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Moderator: "They [Israelis] accuse the Palestinian mother of hating her sons and of encouraging them to die. This is what we hear from Israelis. Is this true?

Um Al-Ajrami: "No, we do not encourage our sons to die. We encourage them to Shahada for the homeland, for Allah."

"We don't say to the mothers of the shahids, 'We have come to comfort you,' but 'We have come to bless you on the wedding of your son, on the Shahada of your son. Congratulations to you on the Shahada...' For us, the mourning is joyous. We give out drinks, we give out sweets. Praise to God - the mourning is a joyous occasion"
[PATV, November 17, 2004]

"Before I made my pilgrimage [to Mecca], Naji [my son] put his hand on my head and said: '...pray for me that I will be a shahid [someone who dies for Allah], or it will be your sin, and I will not forgive you until the Day of Judgement.

"Actually, during the Circuit [a ceremony during the pilgrimage] in Mecca and Medina, I prayed for him, by Allah, I prayed for him, because it was entrusted to me. I said: 'Praise Allah, my children asked for Shahada,' and it is better than the way we will die.
[PA TV, December 5, 2002]

Narrator:

"In a silence filled with tears, with a mother's warm longing, his mother hugged him good-bye at length, planting the parting kiss on his cheeks before their final parting, [and] ordering him not to not to return to her except as a shahid. Seeing this [parting] is more than words. The last moments of Um-Nidal with her son, the youngest [age 17] Shahada-Seeker, the newest general, to join the ranks of Shahada-Seekers.

Um-Nidal after the son achieved Shahada:

"I gave my son to Jihad for Allah. It is a our religious obligation . If I wanted to have compassion for him, or to make him to change his mind, it would be wrong, a mistake. I don't want to be guided by my feeling, a mother's feelings. I put them aside for a while for something greater. Although this is connected to a mother's feelings. Why? Because I love my son and I want to choose the best for him and the best is not life in this world. No, for us there is an afterlife, the eternal bliss. So if I love my son, I will choose eternal bliss for him".
[Arab News Network TV, March 2002]

Sana Aida, PA Ministry of Social Affairs: "Any woman that is told, 'Your son was run over and died,' she is shocked, grieves, she cries, gets sick, and has a nervous breakdown. But if we tell her, 'your son died as a shahid', she makes sounds of joy, [saying] 'don't comfort me, bless me, give out drinks.'"

Host: "They consider him a groom."

Sana: "He is a groom. This is the Palestinian mother. She passes it on. If you say to little girls, 'Your brother is shahid', they will say, 'he is a groom.' She passes it to her children, daughters and granddaughters."
[PA TV, December 15, 2004]

"He would always dream of Shahada, it was his first and last goal in life. I told him, 'dear, we all want to be shahids.' He said, 'In this entire world, I can't think of anyone to marry. I don't think of any girls of this world to marry. I want to marry the Dark Eyed [Virgins or Maidens of Paradise].' I said [that] if these are his thoughts, I wish him Shahada."
[PA TV, January 21, 2003]

"Upon word [of Samir's death], I put my hand on my heart and said, 'Praise Allah.' I kissed him here and there and said, 'Praise Allah.' I cried out in joy and said, 'Praise Allah. Shahid! Shahid! Shahid! He had hoped for Shahada.'

"One time he joked with me, saying 'Mother, I want to marry. I answered, 'Praise Allah.' Then he said, 'And Shahada.' I said, 'So how do you plan to marry?' He answered, '72 dark-eyed [maidens or virgins] are waiting for me.'

Moderator: "A Shahid's mother parts from her son with sounds of joy. Not because she doesn't love him. Did you make sounds of joy?"

Mother: "Yes, I did. A mother makes sounds of joy because she wants him to reach Shahada. He became a shahid for Allah Almighty. I wanted the best for him, this is the best for [my son] Shaadi. When he became a shahid, the Shahada was not only for him but also for us, pride for us, honor for us. People started looking at us [saying], 'This is the shahid's brother,' 'This is the shahid's mother,' 'This is the shahid's sister.' The pride was for the whole family, not just for Shaadi."
[PA TV, November 28, 2003]

"Praise to Allah! I hold my head high. The honor is mine I have a son who is a shahid and not only is my son a shahid, but all the shahids are my children, Praise Allah. The honor is mine; the pride is mine."
[PA TV, September 24, 2002]

Salamah, the PA Minister of Waqf:

"Al-Khansah, this noble woman... The day she lost her brother Sakher [before she adopted Islam] she began crying, shouting and feeling pain. She recited poetry. [Quotes Al-Khansah] 'The sunrise reminds me of Sakher, and I remember him with every sunset, and had there not been around me all the mourners for their brothers, I would have killed myself.' This was during the Jahiliyah [pre-Islamic period]. When Allah filled her heart with love for Islam, and it became full of faith, things changed. She sent her four sons, her offspring, to battle, to Qadisiyah [in modern-day Iraq] as a service to this religion.

When she was notified that they had become shahids, she said, 'Praise Allah, who granted me honor with their deaths. I pray that he will take me to them at the place where His mercy dwells.' This is the great woman. This is the noble woman. Have you seen how Islam changed her behavior, her virtues, and her poetry...?"
[PA TV, March 11, 2005]

A young child asks his father: "My father, my father, who is this woman?"

Father: "This is the poet Tumarid, who is known by name Al-Khansah. She was one of the prettiest women of her time..."

Female host: "When [before she adopted Islam] her brother Mu'awiya died, and after that her brother on her father's side, Sakher, she became extremely mournful because of them"

Al-Khansah: "I was extremely saddened for Sakher, until my eyes became blind. In the battle of Qadisiyah, four sons of mine became shahids [martyrs for Allah]."

Father: "When she was told of her four sons' deaths, she pleaded to the Creator, to him be the glory and power, and said, 'Praise Allah, who granted me honor with their deaths.'"
[PA TV, March 13, 2005]

Q. Had you succeeded in [your suicide] mission, what would have been your reward?
A. The reward was from Allah,in Paradise. The female martyrdom-seeker becomes one of the Black-eyed Maidens, and she marries one of the Martyrs.
[IBA news, Oct. 2004]