BNN provides English-language US and world news, analysis and opinion from all over the Internet. We strive for high standards, ethical behavior, and the presentation of multiple responsible points of view.
|
Get More Traffic For Your Blog! Blog Explosion brings hundreds of interested visitors to your blog - without costing you a cent. BNN News Archive Page |
Friday, August 11, 2006
Beware the 22nd of August; Iranian Mad Hatters May be up to Something I think we can all be fairly certain that the answer isn't going to be anything along the lines of, "Okay, we thought about it long and hard and we've decided that, hey, the West is right after all. We got no business monkeying around with nuclear technology." But what's so potentially alarming about that specific date? Well, it's a funny thing, if by "funny," one means apocalyptically deranged. It seems that August 22 has great Islamic significance, particularly this year. But I'll defer to the explanation by Bernard Lewis, renowned Middle Eastern and Islamic scholar, and professor emeritus at Princeton. The following is taken from a column he wrote that appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal. "This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind." Now, most normal, rational people will react to all this by saying something like, "But that's just crazy!" Well, yes, of course it is, but despite what Mike Wallace would have you believe after having interviewed and become enamored with Ahmadinejad, so are the people controlling Iran. Lewis provided another example in his column of why it might be prudent to take their craziness seriously. It's a quote found in Iranian schoolbooks that was made by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Remember him? Yeah, he was that humorless, stern-looking, bearded guy in charge over there. Which humorless, stern-looking, bearded guy in charge? The one who pulled off the 1979 Iranian Revolution and later slapped a fatwa on Salman Rushdie's head because of his novel, "The Satanic Verses." Anyway,the quote goes like this: "I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another's hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours." It's what you call a win-win situation, at least in the mind of your average Iranian ayatollah. Either we, the infidels, all end up dead and the Islamic loonies get to rule the world, or they, the Islamic loonies, all get martyred and go straight to heaven. I know which scenario I'm hoping for. The problem for Israel -- and perhaps for all the West -- is that there is no apparent way to deter people whose actions may be guided by such lunacy. Even though it's a lead pipe cinch that if Iran were to pull some kind of cataclysmic attack against Israel, Iran would be destroyed in the retaliatory response, that prospect may not be enough to deter the lunatics in power in Iran. So, should we expect something that radical to happen on the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427 -- er, I mean, August 22, 2006? I don't know, but I've mentally marked the date on my calendar and I'm not making any special plans for that particular Tuesday. Greg Strange provides conservative commentary with plenty of acerbic wit on the people, politics, events and absurdities of our time. See more at his website: http://www.greg-strange.com/ Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Greg Strange at 8:10 AM |
Subscribe to BNN and get a daily bulletin of all our news postings. Interested in writing for BNN? Want information on our news service? Contact The Editor Writing for BNN BNN Editorial Policies Previous Posts
|
2 Comments:
I agree with everything that you have wrote. I too have been searching the internet to understand the importance of August 22nd and Islam. I have to say that Ahmadinejad is a freaking wacko but like you said I wouldn't make plans either. And if Iran does attack Israel, then that is the precursor to World War III.
I hate to be such a spoiler to your "end of world" fantasy but...
August 22, 2006 is the 31st day of Mordad in the Persian Calendar. The Iranian's will respond to the UN resolution, at the end of their calendar month.
August 22 is not a significant date in the Persian Calendar.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home