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American Morning
Middle East Suicide Bombers Gain Fame among their People but Leave Pain in their Wake
Aired August 08, 2001 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: More violence to report today. In the Middle East, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank. One Israeli soldier was injured.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: And the bomber joins a long line of Palestinians who died in what they believe was the ultimate show of power.
As we continue now our weeklong look at the Middle East, CNN's Mike Hanna reports a suicide bomber gains fame among his people but certainly leaves pain in his wake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the 26th of October last year, a Palestinian on a bicycle rode up to an Israeli military post in the Gaza Strip. He detonated explosives strapped to his body, killing himself, and becoming the first suicide bomber of this intifada. His name Nabil Al-Raier (ph), his face now painted on walls throughout Gaza.
Since then in 10 suicide bomb attacks, 32 Israelis have been killed, 21 in one night alone outside a Tel Aviv discotheque. The suicide bombings condemned in the strongest of terms by the international community. The bombers, themselves, seen as the worst kind of terrorists, murderers of innocent civilians.
But on the streets of Gaza and the West Bank, those who carry out the bomb attacks are heroes, martyrs in the struggle against Israel, role models for Palestinian youth.
DR. EYAD AS-SARRAJ, GAZA COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM: There is a process in which people have identified with the power in a way and the ultimate power is the power of dying, the power of death (ph).
HANNA: In February, another face joined that of Nabil Al-Raier on the wall. His closest friend, Shadi (ph) Al-Kahlout. The 23-year- old blew himself up near an Israeli military base, killing only himself. His funeral attended by thousands. His mother grieved at losing a son but proud of the way he died.
SUBHIA AL-KAHLOUT, SUICIDE BOMBER'S MOTHER (through translator): I thanked God. We're all going to die and go back to God. But I'm a mother and I was sad to lose my son. At the same time, according to our religious teachings, my son is alive and in God's company.
ABDUL RAHIM AL-KAHLOUT, SUICIDE BOMBER'S FATHER: When I heard he died, it was very difficult for me. I was proud because Shadi was a martyr but he's my son and losing him was painful.
SARRAJ: Sometimes the expression of grief in this culture, a grief for the martyr, is something that people are not proud of, even ashamed of because it shows weakness in the public eye.
Gradi (ph) Al-Kahlout tells a story of his brother's life. He talks of a quiet boy who loved sports, winning a certificate in karate. Who, as a teenager, became deeply religious. Who, together with his best friend, Nabil, formed a band that sang about Islam and about the Palestinian cause. And who, along with Nabil, was prepared to die for the cause. Prepared, as well, to kill civilians as he had been taught by his Islamic Jihad spiritual leader.
SHEIKH ABDULLAH SHAMI, ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADER (through translator): If the Israelis we kill are civilians, what are the Palestinian children they are killing? Are they military officers? Why is it that when our civilians are killed it's natural and when their civilians die we become terrorists? The Israelis also have to feel the pain and sadness that we feel so we carry out the martyr operations in the depth of (INAUDIBLE) entity as a response to the crimes of the occupation.
HANNA: The philosophy of Al-Kahlout's spiritual father echo in the words of his biological one.
A. AL-KAHLOUT (through translator): A person lives under occupation, his land taken away from him, while the aggressor who took his land, his holy sites (ph), lives comfortably on this land. This creates hatred. In addition, Shadi is a religious man that fights for justice and for the raising of God's voice. Becoming a martyr to enforce God's teaching was his primary goal.
HANNA: Religion, a powerful factor, but what of the injunction in the Koran against the taking of one's own life?
SHAMI (through translator): The almighty God orders the Muslims to defend their land and their belief against aggressors and occupiers. And the one who dies while resisting, he is a martyr and the martyr doesn't die but is living in the heavens with the profits and the people of good works.
SARRAJ: Of course there is, I think, a bottom line message, I believe, which is despair (ph) because if we have a good life today, we shouldn't seek a second life tomorrow.
HANNA: In the poverty stricken streets, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad say there are many waiting to seek that second life.
SHAMI (through translator): Martyr operations need a special kind of man, one with strong convictions, a high degree of courage and the belief in self-sacrifice. They are selected by the heads of the military wing from among people they meet in mosques, at rallies or in universities.
HANNA: Sheikh Abdullah Shami rejects the suggestion those selected are brainwashed or manipulated.
SHAMI (through translator): If it was a matter of brainwashing, what is to guarantee us that the person who reaches the target of the operations doesn't feel scared and retreat. This is what happens if they are not completely convinced with what they are doing. Those who carry out bomb attacks are mature and completely aware and understand what they are doing.
A. AL-KAHLOUT (through translator): We had a feeling that one day Shadi would become a martyr, but we didn't know when. Once I told him, don't you ever think of doing a martyr operation and not talk to me. He promised me that he would call me and he did call me. He called me from this phone. It was the last call he made. He told me, dad, I'm not going to sleep at home tonight. Don't worry. God willing, I will go to the office tomorrow. Don't worry. He sounded very happy as if he had found a treasure. I told him don't be long, and that was the end of the call.
HANNA: In a letter left for his parents, Shadi Al-Kahlout told his mother not to cry, to rejoice for him. He told his father to be patient as he would see him in heaven.
Will the younger sons emulate their elder brother?
S. AL-KAHLOUT: The child takes this decision, not the parents. But this decision should come when they are mature and they understand their religious teachings and are politically aware. I do hope that the political situation changes because (ph) we have our state, that we regain our rights and live in freedom, then the situation will calm down and my children can live a normal life.
HANNA: Abdul Rahim and Subhia Al-Kahlout have 10 surviving children and numerous pictures of a dead son, a son they say they think of every hour of the day.
Mike Hanna, CNN, Gaza City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: And tomorrow as our series continues, the life of a Jewish settler: the hopes and fears of living in a danger zone (ph). That story tomorrow morning right here.
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