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February 22, 2006
Al-Askariya Golden mosque in Samarra, Iraq - 'Blown Up'
Topics: IraqAs readers are probably aware of by now, "gunmen" (radical Islamist nutcases) entered Samarra's beautiful Golden Mosque at dawn today and set off charges that destroyed it's dome. Here are before and after images of the dome, the before image is of course what the dome looked like prior to the radical idiots with no regard for history, architecture, religious signifiance, and the faith of others - destroying it:
If the entire Muslim world went nuts over silly cartoons that they considered so damned significant, I'll be waiting with bated breath to see and hear their reaction to the destruction of the dome of a site (Islam's largest mosque) where two of the 12 revered Shiite Imams are buried - Imam Ali al-Hadi, who died in 868 AD and his son, the 11th Imam Hasan al-Askari, who died in 874 A.D. Their only problem, of course, is in this case they'd have to blame themselves, and so far, followers of Muhammad haven't exhibited much of a penchant for self critique.
If Muslims themselves have no regard for their religious sites or the religious sites of their fellow Muslims who happen to have a different few of their faith then their own, and are willing to destroy such sites for political purposes, why and how seriously are the rest of humanity suppose to regard Islams symbols, sites, and beliefs (lest we forget, Iraqi commandos had to retake the Golden Mosque from "insurgents" during a U.S.-led offensive against Samarra in October 2004)?
As to the news event of the bombing itself, a few excerpts from newstelegraph.com sum it all up:
(...) An explosion has brought down the golden dome of one of Iraq's most famous Shi'ite shrines, triggering a wave of protests and retaliatory attacks on Sunni mosques across the country.
Leading American officials in the country described the attack as a "crime against humanity" and vowed to help rebuild the Askariya mosque.(...) "This desperate and despicable act shows that terrorists stop at nothing and care for nothing," ...
(...) "Given the historic, cultural and religious importance of this shrine, this attack is a crime against humanity."
(...) According to the interior ministry, four men entered the mosque in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, at around 6.55am local time, before detonating two bombs which caused the shrine's golden dome and part of its northern wall to collapse.
(...) No injuries were reported.
(...) No group claimed responsibility for the explosions, but suspicion immediately fell upon Sunni extremists such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qa'eda in Iraq organisation.
Readers will find much commentary and more images at The Belmont Club, Iraq the Model (extensive coverage from Iraq), The Fourth Rail, In The Bullpen, and Diggers Realm.
Be sure to read Michael J. Totten's take on how the Kurds feel about Iraq's chance's of surviving in one piece: "Iraq may not survive in one piece. The overwhelming majority of Iraqi Kurds are packing their bags. Most have already said goodbye. Erbil (Hawler in Kurdish) is the capital of the de-facto sovereign Kurdistan Regional Government. Baghdad is thought of as the capital of a deranged foreign country."
I believe that readers will find BBC News to have some of the best media coverage of the story. Another good report is in The Turkish Press via AFP.
Posted by Richard at February 22, 2006 11:34 AM
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- Al-Askariya Golden mosque in Samarra, Iraq - 'Blown Up' - Feb 22, 2006
