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Islamic State destroys famous lion god statue in Palmyra
Jihad Watch ^ | 5/28/15 | Robert Spencer

Posted on 05/28/2015 4:53:31 PM PDT by markomalley

Still pursuing al-Lat after all these years. “The statue was dedicated to the pre-Islamic Arabian goddess Al-Lat, who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca along with Manat and al-Uzza.”

The Qur’an says: “So have you considered al-Lat and al-Uzza? And Manat, the third, the other one? Is the male for you and for Him the female? That, then, is an unjust division.” (53:19-22) This passage is ridiculing the idea that these three goddesses are the daughters of Allah, for that would mean that the deity only had daughters while human being have sons, who were assumed to be superior to daughters — that would have been “an unjust division.” The three goddesses of Muhammad’s tribe, the Quraysh of Mecca, were overthrown by Islam, but it is not insignificant that the Islamic State did the most damage to the lion of al-Lat.

Incidentally, that passage in the Qur’an’s 53rd sura is the only trace left of the celebrated “Satanic Verses.” Long before the novel of the same name by Salman Rushdie, this term referred to an incident recorded in Islamic tradition, in which Muhammad tried to achieve reconciliation with the Quraysh by a “revelation” in which he declared, “So have you considered al-Lat and al-Uzza? And Manat, the third, the other one? They are the exalted cranes (gharaniq), worthy of veneration.” The Quraysh, hearing this, prostrated to Allah with the Muslims, who accepted the three goddesses as Allah’s daughters. But Muhammad soon realized that he had thus compromised the absolute monotheism that he had preached up to that point, and so he reneged, and claimed that Satan, not Allah, had inspired those verses, which were then duly replaced by the “revelation” recorded in Qur’an 53:19-22. The concept of abrogation, which ultimately led to the idea that the Qur’an’s violent passages take precedence over its peaceful ones, justified this change in still another “revelation”: “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?” (Qur’an 2:106)

“ISIS ‘destroys’ famous lion god statue in captured Syrian city of Palmyra… just days after promising locals they would not obliterate ancient monuments,” by John Hall, MailOnline, May 28, 2015 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Militants fighting for the Islamic State have reportedly destroyed a famous statue of a lion in the captured city of Palmyra – despite promising locals they would not obliterate the ancient city.

Following their capture of Palmyra last Thursday, ISIS militants are understood to have won the support of much of the local population by promising not to destroy the city’s famous monuments.

But it appears that promise was too much for the jihadis to keep, with eyewitnesses claiming they destruction of millenia-old Statues and buildings is already very much under way, with the most significant loss so far being the celebrated Lion of Al-Lat, which dates back to the first century AD.

The lion statue was destroyed by ISIS militants on Saturday, according to the International Business Time, who quoted eyewitnesses on the ground in Palmyra.

‘I heard a loud noise, so I went up to the roof to see what is going on,’ one local man said.

‘I saw Daash crushing the ‘god lion’ statue with construction machines. There were many other crushed statues but I could not recognise the rest of them because they were totally ruined,’ he added, using an Arabic acronym for the terror group.

The act of destroying the statue came just days after ISIS gathered Palmyra’s citizens together and publicly promised not to bulldoze the city’s ancient buildings, as they previously did in Nimrod.

‘As for the historical monuments, we will not touch it with our bulldozers as some tend to believe,’ ISIS commander Abu Leith was quoted as saying on a local radio broadcast.

However the promise did come with a get-out clause, as the depraved fighters insisted they would ‘pulverise’ any statues they discovered in the city that the believed citizens secretly prayed to.

The lion statue in Palmyra dates from the first century AD and stood outside the city’s famous Temple of Bel.

The statue was dedicated to the pre-Islamic Arabian goddess Al-Lat, who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca along with Manat and al-Uzza.

The Temple of Bel itself was built in 32 AD – six hundred years before the arrival of Islam in Syria – and was dedicated to the Semitic god Bel – who was worshiped by Palmyra citizens along with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol.

Since ISIS seized control of Palmyra, the temple and its surrounding area have been appropriated by ISIS militants, who are said to be using it as a military base.

Locals who preserved the site for the last 1,900 years are now said to be banned from entering the area unless the are willing to sign up to become ISIS jihadis….



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Syria; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 53rdsura; allat; aluzza; godsgravesglyphs; isis; manat; palmyra; quraysh; salmanrushdie; satanicverses; syria; templeofbaal; waronterror
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To: flaglady47

Whoops, accidental double post.


