If he had recorded, “Fight to the last breath, even with sharpened bamboo spears,” they would have. Just as Jap soldiers hid in Pacific island jungles for decades after WW2, because their “standing orders” were to continue to resist. Even in the 1970s, some of them had to be coaxed out of hiding by old NCOs in airplanes overhead on loudspeakers. Otherwise, no surrender.
However, the Muslims have no Emperor or Pope to obey. Nobody could “order” Muslims to stand down, the way Hirohito ordered the Japanese.
The Muslim critical node is different. It's three cities, Mecca, Medina and Q’om (for the Shiites, in Iran.) Take out those three cities, and POOF! No more Islam. There cannot be any alteration to the eternal “Five Pillars of Islam.” Two of the five pillars depend on the physical existence of the black moon rock in Mecca. No moon rock, no Mecca, no Islam. Islam is “the perfect and complete religion” in their minds. Allahu Akbar means, “Our god is greatest.” The black moon rock is the physical manifestation of that god, the hard drive of Islam.
No black moon rock, no Islam.
“We're going to find out, sooner or later, if Abdul will pray, to a glowing crater.”
Actually, it is only the Sunnis who have no central authority to whom they look (since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, until then the Ottoman Sultan had been the Caliph for centuries). The Iranian Shi’ites who are loyal to the government would stand down at the order of Ayatollah Khamenei. Those who aren’t probably regard Ayatollah Al Sistani of Iraq as their point of reference, and although he very cleverly words all of his pronouncements to avoid the appearance of siding with infidels against Muslims, he has been objectively pro-American since our invasion of Iraq. The ones who follow him wouldn’t really be a problem.
Actually Q’om is not that important a city to anyone. It may function as the clerical capital of Iran, but all of the major holy sites of Shia Islam are located in Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Syria (the most important being Najaf and Karbala in Iraq). The mosque in Q’om is maybe 15th or 16th in importance to Twelver Sh’ites.
So if Israel takes out the place where their idol abides, all Israel has to fear is sheer anger/vengeance rather than an enemy’s devotion to a murderous religion?
What are they waiting for?
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Back just after 9/11 there was an article which interviewed some ME hardcore Islamists. They were asked what if Mecca were nuked and the Rock destroyed, would they still hold the faith?
They answered that allah is the supreme and only god, but if the rock were destroyed, then allah was not the supreme god, and so would not be followed any longer.
Most said they would convert to Christianity, some to Judaism, others to atheists.
Even that wasn't comletely effective.
The surrender announcement had been recorded, and was scheduled to be broadcast to the nation the next day.
There was, however, a faction within the army that didn't want to surrender; they attempted a coup to find and destroy the recording.
Fortuitously, there was a formation of B-29s heading north on another bombing mission, and the Japanese did a blackout in response. The blackout kept the coup members from finding the recording, and it was broadcast the next day.
Saving the lives of tens of millions of Japanese.
The Last Mission: The Secret History Of World War II's Final Battle