Ninety Years of World Peace

There is something about history that repeats itself over and over. There is something about humankind that never learns the lesson of history.

The image, John T. McCutcheon: Sons of Peace, 1934, is subject to copyright by americanartmuseum. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin.

 

 

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Seven Years of Calm

No Terrorists Attacks In the United States! Why?

• On October 12, 2002, in Bali, Indonesia, Al-Qaeda’s Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists targeted packed nightspots, killing 202 people, including more than 160 foreigners. There are even more nightclubs in the United States, why didn’t al-Qaeda target us here?
• On March 11, 2004, in Madrid, Spain, 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured in a series of explosions on four trains. al-Qaeda took responsibility for that accomplishment to avenge the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq. But why didn’t the terrorists bomb American trains on American soil? We had even more troops in Iraq than did the Spanish.
• On the morning of Wednesday September 1, 2004, in Beslan, Russia, Muslim terrorists and Arab mercenaries wearing explosive belts stormed a school taking 1,200 parents, students, children, and infants hostage. They wired a room with explosives and threatened to blow up the school during a three-day standoff. The children were refused food and water and were held in stifling heat in a gymnasium while the world waited. As Russian forces were collecting corpses from the initial raid outside the school, the militants in the school triggered the explosives inside the school. As the surviving hostages attempted to flee, the terrorists shot them and their rescuers in their backs. At least 326 people — 156 of them children — were murdered at that school and more than 700 wounded. Although 26 of the terrorists were killed, several escaped. Why did not these terrorists take over an American school on American soil? We have lots of schools here.
• On July 11, 2006, in Mumbai, India, seven high-powered blasts on suburban trains killed more than 200 commuters and injured at least 800. America has commuter trains too, why did not al-Qaeda target American trains with bombs?
• On November 26 of this year, again in Mumbai, India, Islamist gunmen launched attacks against luxury hotels. Gunmen from al-Qaeda’s Deccan Mujahedeen group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed more than 100. A rabbi, Gavriel Hertzberg, and his pregnant wife were sought out and murdered as were other Jews and Americans. America has many luxury hotels, many Jews and many, many more Americans. Why did al-Qaeda spare hotels and tourists in America’s homeland?

Could these “Seven Years of Calm in America” have had anything to do with the leadership of America’s Commander in Chief, George W. Bush, his administration and the fighting men and women of his military?

That Old Time Religion

Give Me That Old Time ‘Religion of Peace’ Mantra ~ No More!

The ‘Islam is the religion of peace’ mantra has burned itself out, finally! We can be grateful for small favors. For a religion to have the gall to speak of ‘peace‘ when its common response to any criticism of it is violence, finally has dawned upon even the most “devout” of Islam. Danish cartoons, a Dutch screenplay, Salman Rushdie’s novel, Israel defending its national borders against neighboring Arab states and Palestinian terrorists, is justification enough for any devoted Muslim father to arm his teen-aged son as a soon-to-be-dead bomber.

Devout Muslims and the bien pensant multiculturalists have been pushing that same ‘religion of peace’ mantra down our throats, expecting we would swallow it, hook, line and sinker, each time there was just one more incident of Islamic terrorism. They are finally realizing that we just aren’t that dumb!

Only the most devout of all Muslims truly believes that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’ and exhibits the accepted model of ‘peaceful’ Muslim behavior. Where do we find such devout Muslims? They are the homicide bombers and members of the world-wide Muslim terrorist network who at this very moment are plotting murder in their supposedly sacred mosques. That is where one finds the most devout of all Muslims.

Less devout Muslims, those who have not yet developed a strong enough faith to murder their friends and neighbors for being non-believers or Jews, should come to their senses and escape and eschew such a religion. Other creeds, faiths and even atheism do not require one to teach hatred of others to children or to send one’s own young sons and daughters into the world as suicidal murderers.

Give me that old time religion
Tis the old time religion,
Tis the old time religion,
And it’s good enough for me.

Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
And it’s good enough for me.

It has saved our fathers.
It has saved our fathers.
It has saved our fathers.
And it’s good enough for me.

It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
And it’s good enough for me.

~~Charles Davis Tillman (1861-1943)

Holy Book of Islam

The holy book of Islam is al-qur’anu l-karîm. That is the Arabic word for what is commonly written as ‘Koran’, ‘Quran’, or ‘Qur’an’ in English. Apparently, for some unknown reason, only the latter is the correct English translation.

The University of Virginia refers on-line to al-qur’anu l-karîm, as the Koran and has turned it into an electronic version: The Koran at the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia. The University of Michigan also has an electronic version of the Koran which is searchable at its website.

The University of Southern California has three translations of the Qur’an at its website, where they note: “any translation of the Qur’an immediately ceases to be the literal word of Allah, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur’an in its original Arabic form. In fact, each of the translations on this site is actually an interpretation which has been translated. The first-time reader is strongly advised to read the introduction to the translations we have made available. Corrections and suggestions are appreciated.”

Catholic Encylopedia has a synopsis of the “Koran”, from a Roman Catholic viewpoint of course, which is described as; “The sacred book of the Muslims, by whom it is regarded as the revelation of God. Supplemented by the so-called Hadith, or traditions, it is the foundation of Islam and the final authority in dogma and belief, in jurisprudence, worship, ethics, and in social, family, and individual conduct.”

There is a site called Holy Quran Resource Group which has information on the Quran.

Scott Ott at Scrapple Face has an interesting post on the various names used for the Holy Book of Islam. Actually, I think he hits the nail on the head.

“Muslims Riot Over Spelling of ‘Koran’ in U.S. Media” by Scott Ott, (2005-05-17)
— As many as 25 people died and dozens more were injured during riots in Afghanistan today which erupted over what one Muslim cleric called “the U.S. media’s desecration-by-mispelling” of the name of Islam’s most holy book.Indeed, American editors have failed to reach consensus on how to render the holy book’s name. Some spell it with a ‘K’ others with a ‘Q’ and — perhaps most offensive to Muslim sensibilities — some insert a meaningless apostrophe in the middle of the word.