Victory Mosque at Ground Zero

These are a few of the names of Firefighters who died trying to save lives on September 11th 2001. The families of these heroes are now being labeled by America's media such as the New York Times and NBC as "bigots" and "Islamophobes" for objecting to the installation of a Victory Mosque on the grounds where their loved ones were viciously murdered. Even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has lectured them and the nation that it is un-American to reject an Islamic mosque at the site. The Iman who is leading the construction of the Victory Mosque, Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a believer of Sharia law in America.

"We tend to forget ... the U.S. has more Muslim blood on its hands than al-Qaida has ... of innocent non-Muslims." --Feisal Abdul Rauf, 2005.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has called for an investigation of those who are opposed to the building of the Ground Zero Mosque.  Her investigation would include the families of the 9/11 heroes who lost their lives in defense of America. Speaker Pelosi told San Francisco's KCBS radio: "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how ... this opposition to the mosque is being funded. How is this being ginned up that here we are talking about ..." However, calls to investigate the funding of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauffor and his $100 million Cordoba House Victory Monument have fallen upon deaf ears, as New York's Mayor Bloomberg has described such requests as "un-American."

Is It Bigotry to Oppose Bigots?

The image, New York City, is subject to copyright by Edna Barney. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by Kerfuffles.

The 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.

First published by Edna Barney, Tuesday, May 17th, 2005.

Great Scots No More

SHAME, SHAME on Scotland

Scotland releases, on "humanitarian grounds," a murdering terrorist of 270 innocent souls, which just goes to prove that all the Scots with brains must have emigrated from Scotland.

"Nice seeing your honest, chubby face, Great chieftain of the sausage race! Above them all you take your place, Belly, tripe, or links: Well are you worthy of a grace As long as my arm." ~~Robert Burns