41 posted on 05/29/2015 3:56:26 PM PDT by flaglady47 (The useful idiots always go first)
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To: colorado tanker; MinuteGal

“I really hope this report isn’t true and the statue is intact or suffered minor damage. It is a magnificent piece.”

WAS a magnificent piece. ISIS is very thorough in their destruction of actual human beings as well as statues of antiquity. They destroy these larger statues with bulldozers, so the odds of anything being able to be retrieved and patched up are slim to none. They use beheadings on real people. The barbarians are at the gate, and they will destroy the gate too after they go through it.


42 posted on 05/29/2015 4:03:11 PM PDT by flaglady47 (The useful idiots always go first)
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To: Norm Lenhart

Your issue isn’t even what you vote for in November in the city. It’s what you vote for every day in your heart.


43 posted on 05/29/2015 4:08:12 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: flaglady47

Accept responsibility. You were one of the loudest screamers on fr about electing lesser evil. There is no false premise. Thats just you making excuses and avoiding your role in the disaster lesser evil voting has caused.


44 posted on 05/29/2015 5:48:11 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Your issue is you think abortion is an equal sin to any other and thus have nothing of value to say. Clearly your judgement is lacking. Moral equivalence is evil as are people practicing it.


45 posted on 05/29/2015 5:50:53 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

You are a riot continuously distorting my meaning... if you KEEP IT UP then indeed YOU have nothing worth hearing.

I warn you: REPENT


46 posted on 05/29/2015 5:52:42 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

There is no distortion. you argued the point.


47 posted on 05/29/2015 5:59:35 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

You continually keep on trying to play up the worst “plausible” side of something without even asking what someone means.

To every appearance you aren’t “for” anything but hell.


48 posted on 05/29/2015 6:02:47 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Says the man that equates abortion to masturbating.


49 posted on 05/29/2015 6:10:12 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Oh and for anyone reading, Ask HiTech what he ‘means’ about all sins being equal. Because he and I debated that for about 3 days somer time back and guess what his position is? ‘God says so.’


50 posted on 05/29/2015 6:12:02 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

How about the Jesus that says there is only one unpardonable sin.

In that regard all sins but one are all in one boat, with the sin of refusing the spirit of Christ access to your heart standing all by itself.

And THAT is the sin you are manifestly sinning.

You have no room to criticize, slave of Satan. None.


51 posted on 05/29/2015 6:12:14 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Norm Lenhart; All

Everybody take warning, this guy Norm carries on just like the accuser of the brethren.

I do not say that off the cuff or lightly or with a mere small amount of thought.


52 posted on 05/29/2015 6:13:28 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Whatever. If you don’t want to debate the issue like an adult, I understand. But everyone is well aware that you can’t make more than 3 posts without using God as an excuse.


53 posted on 05/29/2015 6:15:25 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

That is more Satan talk on your part. God is no excuse. God is a reason.


54 posted on 05/29/2015 6:16:44 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

See? Always gotta condemn and drag God into everything.

Hint. You don’t have any more a hitline to the almighty than any other human. Then, unlike you, most humans dont condemn people on internet sites to hell as you did with me and others, pretend to be God in conversations as you postulated in one of the tender moments we shared or think abortion is equal to any other sin.

The bottom line is you use God as a hammer. No one takes you seriously because of it and thats why you are mocked for it. Now if you want to continue being mocked, keep posting to me. Otherwise just stop now. your call sport.


55 posted on 05/29/2015 6:23:07 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

I guess you are “superior” condemning WITHOUT God (at least most of the time). Of course you still refer to sin and evil so you can’t go without a moral framework after all, and only God can furnish that otherwise we all have our own moral frameworks which are doomed to hell.

Look at the craziness you displayed on the page about the biker protest at the mosque. Basically set a trap for the police then mock them.

WHAT PRETENSE OF SANITY IS THIS... yes the police do lots of bad things from time to time, but this is the first I’ve seen on a proposal to DRAG THEM DOWN.


56 posted on 05/29/2015 6:31:54 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

If I was always electing evil, defending evil and trying to get others to support the evil you do, I’d rail about it too.


57 posted on 05/29/2015 6:33:18 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

And so I cheerfully repeat. Due to the work of Christ, you have no excuse to let any sin damn you to hell but the one that Christ said is unforgivable.

And that ain’t abortion.

Get a clue.


58 posted on 05/29/2015 6:34:21 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Norm Lenhart

The bible, however, says no Christian should concentrate on such things.


59 posted on 05/29/2015 6:34:54 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Norm Lenhart

And I am not supporting evil. I am supporting grace. Paul already refuted the idea that supporting grace is supporting evil, in the book of Romans.


60 posted on 05/29/2015 6:35:49 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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