Islamic chant
"Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud! Jaish Muhammad soufa yaʿoud! " (
Arabic : خيبر خيبر يا يهود جيش محمد سوف يعود ;
lit. ' Khaybar, Khaybar, Oh
Jews ! The army of
Muhammad will return! ' ) is an Arabic-language rallying slogan referencing the
Battle of Khaybar of 628 CE, which began after Muhammad marched with a large Muslim army and besieged
Khaybar , an oasis in present-day
Saudi Arabia that was home to a notable
Jewish community .
The slogan is chanted primarily at public anti-
Israel demonstrations, though it has been invoked during
Islamist terrorist attacks as well.
The chant has been categorized as
antisemitic by the American news broadcaster
PBS
[1] and the Israeli newspaper
The Times of Israel ,
[2] and by the British advocacy group
Muslims Against Antisemitism
[3] and the American advocacy group
Anti-Defamation League .
[4]
Background
The slogan was coined in the late 1980s during the
First Intifada by
Ahmed Yassin , founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization
Hamas .
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
Prevalence
Anti-Israel protests
The slogan has since been embraced more widely by
Islamists ,
[9] Islamic extremists and anti-Israel militants.
[10]
[11] It has been chanted at Islamic extremist and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including in Jerusalem,
[12]
[13] Sweden,
[14] England,
[15]
[16]
[17] Austria,
[18] Belgium,
[19] the Netherlands,
[20]
[21]
[22] and Australia.
[23] The chant is employed more frequently during periods of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, like during the
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis and the
2023 Israel–Hamas war .
[24]
[25]
In Europe, those chanting it have faced criminal charges, including incitement to hatred.
[26]
[27]
Shaima Dallali stepped down as president of the
National Union of Students in 2022 after controversy surrounding allegations of antisemitism, including her previous use of the phrase "Khaybar Khaybar O Jews … Muhammad’s army will return Gaza."
[28]
Terrorist attacks
Indonesian terrorist
Amrozi , involved in the
2002 Bali bombings , shouted the slogan before being sentenced to death in 2003 in a Bali courtroom.
[29]
See also
References
^ Brabant, Malcolm (2023-11-13).
"Tensions rise in U.K. amid large-scale protests over Israel-Hamas war" .
PBS . Retrieved 28 November 2023 .
^ Philpot, Robert (2023-11-18).
"UK Jews say govt not protecting them from Islamic extremism amid Israel-Hamas war" .
Times of Israel . Retrieved 28 November 2023 .
^
"Why We As Muslims Must Challenge Antisemitic Language Like This" . Muslims Against Antisemitism. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 28 November 2023 .
^
"Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud" . Glossary of Extremism and Hate .
Anti-Defamation League . Retrieved 20 November 2023 .
^ Bartal, Shaul (2021), Upal, Muhammad Afzal; Cusack, Carole M. (eds.),
"Ḥamās: The Islamic Resistance Movement" , Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements , Brill, p. 381,
ISBN
978-90-04-42525-5 ,
JSTOR
10.1163/j.ctv1v7zbv8.23 , retrieved 2023-11-17
^
Lawrence Rose, Paul (2014).
"Muhammad, the Jews, and Khaybar: Fantasy and Emotion in Contemporary Islamic Political and Religious Antisemitism" (PDF) . In
Asher Small, Charles (ed.). Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity Volume IV: Islamism and the Arab World .
ISGAP . p. 106.
^ Litvak, Meir (1998).
"The Islamization of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Case of Hamas" . Middle Eastern Studies . 34 (1): 157.
ISSN
0026-3206 .
JSTOR
4283922 .
^ Shrentzel, Israel (2018).
"Verses and Reality: What the Koran Really Says about Jews" . Jewish Political Studies Review . 29 (3/4): 27.
ISSN
0792-335X .
JSTOR
26500684 .
^ Dziadosz, Alexander (2012-11-15).
"Islamist leaders vow unity against Israel" .
Reuters . Retrieved 28 November 2023 .
^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (2001-01-21).
"Arafat's Gift" . The New Yorker .
ISSN
0028-792X . Retrieved 2023-11-17 .
^ Friedman, Thomas L. (1984-05-27).
"SOME FRIENDS TO FOES IN SOUTH LEBANON" . The New York Times . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Muslims chant about killing Jews outside Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2017-12-08).
"Palestinian man killed, 300 wounded in West Bank and Gaza rioting over Trump Jerusalem move" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"At protest against far-right lawmaker, Swedish Muslims chant about killing Jews" . The Times of Israel . 2 September 2020.
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2018-11-09).
"London rally for Jews killed in Arab countries disrupted by men shouting in Arabic about killing Jews" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Met Police detain hundreds as pro-Palestinian rally turns volatile" . The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com . 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Police appeal for information over possible hate crime at demo" . The Jewish Chronicle . October 29, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Anti-Israel protesters in Vienna chant about a massacre of Jews" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Dozens chant about an ancient massacre of Jews at pro-Palestinian rally in Brussels" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2014-07-15).
"Antwerp demonstration features calls to 'slaughter the Jews' " . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2014-07-07).
"Hague Muslim protest features menacing calls about Jews" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2017-08-31).
"Protesters chant about killing Jews at Netherlands rally" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Palestine activist Nasser Mashni accused of 'inciting hatred' " . The Australian . 31 October 2023. Archived from
the original on 1 November 2023.
^
"Death threat to Jews sung openly at rallies across the UK" . The Jewish Chronicle . 21 April 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Antisemitism online directly increases real-world violence, study finds" . The Jerusalem Post . 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^
"Two men charged with hate crime for 'Khaybar' chant at anti-Israel demo" . The Jewish Chronicle . 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (2017-01-27).
"Belgians who chanted about Jewish massacre indicted" . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2023-11-19 .
^ Adams, Richard (2022-11-01).
"NUS president ousted over antisemitism allegations" .
The Guardian . Retrieved 28 November 2023 .
^ Gilbert, Martin (2011).
In Ishmael's House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands . McClelland & Stewart. pp. xiii–xix.
ISBN
9780771035692 .