THE TIMES: Without the subtitles, the song could almost be a sentimental tune for kids that is fast spreading round the world on YouTube. With its lyrics translated, it reveals itself as something far more sinister - an ode to martyrdom from the mouths of pre-school children.
“When we seek martyrdom, we go to heaven,” sings a pretty dark-haired little girl.
“Don’t say we are young, this way of life has turned us into grown-ups. Without Palestine, what does childhood mean?”
According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), an American organisation that tracks Islamic extremist websites and networks, the video is spreading like wildfire, with variations of the ditty scoring millions of hits in the Muslim world, and starting to spread to Britain and North America.
The IPT said that the clip was the work of a Jordan-based film company called Birds of Paradise, whose high-standard production marks “a new wave of jihadist youth indoctrination”.
The catchy tune appears designed to appeal to children and grown-ups alike, with a message of dying for Palestine. Read on and comment >>> James Hider, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, June 25, 2010
The Investigative Project on Terrorism: "Birds of Paradise" – Martyrdom Recruitment as Children's Entertainment >>>
