Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian-American writer Nonie Darwish, which aired on Al-Hayat TV on August 7, 2008.

Nonie Darwish: Jihad was the most important thing. Every day, at school in Gaza, we would sing songs or recite poems about killing ourselves, about waging Jihad, and dying as martyrs. I would recite these poems daily. We were always taught to love Jihad, to love the resistance, and to desire death...

Darwish: I grew up in the days of Gamal Abd Al-Nasser. All the radio stations would constantly play songs about Jihad for the sake of Allah, and the love of fighting. All Egypt's wealth was wasted on preparations for war. In many places in the Koran and the Hadith, the Muslims are instructed to fight, not just in wars. They are instructed to kill anyone who is not a Muslim. In other words, it is the Muslim's duty to kill the Jews. Even if...

Interviewer: Even if they are non-combatants?

Darwish: Yes, such things indeed happened. In the seventh century, there was no Israel or Palestine, or anything. How come we don't have any compassion or love for non-Muslims? This is what led me to feel that we... I used to think that this was a good thing. I used to think that the love of fighting and martyrdom was a good thing...