Posted on 04/18/2007 5:35:28 PM PDT by jdm
Apr 18, 2007 — "Ismail-Ax." These two words were scribbled in red ink on the arm of Seung-hui Cho, the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student who killed 32 others and then himself in a bloody rampage Monday.Cho was an English major and poet whose writings had raised eyebrows in the past. But what could "Ismail-Ax" mean? Is the phrase spiritual, poetic or just a bizarre expression of a troubled student?
Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. EDT
One "Nightline" viewer recognized "Ismail-Ax" from a poem he had read by Drum Hadley, the 1960s beat poet. The poem is called the "The Goat Ranchers" and in it Hadley, under the pseudonym Yonder Ridgeline, writes about "Ishmael's Ax."
Here's the excerpt:
Went where they'd herded goats when they were kids,
Went where they were lovers,
Went where they were married here, those fifty years ago.
Traces of Ishmael's ax on the scarred trunks of the cedar trees,
Crossing the canyons and winding arroyos.Do you know the meaning behind "Ismail-Ax?" Let us know on the "Nightline" message board.
While some may see a parallel, this poem does not have a disastrous ending like the tragedy in Virginia. Hadley writes of a couple, married 50 years, reflecting on their time together.
Others recognize the name Ismail for its religious significance . A similar name, Ishmael, is widely known as the name of the eldest son of Abraham, father of the Israelites. He appears in the Christian, Muslim and Islamic faiths, and his character is both revered and criticized throughout all three religions.
According to Strong's Dictionary, the name "Ishmael" literally translates as "God will hear."
With the origin of "Ismail-Ax" still unknown, the Internet has erupted with people trying to decipher its true meaning. Perhaps they hope that unlocking the secret behind "Ismail-Ax" will explain how a troubled kid could commit an act so terrible.
LOL!
He seems to have been fixated by religious icons and biblical testimony and stories.
Most likely he mixed much of it together to form distorted and warped and wrong ideas to support his violent nature.
I wish I understood why nuts like him are often drawn to religion (?) and believe God is commanding them to commit violence, etc.
The crew on Brit’s show tonight were quick to cut Charles Krauthammer off tonight when he pointed out the similarity of the killer’s video to the videos that the jihadis always film to be played after they blow themselves up. And his disparaging remarks about Christianity certainly would fit the scenario of jihadi influence.
That's what I've thought. Folks have been trying to connect this with terrorism. I've thought from the beginning it's just a case of a sad, angry young man who wanted to hurt others as much as he felt hurt.
shh, don’t tell anyone. Hubby’s getting annoying . . .
Ismail is the transliteration of the Arabic or Muslim version of the name. Ibrahim is the Arabic version of Abraham.
There still is some question whether Ismail was a Muslim convert or not, but it is the likeliest explanation for his putting it on his arm.
Apparently he wrote it at least three times, on his arm, in his suicide note, and on the return address of his package to MSNBC.
Even if he was not Muslim, it would appear that took an interest in the Muslim version of the story of Ismail. In that version, Ibrahim and Ismail use axes to destroy the pagan temples, before they build the Kaaba. This is interpreted by Muslims as an early form of Jihad, destroying idolatry and prostitution before setting up the Temple of Allah.
In the Muslim version Ismail is the chosen son, not the outcast. Allah tells Ibrahim to sacrifice Ismail, not Isaac. Ismail is a key prophet, the chosen son, who is the progenitor of the Arabic race.
As the chosen son and as the destroyer of idolatry, it is a much more likely symbol to be on a killer’s arm than the name of an obscure Turkish psychiatrist. Why would a killer put a psychiatrist’s name on his arm, when he could identify with a prophet, a jihadist, a destroyer of idols and prostitutes?
The return address on the package he sent to NBC was from A. Ishmael, not Ismail. Maybe the writing on his arm was smeared, but this is written by him and is clearly this spelling.
The cite from the poem does not appear to have much in common with what he did. His hope for what would have been if he had managed to get in a relatinoship with that girl? Maybe he cribbed it for a lecture?
I would add that in memory of Allah’s substitution of a sheep as a sacrifice, instead of Ibraham’s son Ismail, that led to the Muslim custom of sacrificing a sheep every year. So when the British government argues about whether they should pass a law against Muslims sacrificing sheep in bathtubs during the Festival of Sacrifice, they are dealing with one of the required rituals of Islam going back to this story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Adha
Kazinski did the same thing. Used return addresses of other places than where he was. One of them was the address of the CEO of a high tech company.
Maybe he wrote it on his arm to help him remember it or somesuch. My teenage boys come home with stuff written on their hands and forearms all the time.
Abraham takes an ax and chops down all the idols except the one of his (illegitimate) son, Ishmail.
***In the play that this guy wrote, the main character was a stepson who felt cheated, perhaps that’s the significance. This guy was pretty deranged, so we might not ever know. I no longer think the Dr. Ismail AK thing makes as much sense, it was coinkidinkie. He wrote “A. Ishmael” on the package sent to NBC.
Very nice find
"Yo ... HO .... You got the money?"
Ishmael was Abraham’s son by a concubine; Isaac was his son by his wife Sarah. KEY POINT: God’s covenant was made with Abraham and extended through Isaac, not Ishmael.
**********
I am glad that someone said this.
God promiced Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. They begin to get old and they feared thier chances of having a child was passing. Instead of having faith in Gods promice, they decided to take matters in thier own hands. Sarah brought thier ‘handmaiden’ for Abraham to be with, so she could bare them a son. She had Abrahams son and they named him Ishmael. Then Sarah got pregnant even though she was old. Sarah and Abraham decided to cast Ishmeal and his Mother out. His Mother was arab. God gave all the promices to Issac, not Ishmael. Issac is Jewish. Ishmael is arab. Issac is the true son that God promiced to Abraham and Sarah.
To this day this is why the arabs are jealous of the Jews.Its the reason for the everlasting hatred they have for the Jews. They both claim Abraham as thier Father. Even though Ishmael is from Abraham, God gave all the promices to Issac not Ishmael.
You forgot the “nappy haired” part!
Sporting a freshly shaved head also. I wonder if he doused himself with perfume that morning?
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