I do. I much prefer the smoking and drinking backsliding Muslims.
IMHO, the "devout" Muslims in the USA are the vanguard of the jihad, the scouts, the operators of safehouses.
Posted on 07/23/2005 6:13:24 PM PDT by 4.1O dana super trac pak
Congressman John D. Dingell (MI-15), the Dean of the House of Representatives, condemned the recent comments made by Representative Tom Tancredo (CO-06) as “ignorant” and “inexcusable” for a Member of Congress. During a recent interview on Tampa radio station WFLA-AM, Mr. Tancredo said that the US might “take out (Muslim) holy sites” in response to another terrorist attack on the US. When asked if he meant Mecca, Congressman Tancredo responded “yeah.”
Said Dingell, “First of all, suggesting the bombing of a holy site of any religion is simply inexcusable for an elected official in the United States Congress and an anathema to the millions of people of faith across our nation. To even suggest an attack on Mecca shows Congressman Tancredo has no understanding of the true nature of Islam and the peaceful Muslims living in the Arab world. The holy sites of all religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and all others – are the most sacred and hallowed places for their respective followers and to suggest that any one of these sites be bombed is clearly an attack on that religion and its followers. Mr. Tancredo’s reprehensible attack on Islam is ignorant and offensive.
“We must stand united and strong against terrorism, but these are exactly the kind of careless comments that Muslim extremists feed off of and use to recruit new terrorists. To suggest that we hold an entire religion responsible for the actions of a minority of religious extremists - in effect declare a holy war against Islam - is outrageous and plays right into the hands of those very radicals. There is no better motivation to get someone to fight an apparent enemy than to threaten what they love most and are willing to defend at any cost – whether it is their family, homeland, or their holy land. I only hope that his statement won’t be used on extremist websites as justification for a ‘holy war’ against the United States and our allies.
“America was founded by people who believed strongly both in God and in the free expression of religion; that solid foundation remains and is part of what makes us the greatest nation in the world. Mr. Tancredo’s comments --while he has the absolute right to make such remarks-- are contradictory to freedom and the values of this nation. I call on the Republican Leadership in Congress and the President to condemn these comments and make clear that this is an action that the United States would never lower itself to.”
If Allah could not stop the”infidel” bombs, and Mecca was turned into a crater, this would constitute absolute proof that Muhammed was a fraud and a liar, and that the moon-god rock had no power after all."
This sounds like a excellent reason to bomb Mecca.
Think of the billions of lives saved after they all dumped Islam.
If you want to break the backs of muslim fundamentalism you need to incite a cultural revolution to rip apart the degenerate muslim culture from within."
And how many times has this happened in Islam?
lets send Dangle to Ramadi to open up a bagel shop
boy is Dingell stupid.
Exactly. Hence, Sharm el Sheik.
I do. I much prefer the smoking and drinking backsliding Muslims.
IMHO, the "devout" Muslims in the USA are the vanguard of the jihad, the scouts, the operators of safehouses.
Islamisists would NEVER be able to overcome the visible destruction of allah's omnipotent black stone.
Your tagline also announces your total ignorance of Islam.
Mr. Dingell is a very liberal Democrat & I apologize in advance for anything he says. He's from Michigan.
The black stone and the Kaaba ARE Islam! That is why they pray TO it, 5X a day, and must make the Hajj to worship it in person.
Mecca, the Grand Mosque, the Kaaba, the black stone: they ARE Islam!
There is NOTHING in Western understanding which compares or can make an analogy. When I hear Westerners compare Muslim devotion to the black stone to Catholics and the Vatican, or Communists to Lenin's Tomb, I just shake my head in awe at the level of ignorance.
Islamisists would NEVER be able to overcome the visible destruction of allah's omnipotent black stone.They'd have a much larger chunk of glass to worship, a symbol of martyrdom on a massive scale. To think that they would abandon their faith is beyond reasonable....that they would instead become more fanatical is beyond a doubt.
-Eric
Well, if you believe that, then his statement makes more sense. I don't believe for a minute that every islamic terrorist group would be deterred from nuking us if they thought we'd nuke Mecca. Some wacky imam would claim it was the ultimate matyrdom necessary to start the final jihad or something.
