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It was reportedly scrawled in red ink on the arm of the Virginia Tech gunman after his shooting rampage that left him and 32 others dead. It was written on an overnight postage Seung-Hui Cho sent between the two shootings. .....a variation of it appeared on a file ....sent to NBC that included Cho's rambling, hate-filled video, incoherent written messages and photos. While there's no clear explanation of its meaning, the Internet is abuzz with speculation about the meaning of the phrase "Ismail Ax" on Cho's arm, "A. Ishmael" on the package and "axishmiel" on the file.

This morning I read that the Virginia Tech shooter died with the name Ismail Ax written in red ink on his arm. The mainstream press doesn't seem to have a clue as to what this might mean. To quote Indiana Jones, "Didn't any of you guys go to Sunday School?" The story starts with a man named Abraham. He is the father of the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians. He was born in Iraq, the son of a wealthy idol manufacturer. He came to believe that there was only one true God and, according to tradition, took up his...

There has much discussion over the meaning of the words "Ismail Ax" which were discovered written in red on the arm of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Sueng Hui when his body was found. One of the most convincing and reasonable explanations I have read comes from an article by Jerry Bowyer entitled, Ismail Ax: The Shooter Was Another 'Son of Sacrifice'Without going into the details of Bowyer's explanation, in his final paragraph Bowyer discusses one of Cho's writings and concludes, "Cho Sueng-hui cum Ismail Ax hated the American society to which he had been brought 15 years earlier. His play...

The disturbing and cryptic video clips, photographs and manifesto the killer Cho Seung Hui sent to NBC News instantly reminded me of the taped testimonials suicide bombers leave behind to justify their crimes. It looked so familiar -- an angry young man dressed in battle clothing preach a message full of hate in front of a drab background. I have seen many of these videos over the years in the Middle East. The attackers always stress a desire to battle injustice and moral turpitude; they all believe they are avengers of the righteous. The videos are also replete with religious...

The following are ties Cho had to Islam. They are not offered as proof of anything, but merely to prompt consideration or disproof of any links. Cho’s father lived in Saudi Arabia as a young, single man. His sister works for a State Department contractor which oversees billions of dollars of aid for Iraq. Previously, she worked in Bangkok. (1) Both of Cho’s plays are about sexual abuse. (2) Bangkok is a city famous for its sex trade, which caters especially to Muslim businessmen. Cho’s rampage was on Holocaust Remembrance day. Although probably a happenstance, one of the professors he...

What does the word “Ismail Ax” on an arm of the Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-hui mean? The Chicago Tribune on Wednesday suggested a reference to the Koran, where Ismail is a son of Abraham (or Ibrahim in Arabic). In Islam, Ismail destroyed idols using an ax with his father after converting to monotheism. In that case, “Ismail Ax” can be interpreted as the punishment of God for unjust acts. In Christianity and Judaism, Ismail is an outcast. Abraham had Ismail by a slave because his wife Sarah was infertile. But later he expelled the slave and Ismail to the...

CHICAGO — All at once, the world went searching for the meaning of "Ismail Ax." Those two words, written in red ink on one arm of Cho Seung-Hui, the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student suspected of the campus shooting spree, set off a massive Internet hunt by the public Tuesday for clues to what might have motivated the nation's worst mass killings. Almost as soon as the Chicago Tribune's Web site reported that detail, which then was picked up by news organizations around the world, the blogosphere filled with theories about the possible meaning of "Ismail Ax." Hundreds of bloggers speculated...

First it was Johnny Muhammad, now it was Cho Sueng Hui aka Ismail Ax. Precisely how many mass shooters have to turn out to have adopted Muslim names before we get it? Islam has become the tribe of choice of those who hate American society. I'm not talking about people who grew up as Muslims, confident and secure in their faith, good fathers, sons and neighbors. I'm talking about the angry, malignant, narcissist loners who want to reject their community utterly, to throw off their 'slave name' and represent the downtrodden of the earth by shooting their friends and neighbors....

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...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

There are many theories being proposed as to the meaning of the words -- ISMAIL AX found written in red ink on the inside of one of Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior’s arms, the gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead. See: VA. TECH KILLER REVEALED. I would propose for consideration that the ISMAIL AX may have reference to Ismaili - a member of a branch of Shiism that follows a living imam and is noted for esoteric philosophy. It may take a while before the motives are known and if there is...

For those of you still searching for meaning in this phrase, written in ink on Cho Seung-Hui's arm and also how he signed his infamous note, it starts with the story of Ibrahim's Ax (Ibrahim = Abraham): After making sure that nobody was left in town, Ibrahim went towards the temple armed with an ax. Statues of all shapes and sizes were sitting there adorned with decorations. Plates of food were offered to them, but the food was untouched. "Well, why don't you eat? The food is getting cold." He said to the statues, joking; then with his ax he...

All at once, the world went searching for the meaning of "Ismail Ax". Those two words, written in red ink on one arm of Cho Seung Hui, the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student suspected of the campus shooting spree, set off a massive internet hunt by the public for clues to what might have motivated the nation's worst mass killings. Almost as soon as the Chicago Tribune's website reported that detail, which was then picked up by news organisations around the world, the blogosphere filled with theories about the possible meaning of "Ismail Ax." Hundreds of bloggers speculated on a link...

ISMAIL AKDr. 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...

Ismail

You are like Ibrahim ... a great fighter against idolatry. ... The axe was in his hand! . . . Ibrahim, the fighter of idolatry, came out of the house of "Azar", the idol-maker of his tribe. He broke the idols; he broke Nimrood. He fought against ignorance, oppression and passiveness. ... You are like Ibrahim! Fight . . . This teaches you to be ready to jump into the fire for Jihad! ... You are like Ibrahim! Sacrifice your Ismail. ... PUT THE BLADE AT YOUR SON'S THROAT SO THAT YOU MAY TAKE THE BLADE FROM THE EXECUTIONER'S HAND!...

Virginia Tech police on Tuesday morning identified Cho, 23, as the man whose body had been found in Norris Hall, site of the worst shooting spree in American history, lying next to two semi-automatic pistols. He apparently had scrawled the words "ISMAIL AX" on the inside of one arm, according to the Chicago Tribune, which may be a reference to the Islamic account of the Biblical sacrifice of Abraham.

He left his father after he lost hope to convert him to the right path, and directed his efforts towards the people of the town, but they rejected his call and threatened him. By Allah, he said, I shall plot a plan to destroy their idols. He knew that a big celebration was coming soon, where everybody would leave town for a big feast on the riverbank. After making sure that nobody was left in town, Ibrahim went towards the temple armed with an ax. Statues of all shapes and sizes were sitting there adorned with decorations. Plates of food...

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The suspected gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, Cho Seung-Hui, was a troubled 23-year-old senior from South Korea who investigators believe left an invective-filled note in his dorm room, sources say. The note included a rambling list of grievances and ended with the words "Ismail Ax" in red ink on the inside of one of his arms.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The suspected gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, Cho Seung-Hui, was a troubled 23-year-old senior from South Korea who investigators believe left an invective-filled note in his dorm room, sources say. The note included a rambling list of grievances, according to sources. They said Cho also died with the words "Ismail Ax" in red ink on one of his arms. Cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women. A note believed to have been written by Cho...