MEMRI Special Dispatch | No. 2796 | February 8, 2010

Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project/Palestinians

PA Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Al-Habbash: 'Nobody Has the
Right to Declare the End of Jihad'

PA Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Al-Habbash recently delivered a
sermon in which he talked about the notions of resistance and Jihad, stating
that while "wisdom and reason" should be exercised in adapting the means of
resistance to the circumstances, capabilities, and needs of the Palestinian
people, "nobody has the right to declare the end of Jihad."
Following are excerpts from the sermon, which aired on Palestinian Authority
TV on January 7, 2010.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2358.htm .
For other recent statements by Mahmoud Al-Habbash, visit
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2350.htm and
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2352.htm.

"Jihad Means Exerting Mental, Physical, Financial, or Verbal Efforts to
Elevate the Word of Allah"
Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "I will talk about one notion - the notion of
resistance. Today, we are standing on the land of a village in Palestine,
which may only be a small village, but is a village of resistance -
resistance in the true sense of the word, which we want to understand...
"What is Jihad, and what is resistance? When people talk about Jihad, what
do they mean? What is the meaning of Jihad in Islam? And what is the meaning
of resistance in Islam? We must understand this. [...]
"The literal meaning of 'Jihad' is the exertion of efforts - exerting your
efforts and investing your energy. Jihad for the sake of Allah means
exerting your efforts in order to elevate the word of Allah - whether these
efforts are mental, physical, financial, or verbal.
"In this, the words of the Prophet Muhammad are true: 'Wage Jihad against
infidels or the polytheists with your money, your souls, and your tongues.'
Wage Jihad against the polytheists with money. When you use your money for
the sake of Allah, in defense of the religion of Allah, of the Muslims, of
their countries, and of all that is sacred to them - you are a mujahid for
the sake of Allah.
"When you sacrifice your soul and invest your energy in defense of the
religion of Allah, the Muslims, their countries, their mosques, their holy
places, and their honor - you are a mujahid for the sake of Allah." [...]

"In Our Resistance to the Enemy, We Must Choose the Means and Methods that
Will Grant Us Victory, Benefit Us, and Minimize Our Losses"
"Some people believe that Jihad means nothing but bearing arms and fighting
the enemy. This is indeed Jihad, but it is not the only Jihad. There is the
Jihad of the word, the Jihad of money, the Jihad of resistance, and the
Jihad of defense. This is what we need to understand about the meaning of
'resistance.'
"Resistance does not mean that we should bear arms, whether the time is
right or not. It is wise to bear arms at a time when we should bear arms,
and to lay down our weapons when we should lay down our weapons.
"We must choose... In our resistance to our enemy - to the Israeli
settlement in our land, for example, and to the Israeli aggression against
us - we must choose the means and the methods that will grant us victory, be
to our benefit, and minimize our losses.
[...]
"Brothers, we must understand that resistance assumes many forms, and that
Jihad assumes many and varied forms. We have no right to reduce this notion
into a single form, or into several forms, without the others. All forms of
resistance are honorable and necessary.
"However, we must exercise wisdom and reason when we use the appropriate
means, which are suited to our circumstances, our capabilities, and our
needs, when it comes to resistance and Jihad.
"Jihad continues to Judgment Day. Brothers, nobody - whoever he may be - can
ever abolish Jihad or say that it has come to an end. Jihad continues to
Judgment Day. Someone once said in a political debate: 'I am ready to
declare an end to Jihad.' This concept is wrong. Nobody has the right to
declare an end to Jihad.
"However, Jihad assumes different forms, paths, and methods, in accordance
with the circumstances, in accordance with the capabilities and needs of the
nation, in accordance with the needs of the people, and in accordance with
the reality of the Palestinian people today.
"Brothers, it is all resistance. We are all conducting resistance, but logic
and reason require that we give priority to certain methods at certain
times, while postponing other methods. Reason, national interests, and
Islamic interests make this necessary for us.
[...]
"There is not a single one of us who does not participate in the resistance.
We all participate in resistance. Even a woman who sits at home, raising her
children, is conducting resistance, because she is preparing the ammunition
of the future, and the builders of the future - the future of this people
and this country.
[...]
"We have one enemy. All our arrows and all our efforts should be aimed in a
single direction - to conduct resistance against the settlement and the
occupation, and to repel the Israeli injustice done to our people."
"The Day Will Come When We Will Fly the Flag of Our Independent Palestinian
State over Every Inch of Our Soil"
"Those who instigate problems and disputes here or there - disputes with
Egypt, Jordan, or any other Arab country... This is not in the best
interests of our Palestinian cause. Brothers, the only one who benefits from
this nonsense is Israel and the Israeli occupation. Nobody benefits from the
instigation of problems with Egypt except for Israel and the Israeli
occupation.
"Therefore, any hand that is raised against any Palestinian, against any
Arab, against Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or any other Arab country, must
be chopped off, because it violates the law, the national consensus, and the
values of our religion, which says: 'Fight all the polytheists as they fight
you all.'
[...]
"It is inevitable that the day will come when we will fly the flag of our
independent Palestinian state over every inch of our soil and over the
minarets and the domes of Jerusalem, Allah willing."

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.
MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.
MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org