Kids Martyrdom Videos Get New Sophistication, Huge Audience By The Investigative Project on Terrorism

Kids Martyrdom Videos Get New Sophistication, Huge Audience
By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

The little girl's dark brown eyes look heavenward as she sings,

When we seek martyrdom, we go to heaven.

You tell us we're small, but from this way of life we have become big.

Without Palestine, what does childhood mean?


This is not a song from Hamas television in Gaza, nor is it a Hizballah anthem. "When We Seek Martyrdom" is the latest hit from a production house called Birds of Paradise. It is racking up millions of hits on Arabic and worldwide websites. Birds of Paradise, which appears to be based in Jordan, is quickly becoming one of the most popular children's groups in the Arab world.

My country and my blood are like its sands

Without Palestine, what does childhood mean?

Youtube, has dozens of editions and edits of the video, ranging from Arab parents having their children parrot the lyrics to Jihadists using it as background music in terrorist videos. "[Birds of Paradise] is one of the most widely distributed children's songs group in the Arab world, and it seems to have crossed the ocean to Canada and Britain," wrote journalist Fawzia Nasir al-Naeem in the Saudi Arabian newspaper, Al-Jazirah.

"Birds of Paradise" represents a new wave in Jihadist youth indoctrination. It is far more professional, better edited, and presented in a much more kid-friendly style than previous Jihadist children's programming. The themes are easily digestible even for toddlers. Child actors portray Israeli soldiers, all wearing yarmulkes, who ruthlessly gun down other children shown playing and dancing. Minutes later, the kids exact revenge and kill the soldiers.

See our report, and the video, here.
June 19, 2009 10:43 AM Link http://www.investigativeproject.org/1072/birds-of-paradise-martyrdom-recruitment-as