Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud
Islamic chant
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"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 coined in the late 1980s and used by Hamas. It is chanted primarily at public anti-Israel demonstrations, but has also been invoked during by a convicted Islamist terrorist after being sentenced to death. The slogan is widely regarded as anti-Semitic.
Background
The slogan was coined in the late 1980s during the First Intifada by Ahmed Yassin, founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas.[1][2][3][4]
Its literal meaning in English is "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!"[citation needed] The words reference 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 an established Jewish community.[citation needed]
Anti-semitism
The chant has been categorized as antisemitic by the American news broadcaster PBS,[5] the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel,[6] the British advocacy group Muslims Against Antisemitism,[7] and the American advocacy group Anti-Defamation League.[8]
Usage
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, such as during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis and the Gaza 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]
Use by a terrorist
Indonesian terrorist Amrozi, involved in the 2002 Bali bombings, shouted the slogan before being sentenced to death in August 2003 in a Bali courtroom.[29]