Bethlehem miracle baby
• Hodgepodge
Hard to not see the stories of the miracle baby of Palestine as the prologue of a horror movie. Eventually we'd learn the baby has arrived to stop or cause the end of the world. There'd be some nutty prophecy about a messiah or antichrist. Possibly crackpot Muslims and Christians are already murmuring nonsense along those lines.
(IsraelNN.com) The 12-day-old nephew of a Hamas terrorist born in the el-Aida urban slum, near Bethlehem, is the talk of the town as thousands of PA residents are coming to see the little baby and his unique birthmark.
Nephew of Hamas Terrorist Draws Thousands to el-Aida
BETHLEHEM - In a world where miracles have become something of a rarity, thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Bethlehem marveled at a newly born baby who had a large reddish birthmark on his right cheek forming the Arabic letters of his martyr uncle’s name – Ala'a -.
The baby was born at Laylat Al-Qadr, which is revered by Muslims as the night in which the holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. ...
He was named after his uncle Alaa, a member of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, who was assassinated on March 25 by an Israeli special force in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Iyyad Hassan, the father of the "miracle baby", told IOL that Alaa was a gift from God.
"God rewarded us after we had lost my brother Alaa, who was deeply religious. He was born at a blessed night and I pray that he would be a good son," added the father.
Suliman Besharat, Palestine Chronicle: Palestinian Birthmarked With Murdered Uncle's Name
The infant's grandmother, Aysha Ayyad, 58, said her son secretly joined the Islamic group Hamas shortly after he was beaten by Israeli soldiers.
She voiced hope Israelis and Palestinians would make peace and allow her grandson to grow up free from violence. As she spoke, an Israeli army patrol fired teargas at stone-throwing youths nearby.
Despite the commotion, the imam from the camp's main mosque entered the living room, traced a finger along the swirling birthmark and pronounced it a "gift from God".
Miracle baby draws crowds by thousands
The family, devout Muslims, called it a divine message of support for the Palestinians against Israel, although some local Christians preparing for subdued Christmas observances have quietly dismissed it as lacking religious significance.
The Israeli army declined comment, but one security source said, "It sounds very freaky." The family denied any hoax.
Comments
Posted by: Jeff | December 15, 2003 4:44 AM
Posted by: Dr. Theology | December 15, 2003 5:22 AM
Posted by: Miztli | December 21, 2003 1:50 PM
Posted by: Flash | January 2, 2004 10:37 AM