Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat (Arabic: مريم محمد يوسف فرحات) (or Mariam Farahat; born in 1950), popularly known as Umm Nidal, "the mother of Nidal", is one of Hamas' candidates elected in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006. Three of her six sons performed Hamas suicide attacks against Israel. The word "Nidal" in Arabic language is a secular term, meaning "struggle", "effort" or "work".
Contents |
She attracted public attention after being filmed advising her 17-year old son Muhammad Farhat for his March 2002 suicide attack against Israeli civilians. After entering the Gaza Strip former Jewish settlement of Atzmona, opening fire on the students and throwing hand grenades at the school where they were studying, killing five teenagers and wounding 23 others, he was shot dead. Upon hearing of her son's death, she proclaimed "Allahu Akbar!" and gave out boxes of halva and chocolates.[1] Her eldest son, Nidal, was killed in February 2003 as he was readying for his attack on Israelis. A third son, Rawad, died in 2005 in an Israeli airstrike on his car carrying Qassam rocket. Three other sons are still alive.
In an interview published in both the Israeli Arab weekly Kul al-Arab and the London-based Arabic language daily Al-Quds al-Arabi, Umm Nidal said she was proud of her sons. In her December 2005 interview, Umm Nidal said:
"I protect my sons from defying Allah, or from choosing a path that would not please Allah. This is what I fear, when it comes to my sons. But as for sacrifice, Jihad for the sake of Allah, or performing the duty they were charged with - this makes me happy."
"There is no difference. This is Islamic religious law. I don't invent anything. I follow Islamic religious law in this. A Muslim is very careful not to kill an innocent person, because he knows he would be destined to eternal Hell. So the issue is not at all simple. We rely on Islamic religious law when we say there is no prohibition on killing these people."
"The word 'peace' does not mean the kind of peace we are experiencing. This peace is, in fact, surrender and a shameful disgrace. Peace means the liberation of all of Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. When this is accomplished - if they want peace, we will be ready. They may live under the banner of the Islamic state. That is the future of Palestine that we are striving towards." [2]
On June 29, 2002, Professor Sari Nusseibeh stated in an Al-Jazeera interview with Umm Nidal: "When I hear the words of Umm Nidal, I recall the hadith stating that 'Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.'"[3]