Ever wondered what a death cult in the post-Sesame St. era would look like? (And you haven't time to attend the MAWO hip hop festival)

Mickallah's messengers

UPDATE: I see this all has something to do with mimetic rivalry with the Catholics. I found this photo of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the great theologian, at Gil Bailie's:

UPDATE2: Dag sends me this link, to Der Spiegel reporting on the story:

A new black and white rodent has appeared on Palestinian television, and it's not the Mickey Mouse you're used to. This one teaches children about AK-47s and Jihad on behalf of the Islamist group Hamas.
Update: On Wednesday, after this story went live, the Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti announced that the Hamas-affiliated television station al-Aqsa TV had complied with a government request to pull the show "Tomorrow's Pioneers" for "review." He said the use of a cartoon character to urge Palestinian children to fight Israel and work toward world Islamic domination was a "mistaken approach."

If one were to choose the imaginary creature most responsible for the rise of the Disney empire, Mickey Mouse would have to be high on the list. Now, the Palestinian militants at Hamas are hoping the dancing and singing mouse will be able to do the same for Islamist holy war.

A children's show which airs each Friday on al-Aqsa television, a station run by Hamas which broadcasts in the Palestinian Territories, now employs a singing, squeaking, dancing mouse named Farfour to connect with young viewers. But despite having a name that means "butterfly," Farfour is clearly a Mickey Mouse rip-off. The only difference being that this rodent is doing his best to transform show viewers into rifle-toting Islamist Mouseketeers.

"The people firmly stand, singing this to you. ... Its answer is an AK-47. We who do not know fear, we are the predators of the forest," Farfour squeaks in one episode while miming the throwing of a grenade and the shooting of a rifle. In another, his mousey voice warns: "Oh Jerusalem we are coming. Oh Jerusalem, it is the time of death. Oh Jerusalem, we will never surrender to the enemy, and we will never be humiliated. It is beloved Palestine that taught us what to be. And taught us to be soldiers of the Lord."