I also don't believe that all of the terrorists are devout moslems. I'm sure many are, but I suspect moslem extremism is just a convenient cover for some of them who just hate the west for more secular reasons. Saddam and Assad are perfect examples of that. For someone like that, a nuke on Mecca would be like hitting the jackpot. They could care less about the religious implications, but would love the outpouring of anti-Americanism.
Much better to scare the crud out of the governments by threatening to nuke any that tolerate the presence of terrorist groups on their soil. Secular or not, no government wants to get its capital city nuked. Especially if they're in it.
For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Mecca is required as one of the Five Pillars of the faith. In recent years, about two to three million have gathered for the major pilgrimage or 'Hajj', during the Muslim month of Dhu'l-Hijjah, and many more perform the minor pilgrimage or 'Umrah', which may be performed at any time of year. Few non-Muslims have ever seen the rites and rituals of the Hajj as non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering Mecca and Madinah.
The focal point of Mecca is the Ka'bah, the "House of God" believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, and is covered in a gold-embroidered black fabric. The Pilgrims circle the Ka'bah seven times and may also try to touch or kiss its cornerstone, the Black Stone. Pilgrims then drink from the well of Zamzam. The water of Zamzam is believed to have special properties. Few pilgrims return from the Hajj without a large plastic bottle of the Zamzam water.
During the Hajj the pilgrims travel to Mina, a small village, where the Devil, symbolised by stone columns, is ritually stoned. In some years the crowds have crushed people to death during this ritual. They then proceed to the Hill of Arafat (sometimes called the Mountain, but it is only 70 meters high), a site for prayers, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final Sermon.
The importance of Mecca for Muslims is inestimable. All Muslims, wherever they are on the earth, are required to pray five times a day in the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca (located at 21‹ 25Œ 24 N 39‹ 49Œ 24 E). The direction of prayer is known as the qiblah.
Muslims regard the al-Masjid al-Haram (or 'The Sacred Mosque') as the holiest place on Earth. Both the mosque and the city itself are strictly off-limits to non-Muslims.
While a revered holy site to Muslims, Mecca is sometimes viewed as a target by others. For example, in July 2005, during a radio interview, US Congressman Tom Tancredo said that the U.S. could "take out" Islamic holy sites such as Mecca if Muslim fundamentalist terrorists attacked the United States with nuclear weapons [[1]] [[2]].
The Black Stone (called Al-Hajarul Aswad in Arabic) is one of the most sacred holy relics in Islam. It is roughly 50 cm in diameter. It is found in the Kaaba, a sacred site in Islam. It is the cornerstone of one of the four corners of the religious construction. It can be recognized instantly because it is surrounded by a silver band.
The Stone is actually broken into several pieces, damage which occurred when the stone was stolen in 930 C.E. Ismaili (Qarmatian) warriors sacked Mecca and carried the Black Stone away. It was returned twenty-two years later. In the process, the Black Stone was cracked. It is now held together by a silver band, which is fastened by silver nails to the Stone.
Some Muslims would regard the Stone as "just a stone". When Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph, came to kiss the stone, he said, in front of all assembled: "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither harm anyone nor benefit anyone. Had I not seen Allahfs Messenger kissing you, I would not have kissed you."
Other Muslims believe that this stone fell from the sky during the time of Adam, and that it has the power to cleanse worshippers of their sins by absorbing them into itself. They say that the Black Stone was once a pure and dazzling white; it has turned black because of the sins it has absorbed over the years.
Still others will say only that the stone can erase the believer's minor sins. On the Day of Judgement, the Stone will testify before God (Allah) in favor of those who kissed it.
The stone is said to have been found by Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael (Ismail), who were searching for stones with which to build the Kabaa. They recognized its worth and made it one of the building's cornerstones.
Physical attributes of the Kaaba
The Kaaba is a large masonry building in the shape of a cube (in fact, the name Kaaba comes from the Arabic word meaning cube). It is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The structure is 50 ft. high (15.24 m), 35 ft. (10.67 m) wide, and 40 ft. long (12.19 m) long. It is covered by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This cloth is known as the kiswa; it is replaced yearly. e of the cornerstones of the Kaaba is the Hajar el Aswad (the sacred "Black Stone"), which is presumed by most sources to be a meteorite remnant.
