Erick Stakelbeck

CBN News Terrorism Analyst

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Hamas Cleric: We Will Conquer America and Europe

April 14, 2008

Wait a minute. I thought Hamas was only concerned with the destruction of Israel and posed no threat whatsover to the West. At least, that's what apologists for the Palestinian terror group have been telling us for years (a point, I might add, which has been disproven several times, including by yours truly back in 2004). We're supposed to believe, I suppose, that Hamas cleric Yunis Al-Astal is little more than a Palestinian version of Reverend Jeremiah Wright: a blustery, divisive demagogue, but ultimately non-threatening. You be the judge (courtesy of MEMRI):

Following are excerpts from an address by Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on April 11, 2008.

Yunis Al-Astal: Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion, so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security, and consolidation of power, and even to conquests thorough da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world. Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our Prophet Muhammad. Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam – this capital of theirs will be an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe.

I believe that our children or our grandchildren will inherit our Jihad and our sacrifices, and Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them. Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls, and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our Prophets, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire on the brink of which they stand.

If you're alarmed by this harmless little riff, you may want to cable former president Jimmy Carter. He plans to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal this week, against the wishes of both the U.S. and Israeli governments.