"Ismail" is the Arabic form for "Ishmael," one of the two sons of Abraham. In the Bible, Isaac is the chosen son and Ishmael is an outcast who will be the ancestor of the Arab wanderers.
According to the Muslim tradition, the Bible is wrong. Allah chose Ismael as the favored son, one of the prophets, and it was Ismael whom Ibraham (Abraham) took up on the mountain to sacrifice.
Ibraham and Ismail used an axe to destroy idolatry and build the Kaaba. The sacrifice of Ismail is connected with the destruction of prostitution and impurity and also with jihad, according to this Muslim authority.
Is this the meaning of "Ismail Ax"? We don't know if Cho was a convert to Islam or not. But the pattern seems to fit as a conjecture.
Scary.
And possible.
I think the guy was just an extremely disturbed individual. At this point reading anything else into it is sheer speculation and not very productive.
“The Council, twisted by Mephisto’s power, have become extremely hard to kill. Supported by Zealots, Curates and other powerful magic users, this is a level that requires a lot of severe violence. To make matters even more fun, the Council are riddled with Unique creatures: Ismail Vilehand (extra fast, cursed), Geleb Flamefinger (extra strong, fire enchanted), and Toorc Icefist (cold enchanted, stone skin, increasing physical resistance by 80% and multiplying defense rating by three). Attempt to deal with the minions by clearing out as many of the Zealots and Lords from Travincal as possible before facing the powerful High Council. Watch out for the monsters that heal other monsters. These aren’t pesky Fallen we are talking about.”
PC Game Diablo II
The NPC Ismail carries an ax.
In the Name of @ll@h, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Prophet Ibrahim The father of the Prophets
Zamzam
Hajar went on nursing Ismail and drinking from the water until it was all used up. She became very thirsty and the child was crying. She left him on the al-Marwa hill and hurried to the nearest hill, as-Safa. She stood there and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She descended from as-Safa, crossed the valley running and reached al-Marwa hill. She stood and started looking but could see nobody. She kept running between as-Safa and al-Marwa seven times. When she reached al-Marwa for the last time, she was exhausted, she sat next to the baby. Then she heard a voice. She stood up and said: "O whoever you might be! Have you got something to help me?' She saw an angel, Angel Jibreel, digging the earth until water flowed ! She built a little basin around it. She scooped water with her hands, drank, filled her water-skin, and nursed her baby. The place from which water flowed was Zamzam. Muslims till this day drink from the holy water of Zamzam, and during Hajj they walk between as-Safa and al-Marwa seven times to commemorate this event.
Some Arabs traveling through Makkah saw birds flying around alMarwa. "They must be flying around water." They said. When they arrived at the water, they found Hajar and asked her: "Would you allow us to stay with you, and use the water from your well?" She agreed and was pleased by their company. The people sent for their families, settled there and became permanent residents. The whole valley became alive. Ismail grew up, learned Arabic, and later married a woman from amongst the Arabs.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim who had not seen his son since he was a baby, came back to Makkah to visit him. Upon arriving, he heard that Hajar had died, but Ismail was still living there. Ibrahim was yearning to see his son whom he loved and missed a lot. He saw Ismail under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw his father, Ismail rose up, hugged him and greeted him. It was the happiest moment for both father and son. But Allah wanted to put them to test, and it was a tough test indeed. During one night, Ibrahim had a dream. He came to Ismail and said: "O my son ! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you as a sacrifice to Allah, so what do you think?" They both realized that this was an order from Allah. Ismail said without hesitation: "Do what you are commanded, you shall find me very patient insha Allah." They had both submitted to the will of Allah. Ibrahim laid his son prostrate, put his forehead on the ground and directed a sharp knife towards his neck. At this very moment, Allah called him: "O Ibrahim! You have fulfilled the dream! Thus do We reward the good doers !" A big sheep was sent down from heaven to be slaughtered instead of Ismail, which Ibrahim did, and they both had a big celebration that day. This event is celebrated every year by all Muslims. It is Eid al-Adha where we slaughter the sacrificial sheep.
Ibrahim and Ismail kept on calling people to worship Allah. At that time there was no place built for the worship of Allah. Ibrahim wished there could be such a place where people would be in peace, and concentrate solely for the worship of Allah. His wish was answered when Allah ordered him to build the Sacred House, the Ka'bah. Ibrahim said to Ismail: "O Ismail, Allah has given me an order, will you help me execute it?" "Yes I will." Ismail said. "Allah has ordered me to build a house here." He said, pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it. They went towards the place and started building the foundations of the Ka'bah Ismail brought the stones and Ibrahim built the walls, and when the walls became high, Ismail brought a large stone and put it in front of his father who stood over it and carried on building, while Ismail was handing him the stones. Both of them went on building and going around the Ka'bah, saying: "O our Lord accept this service from us." When they finished the building, Angel Jibreel descended from heaven and showed Ibrahim the rituals of Hajj. Then Ibrahim stepped on the stone and called on people: "O people obey your Lord." This large stone which Ibrahim stepped on is still there to this day near the Ka'bah. It is called Makam Ibrahim.
