July 9, 2014

ISIS militants slegehammer the tomb of the prophet Jonah.

Even though Jonah is revered in the Muslim tradition (as well as to the Jewish and Christian tradition), the ISIS extremists oppose the veneration of tombs and relics.

24 comments:

Alexander said...

The biggest surprise here is that Daily Mail considers this "shocking".

Though even that is pretty much par for the course.

No doubt we'll soon see the streets of major Islamic cities - from London to Jakarta, full of moderate Muslims protesting against these fringe extremists who by no means represent the most serene of faiths. ISIS, after all, is the first and only group to both claim service to Allah and seek the wholesale destruction of cultural monuments unrelated to their orthodoxy.

Mark O said...

"Opposing" apparently means obliterating. Good to know.

Mark said...

Supposed tomb of Jonah.

Bob said...

"And the whale he was regurgitated from."

Drago said...

Crack will be along in a moment to explain how we have much to learn from our non-white, non-Christian, non-western betters.

Original Mike said...

Heck of a job, Barry!

Marc in Eugene said...

Antiquities in the Mosul museum are at risk, too. From the Daily Best the other day, http://ow.ly/yXyGj.

And Conflict Antiquities' latest update on the situation in Mosul and Iraq, http://ow.ly/yXycE.

Anonymous said...

When the impulses towards nationalism in some societies weaken enough, or when the State and/or ruling autocracies and regimes lose power enough, creating anarchic situations, these Islamist militias seem to fill in now don't they?

With high birth rates, less open societies and deep fault lines between modernity, the Western concept of the State and the often conflicting requirements of Islam, many autocrats and some crumbling military dictatorships can't handle these folks.

It happened in Iran in 1979, to some extent, also with the Taliban destroying everything in thir path and harboring Al Qaeda in AfPak, also in Yemen, radicalism festered and grew in Egyptian prisons, in lawless Somalia, and now with ISIS in Iraq.

We've played our part, to be sure, and have big parts left to play, for better or worse, but the Islamist folks have a global ideology and ambitions, brtual, barbarian tactics and methods.

They rape, torture, extort and run sets and guns for money in many cases.

The existence of these Islamist zones create immediate and direct security threats to nearly everyone else in the World.

***Some holy warriors in the West are heeding the call to join the front lines, radicalize, gain training, contacts and then...what...come back over here to work at Wal-Mart in Seattle, drive a taxi in Minneapolis?

tim maguire said...

How come what was good enough for the old Caliphs is not good enough for the new Caliphs?

Mohammed not Islamic enough for them?

Laurel said...

Bastards. I say this as a Christian who just wants the buried dead left alone (not venerated).

chillblaine said...

They're just being iconoclastic. Besides, the more temperate and moderate voices of their faith will be along any moment now to denounce this behavior.

tim in vermont said...

This is how the Crusades got started. Muslim's destroying sacred Christian sites in the "Holy Lands."

Can't wait til they get to Egypt.

Crimso said...

"How come what was good enough for the old Caliphs is not good enough for the new Caliphs?"

You have to understand. The Koran is like over a hundred years old.

tim in vermont said...

Destruction being so much simpler than construction, weapons being so much more capable of destruction and easier to operate than ever before, and an ideology that thrives on destruction, means that maybe in a couple centuries, bin Laden will be viewed as a hero by a world we could only view as post apocalyptic, but which some view as Utopia.

Some say that the Holy Roman empire was destroyed by the simple tactic of cutting of its supply of papyrus from Egypt(Think EMP for a similar impact to the west) and the denial of open trade on the Mediterranean by unorganized bands of pirates, and the destruction of the undefended breadbasket of Rome by roving bands of raiders, and you have a recipe for the defeat of the West.

George M. Spencer said...

I look forward to reading news articles describing the Saudi king and his government as "extremists."

This is the long-standing policy of the Saudi regime which has destroyed all manner of Islamic and non-Islamic ancient sites throughout Arabia for exactly the same reason. This is part of a policy to oppress non-Saud tribes, such as Hashemite-oriented tribes in the western part of that kingdom.

Nothing new about this, really.

Douglas B. Levene said...

This is what the Wahabi Moslems do. Look at what they did in Afghanistan, destroying one of the great wonders of the world. http://www.npr.org/2006/12/13/6616167/preserving-memory-of-afghanistans-giant-buddhas.

On the other hand, the most populous Moslem country in the world, Indonesia, had a contested, democratic election yesterday and is the site of one of the greatest Buddhist ancient sites, Borobodur, which is a prime tourist attraction for the country. http://www.borobudurpark.com/.

Ironclad said...

The Saudi's have been doing this for years in Mecca and Medina - destroying ALL relics from the past to make sure no one can "challenge" their version of history with pesky archeological facts. They also destroy old churches they find there (from pre-Islamic times - I have seen that personally. But no one makes a peep about it.

Buddha statues at Bamiyan. The coverings of the Pyramids in Egypt (they gave up trying to tear it down). The sand that covered the Egyptian ruins protected them for hundreds of years. If these idiots get there all of the treasures will be destroyed.

And it all boils down to their perverted theology plainly written in the Quran. But keep putting on those "coexist" stickers on your cars - just like hashtags, they do SO much to change these people's minds.

Rusty said...

Why are treating people as anything other than deranged murderers?

Alex said...

Now tell me why I should care. I still have 1000 channels on my TIVO.

Sunslut7 said...

Another fine example of 'Islamic Protestantism'. Liberals wanted a reformation in Islam and they have got it. The jihadist meme is the 'Protestant Reformation'; but with cell phones, AK- 47s and pick-up trucks.

It looks like we are in a time compression dilation field so the next stop may be the Islamic version of Wars of Religion and the 30 Years war fused into one mega-clusterfark of conflict.

I don't think anyone will 'win' this contest. Especially when nukes get introduced into the mix. If the POTUS was skilled like Nixon he would have built a Crusading Alliance of China, Russia, The USA, the EU, Israel, India and Japan to jointly destroy the armies of Islam before they can get organized and unified. As soon as these nations realize that they are the targets for Islams long-range expansion plan then the sooner this jihadist plague dies off. Unfortunately we are stuck with the Dear Leader.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Religion of Pieces

tim in vermont said...

"I don't think anyone will 'win' this contest. "

If one defines "winning" as ruling over the rubble, I have to disagree with you.

The Godfather said...

Jonah is one of my favorite books of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures). Everyone knows the whale ("great fish") part, but when Jonah finally was forced to do what God told him to do, tell the people of Nineveh that if they didn't change their ways God would destroy them -- they DID change their ways, and God let them alone.

This p-o-ed Jonah in a big way, because he had traveled half way around the known world to tell the Ninevites that God was going to destroy them, AND HE DIDN'T!

And God said, Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?

It seems there may be hope for us yet.

The Drill SGT said...

"ISIS militants believe giving special veneration to tombs and relics is against the teachings of Islam."

Should we assume that ISIS will take a hammer to the Kaaba and the black stone if any ever get to Mecca?

or is it only other people's relics?