In other news, Timbuktu is an actual place, Muslims apparently have saints, and Al-Qaeda really sucks at the whole "winning hearts and minds" thing

Not sure any of that is news to anyone but subby.

Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years. The practice of takfir especially drives a lot of folks nuts--the declaration of Infidel without the endorsement of any clergy, and acting upon that declaration has killed a LOT of Muslims. Well, Muslims that still consider themselves Muslims, and who their Imams still consider Muslims, the Fundamentalists and extremists not so much, and it gets around that pesky prohibition of killing the faithful...

Jesus, it's like they're the OWS of the Muslim world. But with guns and bombs.

St_Francis_P: In other news, Timbuktu is an actual place, Muslims apparently have saints, and Al-Qaeda really sucks at the whole "winning hearts and minds" thing

Not sure any of that is news to anyone but subby.

Maybe Subby never watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego as a kid.

Isn't this the second headline in a month expressing surprise at the existence of Timbuktu?

Um, yea. They are against the creation of idols. That's why the US destroying the house bin Laden in was so stupid, fellow Al-Qaeda members would have done it themselves.

GAT_00: Isn't this the second headline in a month expressing surprise at the existence of Timbuktu?

To be fair, the existence of Timbuktu may also mean that rabbits dressing up in drag will fool hunters into marrying them, and that sort of beastiality/homoeroticism confuses and confounds folks. No one likes the light of the truth on their sexuality exposed, so better to hold on to incredulity, than wonder if their Bugs Bunny-slash fiction folder is too large...

-4: You have desecrated our holy sites!

BKITU: [pcmedia.ign.com image 440x556]

-4: You have desecrated our holy sites!

Yeah, but I have 4 units of iron and refuse to trade. He'll just have to suck it.

And people still question whether their motives are religious or about power.

RexTalionis: St_Francis_P: In other news, Timbuktu is an actual place, Muslims apparently have saints, and Al-Qaeda really sucks at the whole "winning hearts and minds" thing

Not sure any of that is news to anyone but subby.

Maybe Subby never watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego as a kid.

Or maybe he didn't take that left turn at Albuquerque

This just in: extremists do extreme shiat

/who knew?

Subby lacks basic curiosity and that makes me a sad panda.

hubiestubert: GAT_00: Isn't this the second headline in a month expressing surprise at the existence of Timbuktu?

To be fair, the existence of Timbuktu may also mean that rabbits dressing up in drag will fool hunters into marrying them, and that sort of beastiality/homoeroticism confuses and confounds folks. No one likes the light of the truth on their sexuality exposed, so better to hold on to incredulity, than wonder if their Bugs Bunny-slash fiction folder is too large...

Exactly right.

that's really really where they're going to

Okay, three things.

1.) This was not Al-Qaeda, this was Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is the new name of an old organization called the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) that just took the Al-Qaeda label because they thought it sounded better and would get them more media attention.
2.) Of course Muslims have saints. All the major religions have holy men/women or the equivalent of it, people blessed by the diety/dieties who did their will and are revered afterwards.
3.) AQIM is notorious for not trying to win hearts and minds. They started off as political revolutionaries similar to FARC in Colombia, and when they lost that battle, they ran off into the desert, merged with another Algerian organization (GIA), and have started just blowing shiat up with no real end goal in sight other than violent overthrow of governments they disagree with.

I thought the headline was funny *shrugs*

RIP

hubiestubert: Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years.



That's true of many other Islamist movements as well. The ritzy production values and superficial devotions against the nebulous West drive more serious clerics in South Asia pretty batty.

Somacandra: hubiestubert: Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years.

[press.princeton.edu image 160x243]

That's true of many other Islamist movements as well. The ritzy production values and superficial devotions against the nebulous West drive more serious clerics in South Asia pretty batty.

LOL @ "muslim scholars".

"HEY I learned one book and that makes me a scholar!"

/All religion is pointless and divisive.

MadSkillz:
LOL @ "muslim scholars".

"HEY I learned one book and that makes me a scholar!"

/All religion is pointless and divisive.

Scholar:
1. a learned or erudite person, especially one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject.

I'm sorry, you were saying?

They're the Westboro Baptists of Islam.

Somacandra: hubiestubert: Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years.

[press.princeton.edu image 160x243]

That's true of many other Islamist movements as well. The ritzy production values and superficial devotions against the nebulous West drive more serious clerics in South Asia pretty batty.

Only 40% of Muslims in the world are in the Middle East. That a tiny percentage of these folks have shaped the discussion is part of the problem. Well, that and the idiots who think that a faith that is not much older than Christianity is going to be more unified than that faith...

hubiestubert: Somacandra: hubiestubert: Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years.

[press.princeton.edu image 160x243]

That's true of many other Islamist movements as well. The ritzy production values and superficial devotions against the nebulous West drive more serious clerics in South Asia pretty batty.

Only 40% of Muslims in the world are in the Middle East. That a tiny percentage of these folks have shaped the discussion is part of the problem. Well, that and the idiots who think that a faith that is not much older younger than Christianity is going to be more unified than that faith...

FTFY.

Rincewind53: hubiestubert: Somacandra: hubiestubert: Al-Qaida has been angering a lot of Imams over the years.

[press.princeton.edu image 160x243]

That's true of many other Islamist movements as well. The ritzy production values and superficial devotions against the nebulous West drive more serious clerics in South Asia pretty batty.

Only 40% of Muslims in the world are in the Middle East. That a tiny percentage of these folks have shaped the discussion is part of the problem. Well, that and the idiots who think that a faith that is not much older younger than Christianity is going to be more unified than that faith...

FTFY.

You did. That was a sentence I borked. Mea culpa.

When you recruit crazy, you get crazy. Good luck keeping them on target.

Of course Muslims have saints. If you kill 200 unbelievers or flog 2000 women you are awarded sainthood.

Wait, I thought the extremists were representatives of mainstream Muslim thought and all Muslims already loved them?

They don't even have any respect for their own holy sites, so what makes people think they respect any body else?

I wonder if the UN is going to come down on them. You know... like with the whole Mount Rushmore thing.

You know who else harmed people they we're supposed to protect?

The My Little Pony Killer: Subby lacks basic curiosity and that makes me a sad panda Google.

In related news, we just killed Fahd al-Quso, one of the masterminds of the USS Cole bombing in 2000. It only took us 12 years!

Winning hearts and minds? I thought they just like blowing shiat up and beating women.

But I was told by Fox News and its ilk that all muzzies were a hive mind and out to get us.

They'd never lie to us, would they?

Some Muslim sects revere deceased holy people as examples of piety have saints. The Sufi honor holy men and make pilgrimages to their graves, as do the Shi'a, but the Sunni do not, and the Salafi wing of Sunni Islam regard the veneration of anything other than God as idolatry, in their eyes a crime worthy of death. That's why the religious establishment in Saudi has destroyed almost all of ancient Mecca because they feared that the religious aura from the Prophet(PBUH)'s house and other sites from his time would distract Muslims from worship of God.

Man you guys are slipping here.

/link is so hot it's gotta wear shades.
//sorry won't do that RIP thing.

LeroyBourne: Winning hearts and minds? I thought they just like blowing shiat up and beating women.

No, you're thinking about republicans.

xanadian: Jesus, it's like they're the OWS TEABAGGERS of the Muslim world. But with guns and bombs.

/FTFY, then punched you in the junk.

*Reads Yahoo article's comments, promptly destroys self*

unavailable for comment

A priceless wealth of ancient manuscripts is about to be burned, I'm afraid, and lost to time.

Nothing like winning support among your people by blowing up their sacred sites.

BTW, I also recall, dimly, something about Timbuktu being renamed something else years ago. Since I'm not particularly interested in the general area, I haven't bothered to check.

I suspect that Al Qaeda is starting to self destruct. Without it's fanatically insane leader, it'll probably begin to disperse into splinter cells, with an assortment of self proclaimed leaders. Look for the eventual time when they start to turn on each other -- usually over one cell not being fanatical enough.

Since Saudi Arabia is a heavy contributor to Al Qaeda, watch them for reports of decreasing funding. They don't mind the slaughter of infidels, especially Jews, even if you have to take down 10 believers to get one non-believer. However, they frown on the destruction of their holy sites.

And if that weren't enough, there actually is a Walla Walla Washington.

piercer310: [i51.photobucket.com image 318x420]

unavailable for comment

I'm sorry that you posted that. It makes me all ragey.

These tombs are "essential elements in a religious system as, according to popular belief; they constitute a rampart that shields the city from all misfortune",

Apparently not.

coco ebert: *Reads Yahoo article's comments, promptly destroys self*

That could be a Yahoo article about a new flavor of bubblegum and you would see the same kinds of comments.

buckler: And if that weren't enough, there actually is a Walla Walla Washington.

I didn't know there was a Cucamonga until I drove to LA. I thought it was a name Warner Bros. made up.

Rik01: Nothing like winning support among your people by blowing up their sacred sites.

BTW, I also recall, dimly, something about Timbuktu being renamed something else years ago. Since I'm not particularly interested in the general area, I haven't bothered to check.

I suspect that Al Qaeda is starting to self destruct. Without it's fanatically insane leader, it'll probably begin to disperse into splinter cells, with an assortment of self proclaimed leaders. Look for the eventual time when they start to turn on each other -- usually over one cell not being fanatical enough.

Since Saudi Arabia is a heavy contributor to Al Qaeda, watch them for reports of decreasing funding. They don't mind the slaughter of infidels, especially Jews, even if you have to take down 10 believers to get one non-believer. However, they frown on the destruction of their holy sites.

You know nothing about Islam.

hubiestubert: GAT_00: Isn't this the second headline in a month expressing surprise at the existence of Timbuktu?

To be fair, the existence of Timbuktu may also mean that rabbits dressing up in drag will fool hunters into marrying them, and that sort of beastiality/homoeroticism confuses and confounds folks. No one likes the light of the truth on their sexuality exposed, so better to hold on to incredulity, than wonder if their Bugs Bunny-slash fiction folder is too large...

You get scary on Sunday afternoons when you've been drinking all weekend.