Inside the Kaaba, there is a marble floor. The interior walls are clad with marble half-way to the roof; tablets with Quranic inscriptions are inset in the marble. The top part of the walls is covered with a green cloth decorated with gold embroidered Quranic verses. Lamps hang from a cross beam; there is also a small table for incense burners. The building is otherwise empty. The caretakers perfume the marble cladding with scented oil, the same oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside.
History of the Kaaba
At the time of Muhammad, his tribe, the Quraysh was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine to numerous Arabian tribal gods. Desert tribesmen, the Bedouin, and inhabitants of other cities would join the annual pilgimage, to worship and to trade. Caravan-raiding, common during the rest of the year, was suspended during the pilgrimage; this was a good time, then, for travel and trade.
Muhammad, preaching the doctrines of one God (in Arabic, Allah) and the threat of the Day of Judgment, did not at first have much success in the city of Mecca. The Quraysh persecuted and harassed him continuously, and he and his followers eventually fled to Medina, in 622 C.E. After this pivotal flight, or Hijra, the Muslim community became a political and military force. In 630 C.E., Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca as conquerors, and the Kaaba was re-dedicated as an Islamic house of worship. Henceforth the annual pilgrimage was to be a Muslim rite, the Hajj.
According to the Qur'an, the Kaaba was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael [3]. Academic scholars will only say that it is a pre-Islamic house of native Arab worship. According to some counts, the Kaabah has been reconstructed or undergone major repairs twelve times. The last reconstruction was done in 1996.
At the lower southeast corner of the Kaaba at a height of about five feet is "The Black Stone." As Muslim worshippers circumambulate the Kaaba, they will touch and/or kiss the Black Stone. Likely a portion of an ancient meteorite, it is revered as a symbol of that line of Abraham's progeny (Ishmael) that was rejected by Israel. To support this belief, Muslims will offer a compelling interpretation of Psalm 118.22-23 in the Hebrew scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this is the LORD'S doing. . ." (the traditional Judeo-Christian interpretation of this is that the "stone" is Israel herself).
When Muhammad returned victorious to Mecca in 630 CE, he destroyed the idols in the Kaaba, proclaiming Allah as the one God. He sanctioned the kissing of the Black Stone, declared Mecca the Holy City of Islam, and decreed that no unbeliever should ever be allowed to set foot on its soil. Hence, only Muslims are allowed at the Great Mosque of Mecca during the pilgrimage of the month of Dhu al-Hijah.
Muslims believe this 7" tall holy black stone was once pure white, and that it has literally turned black from absorbing all of the sins of all of the believers, going back to the Angel Gabriel, Abraham and Ishmael!
Read what I've posted about Muslim beliefs concerning Mecca, below.
Travis sums it up way better than I can.
Mecca IS Islam, in a way it is difficult for Westerners to comprehend. Two of the "five pillars of Islam" are based on worshipping that black moon-god rock called Al-Hajarul Aswad in Arabic. (5x daily prayer to the moon-rock, and the Haj or pilgrimage to visit and worship the moon-rock in person.) Muslims see the black stone not as symbolic, but as a physical manifestation of Allah on earth, a chunk of Allah fallen to earth. The black stone has the power to suck all of the sins and evil out of men performing the Hajj pilgrimage. (Interesting to note that Islam’s holy of holies is packed with all of the sins of all of the Muslims who ever made the Hajj.)
Devout Muslims believe that the black stone represents all of Allah's power and glory. They believe, sincerely, that if the USA launched rockets at Mecca, Allah would swat them away like flies, or turn them around to hit New York or Washington.
If Allah could not stop the”infidel” bombs, and Mecca was turned into a crater, this would constitute absolute proof that Muhammed was a fraud and a liar, and that the moon-god rock had no power after all.
This would mean the end of the entire cult of Islam. Their cult could not adapt to or respond to or overcome complete, visible proof that Allah was powerless to stop the infidel weapons.
Us or them? Easy choice.
Right on. Peaceful Muslims???? I guess he believes in unicorns too.
As you are carrying water for the cult of the moon-"god"...
Let's not forget that they shot the Pope. It was spun to make folks believe that agca was a right wing turk. He was an islamic funamentalist.
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