Thus ends the story of Ibrahim, the father of the prophets. From him descended all the prophets who came later, including Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam. Ibrahim devoted all his life calling others to the True religion: Islam. Alone he stood against his people, his father, and even the mighty king of Babylon, and never flinched. Yet his method was always to gradually persuade them by bringing irrefutable proofs, that most often embarrassed those who refused to accept the Truth, but as Allah said: "Any whom Allah leaves to stray, there is none to guide !"
IslamiCity
These young kids seem to dabble in a lot of stuff; one big witch’s brew of Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, and everything but Judaism or Christianity.
Speaking of.... did anyone notice how the convocation had a Buddhist, a Muslim, a token Jew and a token Protestant (Lutheran) but no Baptist (in Virginia yet!) and no Catholic priest????
And they let the Muslim go first. I wanted to throw up when he said, in the name of almight allah, yadda yadda yadda. But nobody mentioned the name of Jesus Christ.
Here is another clue that Cho was MUSLIM.
From the violent “play” written by Cho, “Richard McBeef”:
Others have focused on the brandishing of a chainsaw during a fight and the killing of the child character at the end.
But I found something more subtle on page 6
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0417071vtech6.html
“(She peeks at John. She approaches Richard and slaps Richard in the head multiple times. TAKING OFF HER SHOES, SHE HITS HIM HARD.)” [emphasis mine]
Striking with the shoe is a Muslim sign of disdain represented by the dirt on the bottom of the shoes. Scenes filmed in Iraq have frequently shown people striking such things as toppled statues of Saddam and killed captives with the soles of shoes.
FWIW, I ran “Ismail Ax” through an anagram calculator and came up with nothing.
Dr. ISMAIL AK is a Professor of Psychiatry at a university in Turkey. His research interests include the following:
Personal Disorders, Agresivve behavior and self-mutilation, ECT, Substance-related disorders, Sexual Disorders, Forensic Psychiatry, Sleep Disorders
From the Turkish Association of Psychopharmacology website:
President-elect:
Professor Ismail AK, M.D. Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
Ismail AK is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
He is an experienced on clinical psychopharmacology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Dr. Ismail Ak is one of the authors of an article about patients with mental disorders, psychotic features, etc.:
As regards pharmacotherapies, 354 (50.2%) were given antidepressants. . . . Among antidepressants, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were 72.8%. . . .
This is an abstract of an article co-written by Dr. ISMAIL AK:
Even though all psychiatric disorders do not have the same potential with regard to committing a crime, the number of individuals having psychiatric disorders is gradually going up depending on the increase of crimes and violent behaviors committed in a society. . . . The relation between existence of psychiatric disorder and crime behavior has been significantly emphasized in several earlier studies. In conclusion, it is notable that the rates of committing crime for the individuals with psychiatric disorders are on the rise.
Dr. Ismail Ak is apparently one of the world's leading experts on the psychiatry of antisocial and suicidal behavior, psychotic and bipolar disorders, psychopharmacological therapy, etc.
The young man had been noticed to be disturbed and had been referred to counseling. Dr. Ismail Ak is an expert and author in the particular field most directly related to the guy's disorder.
So it's possible that the writing on the guy's arm said
ISMAIL AK
and the K was written in a way that people *thought* it said
ISMAIL AX
That seems more likely to me than a connection to Moby Dick or to Islamic terrorism.
This is an angle the investigators need to pursue with the school's counseling service, the killer's computer, and Dr. Ismail Ak himself.
An early thread mentioned this as a figure from American lit, which would make some sense. In those days personal names from Bible text were not uncommon.
I posted this point on another thread first!
Story of Ibrahim, Ismail, and the ax here:
http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/ibrahim.htm
ping
I know this, of course.
But as I was reading what you wrote, I wondered: What is the rest of the story?
Do the Islamic Swine think that Hagar was Ishmael's mother, or do they think Sarah was his mother? Or do they reverse the stories of these women? Or not pay any attention to the women at all? I'm asking, and too lazy to go look for myself right now.
ML/NJ
“Ismail” is the Arabic form for “Ishmael,” one of the two sons of Abraham. In the Bible, Isaac is the chosen son and Ishmael is an outcast who will be the ancestor of the Arab wanderers.
Does the bible say they will be “wanderers?” do you have the verse. thanks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1818736/posts?page=271#271
See posts 220 and 271 (and probably others) for rather astonishing photo of Cho and/or Cho lookalike with near-identical full name......at one site photo apparently taken in Indonesia shows a happy smiling “Cho” of similar age and visage.
Not Ismail’s But Ibrahim’s Ax - Chilling Parallels | Sweetness & Light
http://www.sweetness-light.com/archive/the-parable-of-ibrahims-ax-ismails-father
I believe in an islamic connection.
Diane Sawyer mentioned the Ismail Ax inscription on the 10 PM special on ABC. No clarification of meaning.
Rosebud.
Fox news just skimmed right over this. They reported they have no idea what the phase means.