Oh, no, wait, they aren’t
The terrorists who claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Algeria in almost a decade tied Tuesday’s twin bombings to the recent death of a leading al-Qaeda radical and to the forthcoming Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha.
“On the eve of Eid we are heralding to the Muslim nation the good news of two operations carried out by two martyrs,” the group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said in an online posting.
Hmm. What is Eid al-Adha?
Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham’s (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.
The feast re-enacts Ibrahim’s obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the poor.
So, an extremely important religious holiday to Muslims – then again, what religious holiday is not really important? – and Muslim extremists celebrate by detonating bombs and killing people.
Considering that the United Nations was one of the targets, on purpose, mind you, and that the UN building in Algeria was called “the headquarters of the international infidels’ den,” I wonder if the UN will get what the intentions of Muslim extremists actually is? Of course, the UN does have such bastions of human rights as Cuba, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Angola sitting on the Human Rights Council.
I wonder if they had flushed a Koran?Â
But, it also begs the question: if Muslim extremists are linking murderous bombings with their religious holidays, is this what they really think their religion is about?
