The wisdom of the Koran, and of an Aesop’s fable

by Lev Tsitrin

To judge by the article that describes Hamas’ comprehensive planning for post-Israel management of “Palestine” following its “liberation” by Hamas, with every detail of international and internal policies accounted for, and spelled out in great detail, it seems to me that Hamas reads the Koran too much, and Aesop’s fables, too little.

Their careful study of the Koran tells Hamas members that “We are headed for the victory that Allah promised his servants: “O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet.” (As an aside, I am surprised that the thoroughly polytheistic implication that Allah is in need of human support apparently escaped Hamas’ students of the Koran; Moslems pride themselves in being strict monotheists, yet they treat God as if He was one of many gods, and therefore in need of human help and support.) The destruction of Israel thus having been divinely assured, Hamas does not want any chaos to follow — everything should proceed on an orderly fashion. Division of spoils is a serious business and should be done in a deliberate manner, with careful prior study and planning that needs to start right now. All “i”s should be dotted. All “t”s should be crossed. Nothing should be left to chance. Hence, the academically pedantic, 20-point blueprint for the post-“liberation” action.

Planning ahead may be advisable, but planning too far ahead, not so much. If they took a break from studying the Koran and turned for wisdom to Aesop for a change, Hamas’ leaders would have read the fable of a fellow who sold a bear’s skin — and went to the woods to fetch it. Though he assured himself of victory, things did not go exactly his way — and once actually confronting a bear, he had to pretend to be dead to save himself. The bear sniffed him, and went its way. “What did the bear tell you?” his companion who took cover on the nearby tree, asked when it was safe to descend. “It told me to sell bear’s skin after catching it, not before,” was the answer.

Not all wisdom is contained in the Koran. If fact, reading it too closely so as to see in it promises of victory, as Hamas and their ilk do, yet not close enough to see its polytheistic underpinning, may cause one to engage in foolish, if not tragically deadly actions. Hamas tried confronting Israel time and again, and should know the consequences full well — and yet, it cannot stop and keeps pushing, putting its hope in the Koran. But perhaps Aesop offers greater wisdom. Not aiming too high, towards destruction of Israel, but rather seeking peace with her may be a much better strategy for Palestinian success. Being over-confident and overreaching will bring Palestinians nothing but a further disaster.

Lev Tsitrin is the author of “The Pitfall of Truth: Holy War, its Rationale and Folly“