But not everybody sees it clearly. Hamas laments the death of the murderous terrorist. Jen Rubin writes:
The entire civilized world celebrates the death of Osama bin Laden. But that wouldn’t include Hamas. Reuters reports:
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday condemned the killing by U.S. forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an “Arab holy warrior.”
“We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood,” Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, told reporters.
Though he noted doctrinal differences between bin Laden’s al Qaeda and Hamas, Haniyeh said: “We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior. We ask God to offer him mercy with the true believers and the martyrs.”
This is the mentality of one-half of the new Palestinian unity government. This is the crowd whom the “international community” expects Israel to recognize and to cede territory next to the Jewish state’s population centers.
We didn't need more proof of the barbarism and pure evil of the anti-Semitic, Islamofascist group known as Hamas. But here we have it anyway.
They are not just at war with Israel, they are at war with civilization. There is no way anyone should even give consideration to negotiating with this group, pressuring Israel to give them land or recognizing their terror state as in any way legitimate.
Rubin notes that the Palestinian Authority tries to play "good cop" to the Hamas "bad cop":
But Palestinian boosters will point to the comments of the other half of the unity government:
“Getting rid of bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods — the violent methods — that were created and encouraged by bin Laden and others in the world,” Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman Ghassan Khatib said.
I hope nobody takes this song and dance routine seriously. You get in bed with terrorists - you get treated like a terrorist. That is how it is.
(See Melanie Philips' blog post "A Marriage Made in Hell" for more on the Palestinian "unity government.")
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2 comments:
Dr. Carter,
I've got a bit of a lofty question from you. Many of my university age Christian friends have been expressing their uncertainty on how they ought to feel about Bin Laden's death (or murder, however you want to look at it). Many have expressed a tension in their hearts after hearing news, feeling good knowing that an evil man is now dead, yet feeling bad for a reason that is harder to pin down. The question being asked is, How should I feel about the death of an evil man? or more specifically, this man?
Some have attributed their tension to a lack of justice, choosing to consider this closure rather than Godly justice. They cite MLKJ who said "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Others follow more closely to Harper's statement regarding "sobre satisfaction," knowing that while this is a symbolic victory, there is no reason to be zealously overjoyed.
Others are looking deeper than social commentary but don't know where to go. I keep hearing people ask, basically, 'what does God want me to think and feel about this?' I've heard Rom 6:23, Rev 6:9-11, and some other passages thrown around, but no real solid answers on how a Christian ought to feel about the death of Bin Laden.
So... any ideas!? I hope you get a chance to shed some light on this!
Peter,
I'm writing a post (soon) on your question.
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