In his August 9, 2024 Friday sermon in Highland, Indiana, a suburb of Chicago, Sheikh Abdullah Alhajj said that the "painful strike" when the mujahid Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, was "slaughtered" hurt "so much." He said that Haniyeh had wanted to become a martyr since he was a child. Alhajj added that Palestine will continue to replace a martyr with a martyr. The sermon was streamed live on the YouTube channel of Illiana Islamic Association (IIA)
Abdullah Alhajj: "Allah be praised, we had a big hit, a painful strike last week, when the mujahid Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh was attacked or slaughtered or... Huh... Assassinated... He was assassinated by the enemies of Islam in a Muslim country.
"And he was a doctor. He was a mujahid since he was a child. When you look at some of his videos when he was like 10-12 years old, Someone asked him: 'What do you want to be?' He said: 'I want to be a martyr.'
[...]
"Palestine has been and is still and will continue to bring and to give birth to martyrs for the sake of Allah, to defend Islam and the Muslims, and the holy sites of the Muslims. Some might say that Palestine is occupied – but guess what – it is not. What is occupied is the Muslim and Arab world except for Palestine. Palestine is the one who is fighting for the sake of Allah against the Zionists.
[...]
"When they assassinated him, it was a big hit, it hurt so much, and the entire world felt that, and thousands of mosques prayed for him, and we continue to supplicate to Allah: May Allah accept him as a martyr. Yet Palestine will continue to bring and feed... and to replace martyr after martyr. Allah willing. This is the fight that Allah told us would continue."
Abdullah Alhajj: "Allah be praised, we had a big hit, a painful strike last week, when the mujahid Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh was attacked or slaughtered or... Huh... Assassinated... He was assassinated by the enemies of Islam in a Muslim country.
"And he was a doctor. He was a mujahid since he was a child. When you look at some of his videos when he was like 10-12 years old, Someone asked him: 'What do you want to be?' He said: 'I want to be a martyr.'
[...]
"Palestine has been and is still and will continue to bring and to give birth to martyrs for the sake of Allah, to defend Islam and the Muslims, and the holy sites of the Muslims. Some might say that Palestine is occupied – but guess what – it is not. What is occupied is the Muslim and Arab world except for Palestine. Palestine is the one who is fighting for the sake of Allah against the Zionists.
[...]
"When they assassinated him, it was a big hit, it hurt so much, and the entire world felt that, and thousands of mosques prayed for him, and we continue to supplicate to Allah: May Allah accept him as a martyr. Yet Palestine will continue to bring and feed... and to replace martyr after martyr. Allah willing. This is the fight that Allah told us would continue."
