Mariam Farhat, The Palestinian "Mother of Martyrs"

 

Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat, or Mariam Farahat (b. 1949, Shuja'iyya, Gaza City, Gaza Strip – d. March 17, 2013, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories), more commonly known as Umm Nidal was a Palestinian activist popularly known by Palestinians as the "Mother of Martyrs" for her support for her sons' involvement in attacks against Israel. Three of her sons were members of Hamas killed killed by Israel after participating in terrorist activities and she was a close associate of the Hamas leadership for over 2 decades. She also was a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas. Farhat was one of the most prominent Islamist female leaders in Palestine and became an icon of the Second Intifada. 

Farhat was born in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in Gaza City in 1949. She had six sons and a total of ten children. Her eldest son, Nidal, was one of the first manufacturers of the Qassam rocket and helped to make rockets for Hamas and was killed in February 2003 while preparing to conduct an attack. A third son Rawad died in 2005 in an Israeli airstrike on his car carrying Qassam rocket.  Another son Wisam did time in an Israeli prison for attempting to kill Jews and was the mastermind behind various terrorist acts such as Atzmona Massacre and the Nahal Oz attack. Wisam was killed by the IDF.

In the 1990s, Farhat sheltered Hamas military leaders such as Emad Akel. 

She came to public attention in 2002 after being filmed carrying a gun and advising her 17-year-old son Muhammad Farhat before his March 2002 suicide attack against Israeli civilians. Muhammad entered the Gaza Strip former settlement of Atzmona and opened fire and threw hand grenades at Israeli students enrolled in a pre-military school where they were studying to become army officers, killing five and wounding 23 others. After the attack, he was shot dead. After Muhammad's death, Farhat said she "wished [she] had 100 boys like Muhammad."

Farhat became known as "Khansa of Palestine", a reference to Al-Khansa (one of the companions of Muhammad), all four of whose sons were killed in the Battle of Qadisiyah.  Umm Nidal got this title because of her great sacrifices - as in the Palestinian and Islamic culture - during the Second Intifada and before that, where her house was home to many prominent leaders of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, especially Emad Akel, who was assassinated in her home in 1993 by the Israel Defense Forces. 

Farhat ran as a candidate of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. She was successfully elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council. 

In an interview published in both the Israeli Arab weekly Kul al-Arab and the London-based Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Farhat (Umm Nidal) said she was proud of her sons. In her December 2005 interview, Farhat (Umm Nidal) said:

• "I protect my sons from defying Allah, or from choosing a path that would not please Allah. This is what I fear, when it comes to my sons. But as for sacrifice, Jihad for the sake of Allah, or performing the duty they were charged with - this makes me happy."
• (Referring to Israelis) "They are all occupiers. Besides, don't forget that they all serve in the army. They are all considered soldiers. They are all reserve soldiers."
• "They are all occupiers, and we must fight them by any legitimate means."
• "All means are legitimate as long as the occupation continues."
• "There is no difference. This is Islamic religious law. I don't invent anything. I follow Islamic religious law in this. A Muslim is very careful not to kill an innocent person, because he knows he would be destined to eternal Hell. So, the issue is not at all simple. We rely on Islamic religious law when we say there is no prohibition on killing these people."
• "The word 'peace' does not mean the kind of peace we are experiencing. This peace is, in fact, surrender and a shameful disgrace. Peace means the liberation of all of Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.  When this is accomplished - if they want peace, we will be ready. They may live under the banner of the Islamic state. That is the future of Palestine that we are striving towards."

Farhat died on March 17, 2013, from multiple organ failure, in Gaza City. Her death was announced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing. Her funeral was attended by 4,000 Palestinians, including top Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh.