing attacks as a way of achieving the Palestinian goals: “The liberation of the Palestinian and Arab territories conquered in 1967 as the first step toward liberating [all] Palestine .” (p. 77) Following are excerpts from the book:

“Active resistance is the way to liberation… death as a martyr for the sake of Allah [in this context, perpetrator of a suicide bombing attack] is the highest level resistance activity ( muqawamah ). In fact, the creator of life and death [Allah] desires the shaheeds in his presence and their names will breathe life into the sons of their people [the Palestinians].” ⁶(p. 81)

⁶It should be noted that one of the most frequently quoted verses of the Qur'an justifying the perpetrators of suicide bombing attacks is similar to this excerpt: “Do not in any way view those who died for the sake of Allah [as though they were] dead; verily, they are alive and are in the presence of their lord [Allah], who sees to their needs” [Surah 3, (Aal Imran), Verse 169]

“ The martyr who sacrifices his life for the sake of Allah] ( istishhadi ) [i.e., perpetrates a suicide bombing attack against Israel has resolved to fight the enemy until he is killed and returns his soul to the Creator, and thus will be considered a shaheed who has died for the sake of Allah . Thus it follows that he, the weapon in his possession and all his equipment become one unit fighting the enemy… and that is the situation of the suicide bomber who detonates a car bomb. The car is part of his equipment and the explosive device is his weapon. The same is true of the [Palestinian] who sacrifices his life for the sake of Allah [i.e., the suicide bomber] and turns the explosives he carries on his body for his specific mission into his weapon, and thus blows himself up. He is the same as the warrior who sacrifices his life in a jihad taking all his weaponry with him when he left for battle.” (p. 132)

“The communications media of the Zionist enemy, together with the communications media of the hegemony and oppressive countries [i.e., the United States and the West] make it their business to call the one who lets his soul fly [upward] for the sake of Allah ( istishhadi ) a “suicide” [ intihari , someone who commits suicide for emotional or personal reasons]… Heaven forbid that our heroes be labeled “suicides,”… for how great is the difference between intihar [suicide committed for personal reasons] and istishhad [suicide as an act of individual sacrifice or death as a martyr for the sake of Allah ]: the first is motivated by despair while the second by faith and hope… and by adherence to truth, justice and the peace expressed by faith… Thus I have noticed that there is almost a complete consensus among the Muslim nation's religious scholars rejecting suicide [ intihar ] and accepting death as a martyr for the sake of Allah [ istishhad ] [through suicide bombing], for which they give proof.” (p. 136)

Throughout, the book repeatedly attacks the United States and its ally, Britain, and blames them for adopting strategy hostile to the Arab world with the aim of controlling the Middle East's natural resources (particularly the oil). The book claims that when the Cold War ended and communism no longer posed a threat [to the liberal, democratic West], it was the Islamic civilization which became the United States' main enemy . As a result, the United States began sending aid to the Zionists to attack Islam by labeling it “terrorist,” while their true goal was to conduct a [world-wide] smear campaign against Islamic civilization. (p. 172)