> Subject: Leading Muslim clerics pour scorn on settler pig-skin `myth' > > > Leading Muslim clerics pour scorn on settler pig-skin `myth' > > By Amira Hass and Nadav Shragi Ha'aretz 25 February 2002 > > Two Moslem clerics yesterday responded with mockery to what they called the > Jewish settler `myth' that covering the bodies of Muslims with pig skins > prevents them from entering paradise. > > Sheikh Hasan Yusuf, one of the most senior Hamas members in the West Bank, > and Dr. Younis Al-Astel, a lecturer in Sharia (Islamic law) at the Islamic > University, were asked to respond to reports that settlers had taken to > covering the bodies of suicide bombers in pig-skins to deter others from > carrying out attacks on Israelis. > > Settlers said they covered the body of Muhamed Smali with a pig skin after > he was shot to death on Friday while attempting to detonate explosives in a > shopping mall in Efrat. Recently, there have been several other cases of > settlers using pig skins to cover the bodies of Palestinians in the belief > that contact with a pig prevents a Muslim from entering heaven. Hamas > sources say there is no truth in the settlers' myth and such action will not > deter activists from martyrdom. > > The idea of placing parts of a pig on or near the bodies of dead > Palestinians has been prevalent in settler circles for almost a year - > what's new is that they are now doing it. > > In Gush Katif last week settlers placed pig parts next to the body of a > Palestinian who killed two soldiers and a settler. The settlers concerned > did not consult any rabbinic authority, but got anonymous blessings for the > action in retrospect. > > Hasan Yusuf mocked the settlers' attempts to discourage suicide attackers. > "The keys to heaven are not in the hands of settlers," he said. Al-Astel > said this was nothing more than a ridiculous myth totally unconnected to > Islam. > > Yusuf and Al-Astel said according to Islamic theology, only the corpse > remains after a person's death, since the soul has already departed from the > body. What happens to the body after death is irrelevant to the fate of the > soul, he said. "Let the settlers bring as many pig skins as they want," > Al-Astel said, "it won't change a thing." > ______________________________________________________________________ Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com
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