Posted on 08/29/2011 5:03:11 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
It needs to be noted that Arabs had been making the pilgrimage to Mecca-to the enormous granite Ka'aba, the old shrine at the center of the city-for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, before Islam to pay tribute to these 360 gods represented inside the Ka'aba's walls. Muhammad destroyed all but two -- that of the Virgin Mary, and that of Christ. However, even those representations would eventually be banned under Islam's subsequent prohibition of images. This prohibition was not endorsed by the Prophet.
Controversies have exploded over images depicting the Prophet Muhammad, namely his depiction as a turbaned terrorist in one of a dozen cartoons by Danish artists. Muslims explicitly prohibit images of God, Muhammad, and other prophets. Islam prohibits the representation of the human figure in art.
But does the Qur'an actually ban representations of Muhammad, or others? The answer is no. There is not a single verse in the Qur'an that explicitly prohibits images of Muhammad-or of ALLAH, or God, for that matter, or any other human figure.
In any event, up until that time, Mecca's most important god was the god Hubal (an idol god worshipped in Arabia), having been placed there by Muhammad's ruling Quraysh tribe. Historians state that the Ka'aba became the repository of these 360 idols and tribal gods from all of Arabia's nomadic tribes, and Hubal was the most senior of these 360 god idols worshipped in the shrine.
(Excerpt) Read more at majorreligions.com ...
The Ka’aba IS A ROCK. You can drape it gold and surround it in the feathers of now extinct birds, but it is a ROCK. There is no inscription. There are no commandments. It is a black rock.
Period.
Gotta’ watch even “obvious” Hindu artifacts ~ they’ll be claiming the Kensington Stone eventually !
The "black" structure you see is essentially a TENT or a series of curtains hung from the top of the structure.
It should have been ‘surround with’
However, the gold is a dish and the feathers aren’t there, of course. Fabric and a structure are.
But the Ka’aba still drapes rock.
People flock to walk counterclockwise around said rock.
(I did not intend to rhyme. OK. I can chuckle now).
I’m very worried about the safety of my neighbor’s dog, as he creates a likeness of Mohammed every time that he squats.
The Arabians have had access to a storehouse of meteorites out in the Empty Quarter for hundreds of years. When they need a new one they just go get it. They seem also to have served to help them get a head start on making corrosion resistant or "stainless steel" weapons, armor, decorative screens and so on.
OK. I’ll go there. In the eastern corner. Inside the sacred mosque.
You bring up a good point about steel, though. I have always admired Damascene steel.
Pics: http://www.janubaba.com/wallpapers/images/wp_Janubaba_kaaba_2006262118324PDA9Q.jpg
http://islamgreatreligion.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/kaaba-map.jpg
The experts employed by National Geographic in an article concerning the old Damascene swords concluded that the nano-structures probably gave the steel greater resiliancy.
King Arthur had a famous sword and Joanne d'Arc found some ancient swords hidden behind the fireplace of an old building ~ they were considered rather impressive.
The main Wiki piece on the Bowie Knife passes on the thought that some have had that it resembled a pukko (a Finnish knife) in certain characteristics but they point out that a pukko is much smaller than the Bowie.
You can look up Sa'ami knife and discover the stuorra niibi which is remarkably similar to the pukko but much more like a machete in size!
There are good reasons why Bowie would copy the stuorra niibi if he'd ever seen it in action ~ and it's likely he had plenty of opportunity since it was commonly seen in the numerous Sa'ami dominated settlements on the frontier.
I have this Ezekiel sort of daydream where Ahmadinejad finally builds his atomic warhead, puts it on top of one of Iran’s new long range missiles and launches it at Israel...but the missile malfunctions and instead it heads for mecca and scores a direct hit on that rock.
At first, Mohmad tried to pass himself off as the last prophet making way for the return of Christ.
That didn’t wash. He never managed to get more than his own household into the “religion” he was making up as he went along.
Then, he approached the bandit tribes that lived in the desert around Mecca and Medina. He offered them a religion that gave full permission of “god” for theft, rape, murder and all the usual bandit practices.
That’s when Islam took off and started getting converts.
“King Arthur had a famous sword and Joanne d’Arc found some ancient swords hidden behind the fireplace of an old building ~ they were considered rather impressive.”
Get out of town! Arthur had the sword of Jeanne d’Arc? S’pose this was the sword in the stone? It was legend.
There is a recent article about someone perhaps discovering the Round Table, in Scotland, I think. That might be a dig to see. I do love rocks. Well, most of them. The black rock excepted.
Someone could do a tidy business over in the ME making talismans and jewelry out of the retired black rocks. Or new ones among the sands. Picking one up is probably punishable by death.
It's at least as possible/plausible as my scenario, where the errant missile detonates not over Mecca, but over the capital of Iran's only ally in the region, Damascus, which not so coincidentally fulfills the "Burden of Damascus" prophecy of the OT...
Who says G-d doesn't have a sense of irony?
the infowarrior
Islam prohibits the representation of the human figure in art.
Ah-ha! No wonder they're such lousy Photographers. No experience. ;-)
If one doesn't think Photography is an art, they've never taken a Photograph, just 'snapshots'.
Photographing wadded up piles of bedsheets (muslin, no percale or satin please) would be great practice for them.
That's the real question here ~ not whether or not Arthur actually had a shiny sword that could cut other swords into pieces.
And where did you get the idea Arthur had Jeanne's swords. I don't think anyone ever said that. Besides, there are numerous "ancient swords".
When did first become bandits?
Where did I get the idea?
Uh....FRiend, from your earlier post. I read it incorrectly now, didn’t I. Oops.
“King Arthur had a famous sword and Joanne d’Arc found some ancient swords hidden behind the fireplace of an old building ~ they were considered rather impressive.
....
29 posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 9:57:35 PM by muawiyah”
“So, you doubt the truth of the ancient Welsh, Galician and Breton royal annals?
That’s the real question here ~ not whether or not Arthur actually had a shiny sword that could cut other swords into pieces.”
I know some swords made out of weaker materials did/do break. That’s actually why I have admired Damascene steel. And Samurai swords/kitanas.
I don’t know if Arthur had such a sword, but it’s possible. If someone had a sword that sharp and strong, he would have been formidable. Same for a knife today. No?
You see there'd been a period of SWORD CONTROL and no one was supposed to have been just hiding swords behind the fireplace, or under it, or wherever somebody hid those swords and then informed this woman of where they were.
You may well have read some of the stories based on the Arthurian legends found in several spots in France. Those tales coincidentally have Arthur (or "Ad") as a minor character with the real hero, Myrrdin (Merlin) getting all the main action AND replanting the vinyards.
BTW, whether they are legends or actual history (where kings and grand viziers remarkably have the same names generation after generation for hundreds of years) I pay attention to them in my continuing quest for ancient bearers of my surname.
Latest discovery along that line was the discovery that the broad area of Britain that Arthur gave to the Saxons used to be a latifundia with that name! Then, one of the towns where Merlin replanted the grapes also had that name, as did a big chunk of Brittany where the Bretons originally settled.
It doesn't matter if the legends are true ~ it does matter where the people settled or moved from who carried those legends.
Then, there's Jeanne d'Arc. Her political sponsor was Rene d'Anjou. Among his numerous companions are many people who also had my surname ~ just remarkable stuff ~ unbelievable events in fact.
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