Is the use of children in the PLO mini-war against Israel in adherence with Moslem law? According to Moslem religious sources, the answer appears to be a resounding "No!" A refreshing and rather daring critique of what has been accepted in the Arab world to date as legitimate warfare against Israel appears in a piece translated and published this week by the Middle East Research Media Institute (MEMRI). Writing to the London-based daily Al-Hayat, S'ud Ibn Muhammad Al-'Aqili of the King Fahd National Library, condemns the PLO's use of children in PLO warfare.
"It is difficult for me to talk about this subject while [Muslim] clerics keep silent and evade it," writes Al-'Aqili. "....there is a very telling silence regarding the Intifada. The Muslims did not ask if it is religiously legal or not....there is no obligation of Jihad on whoever has not reached maturity. Ibn Umar said: 'I offered myself to the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the battle of Uhud when I was fourteen years old. But he did not let me fight.' Even though the battle of Uhud was a defensive Jihad, the Prophet, peace be upon him, desperately needed people [to fight] because the infidels conspired against Al-Madinah the city of Islam and endangered Islam itself. But the Prophet, nevertheless, did not take him to fight at the age of fourteen....In the battle of Badr several Muslims were denied a role in the fighting because of their young age....There were three times as many infidels as Muslims [in this battle] and it was possible to use the youths from a distance as archers. Nevertheless, the Prophet did not allow them to fight. Moreover, Islam defended the souls of non-Muslim children when it forbade the killing of the enemy's women and children."
"Today, on the other hand, we see in the Intifada, children who are less then the age of maturity, thrown unarmed and undefended to be targets ...The Prophet even forbade the use of animals as targets. So what is there left to say about the Palestinian people who have turned their children into targets."
Finally, Muhammad Al-'Aqili offers a pessimistic view of the chances of success of the PLO mini-war against Israel: "If all the Arabs together have not succeeded in defeating Israel in past wars it will certainly not be defeated through the Intifada. There are those who justify the Intifada by saying that it exhausts Israel but the consequences today are in Israel's favor. The PA's infrastructure has been destroyed, its leadership devastated, its people killed and the settlements have been enlarged. If previous wars did not affect Israel economically and it managed to recover from all of the wars and surpass the Arab and Muslim states technologically it will certainly not be affected today by this Intifada which will only bring more troubles on the Palestinian leadership."
"It is difficult for me to talk about this subject while [Muslim] clerics keep silent and evade it," writes Al-'Aqili. "....there is a very telling silence regarding the Intifada. The Muslims did not ask if it is religiously legal or not....there is no obligation of Jihad on whoever has not reached maturity. Ibn Umar said: 'I offered myself to the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the battle of Uhud when I was fourteen years old. But he did not let me fight.' Even though the battle of Uhud was a defensive Jihad, the Prophet, peace be upon him, desperately needed people [to fight] because the infidels conspired against Al-Madinah the city of Islam and endangered Islam itself. But the Prophet, nevertheless, did not take him to fight at the age of fourteen....In the battle of Badr several Muslims were denied a role in the fighting because of their young age....There were three times as many infidels as Muslims [in this battle] and it was possible to use the youths from a distance as archers. Nevertheless, the Prophet did not allow them to fight. Moreover, Islam defended the souls of non-Muslim children when it forbade the killing of the enemy's women and children."
"Today, on the other hand, we see in the Intifada, children who are less then the age of maturity, thrown unarmed and undefended to be targets ...The Prophet even forbade the use of animals as targets. So what is there left to say about the Palestinian people who have turned their children into targets."
Finally, Muhammad Al-'Aqili offers a pessimistic view of the chances of success of the PLO mini-war against Israel: "If all the Arabs together have not succeeded in defeating Israel in past wars it will certainly not be defeated through the Intifada. There are those who justify the Intifada by saying that it exhausts Israel but the consequences today are in Israel's favor. The PA's infrastructure has been destroyed, its leadership devastated, its people killed and the settlements have been enlarged. If previous wars did not affect Israel economically and it managed to recover from all of the wars and surpass the Arab and Muslim states technologically it will certainly not be affected today by this Intifada which will only bring more troubles on the Palestinian leadership."