Scud Missile Mosques!

[MichaelC]

Hussein's Obsession: An Empire of Mosques
By JOHN F. BURNS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 14 — For a glimpse into Saddam Hussein's cast of mind as he weighs the threat of another war with the United States, there are few more revealing places to look than the Mother of All Battles Mosque, a vast, newly constructed edifice of gleaming white limestone and blue mosaic that the Iraqi leader oversaw from blueprint to completion on Baghdad's western outskirts

First, the minarets.

The outer four, each 140 feet high, were built to resemble the barrels of Kalashnikov rifles, pointing skyward. The inner four, each 120 feet high, look like the Scud missiles that Iraq fired at Israel in 1991 during the Mother of All Battles, known to Americans as the Persian Gulf war. At their peak, these inner minarets are decorated with red, white and black Iraqi flags.

There is more.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/international/middleeast/15MOSQ.html (http://)



This article speaks to a perversion of religious concepts and also to a corrupt mindset regarding the supposed blessing of the Creator upon the instruments of death.

I’m just sitting here shaking my head as I view the article without much need to comment. The article is self explanatory and is one of those prime examples of ‘irony’ that seem to pop up regularly these days.

[andak01]

This article speaks to a perversion of religious concepts and also to a corrupt mindset regarding the supposed blessing of the Creator upon the instruments of death.

I’m just sitting here shaking my head as I view the article without much need to comment. The article is self explanatory and is one of those prime examples of ‘irony’ that seem to pop up regularly these days.

Well, I don't have much arguement about the perversion of Islam. A friend of mine was in Iraq a few years back and saw Saddam's picture in front of a mosque. He was actually able to get them to take it down (obviously he was not Iraqi and also obviously he was in a protected position). His arguement was an Islamic one, that no mosque during the time of the Prophet was allowed to display Muhammad's (SAW) picture. The proprietor's of the mosque in Iraq, it seems still fear Allah a little more than Saddam.

Anyway, this story is a perfect example of internet rumors gone wild. I read the original article in the New York Times. It didn't say that the minerets actually resembled Scud missiles, it used the term as a poetic allusion. Now it has become a fact by virtue of being repeated.

The cost of the mosque was $7 million. Even by Iraqi standards, that doesn't build a very large mosque. I did have a picture of it and the people were practically the same size as the main entrance. So for any of you that do happen upon a photo, my question is, which make of Kaloshnikov and which Scuds do they resemble. The closest resemblance I can find is size. And I think the Scuds are bigger!

Can you say propaganda.

[MichaelC]

Originally posted by andak01
Well, I don't have much arguement about the perversion of Islam. A friend of mine was in Iraq a few years back and saw Saddam's picture in front of a mosque. He was actually able to get them to take it down (obviously he was not Iraqi and also obviously he was in a protected position). His arguement was an Islamic one, that no mosque during the time of the Prophet was allowed to display Muhammad's (SAW) picture. The proprietor's of the mosque in Iraq, it seems still fear Allah a little more than Saddam.

Anyway, this story is a perfect example of internet rumors gone wild. I read the original article in the New York Times. It didn't say that the minerets actually resembled Scud missiles, it used the term as a poetic allusion. Now it has become a fact by virtue of being repeated.

The cost of the mosque was $7 million. Even by Iraqi standards, that doesn't build a very large mosque. I did have a picture of it and the people were practically the same size as the main entrance. So for any of you that do happen upon a photo, my question is, which make of Kaloshnikov and which Scuds do they resemble. The closest resemblance I can find is size. And I think the Scuds are bigger!

Can you say propaganda. This is a pretty insignificant tale no matter how anyone looks at it. This particular article was well behind the first reports on the matter in print and video media. I can recall having seen those buildings on cable news when the report first surfaced.

I don't think it really matters in the great scheme of things, but debunking it simply by saying it isn't so and that it's propaganda would, of course, be a choice to a person who did not like the message.

Now remember, don't shoot the messenger.

[andak01]

Originally posted by MichaelC
This is a pretty insignificant tale no matter how anyone looks at it. This particular article was well behind the first reports on the matter in print and video media. I can recall having seen those buildings on cable news when the report first surfaced.

I don't think it really matters in the great scheme of things, but debunking it simply by saying it isn't so and that it's propaganda would, of course, be a choice to a person who did not like the message.

Now remember, don't shoot the messenger.

Well if the message is that Saddam distorts religion, they could use plenty of real examples of that. If the message is that Iraqis build their mosques in the shape of Scud missiles, that isn't true. Once you take the step of ignoring the truth because it's 'close enough', you risk traveling a slippery slope. This falsehood is only used to bolster other ones.

viz. 'Islam is the religion of the sword, see they even build their mosques shaped like weapons.'

Well Christians put a device of torture and execution on top of their churches and hospitals. But we don't see it that way because we don't spin it that way.

Compared to the atrocities that Saddam has visited upon his people, building a mosque is pretty mild. It would require the spin factory we have in place to see even that as an act of aggression.

[MichaelC]

Originally posted by andak01
Well if the message is that Saddam distorts religion, they could use plenty of real examples of that. If the message is that Iraqis build their mosques in the shape of Scud missiles, that isn't true. Once you take the step of ignoring the truth because it's 'close enough', you risk traveling a slippery slope. This falsehood is only used to bolster other ones.

viz. 'Islam is the religion of the sword, see they even build their mosques shaped like weapons.'

Well Christians put a device of torture and execution on top of their churches and hospitals. But we don't see it that way because we don't spin it that way.

Compared to the atrocities that Saddam has visited upon his people, building a mosque is pretty mild. It would require the spin factory we have in place to see even that as an act of aggression. I shouldn't really respond to this at all as it is an insignificant story to begin with. The Christian comparison was ridiculous and not even worthy of response.

Saddam can build things in whatever shape he wants. They probably won't be there that much longer anyway.