Dozens killed in multiple bombings in Uganda, police chief suspects al-Qaeda

The police chief in Kampala is blaming al-Qaeda and its Somali franchise, al-Shabaab, with good reason. The synchronized attacks certainly point to al-Qaeda; the targeting of an Ethiopian restaurant and venues showing the World Cup final resonate with two things the al-Shabaab jihadists detest, and al-Shabaab just threatened Uganda and Burundi in the past few days.

"Blasts at 2 sites in Uganda kill at least 30," from the Associated Press, July 11:

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Bombs exploded at two sites in Uganda's capital late Sunday as people watched the World Cup final on TV, killing at least 30 people. Foreigners, including Europeans and possibly Americans, were believed to be among the casualties.
Police Chief Kale Kaihura said he believed that Somalia's most feared militia -- al-Shabab, which has pledged loyalty to al-Qaida -- could be behind the attacks.
One of the bombs went off at an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala, Uganda's capital. Al-Shabab views Ethiopia as an enemy. The second blast went off at a restaurant called the Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Kaihura said 14 people were killed at the restaurant, and that he believed the toll at the Rugby Club was far higher than 14, though he did not have an exact number.
At the scenes of the two blasts chairs were overturned. Blood and pieces of flesh littered the floor.
Al-Shabab is Somalia's most dangerous militant group, one that militant veterans of the Afghan, Pakistan and Iraq conflicts have helped train, according to international officials.
If Kaihura's early suspicions that al-Shabab was responsible prove true, it would be the first time the group has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.
In Mogadishu, Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa, an al-Shabab commander, told The Associated Press early Monday that he was happy with the attacks in Uganda. Issa refused to confirm or deny that al-Shabab was responsible for the bombings.
"Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy. May Allah's anger be upon those who are against us," Sheik said.
During prayers on Friday, another al-Shabab commander, Sheik Muktar Robow, had called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi -- two nations that contribute troops to the African Union force in Mogadishu.
In addition to its troops in Mogadishu, Uganda also hosts Somali soldiers trained in U.S. and European backed training programs....
| 70 Comments
del.icio.us | Digg this | Email | FaceBook | Twitter | Print | Tweet

70 Comments

| Leave a comment

I had just posted this on the "Kenya" thread:

And in another African country, the "religion of peace" targeted World Cup fans. No, the Perps aren't identified in the article, but I betcha they are our peaceful friends, the Mohammedans:

Kampala, Uganda:

"At least 23 people were killed in explosions that ripped through two restaurants in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday as crowds watched the World Cup football final, police said.

One blast hit an Ethiopian restaurant in the south of the capital and the other was at a rugby sports club in the east of Kampala, police chief Kale Kayihura told reporters.

"Here there are 13 dead," he said in reference to the Ethiopian restaurant, adding that "I can talk of deaths in the tens" when asked about the toll at the sports club.

"These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," Kayihura said.

Police blocked roads leading to the Ethiopian restaurant in Kabalagala, a crowded suburb in the south of Kampala littered with several pubs popular with football fans.

Several security officers were deployed to the blast area and crowds were kept at bay, an AFP correspondent said.

Kampala city police spokesman Idi Ssenkunzi told AFP emergency teams had been dispatched to the second blast site in Cyadondo district.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the explosions, but Ssekunzi said they suspected that the perpetrators detonated bombs.

Such blasts are uncommon in Kampala although at least three people were wounded when attackers threw an explosive device at security forces after the country's 2006 general elections.

Police accused the opposition Forum for Democratic Change of planning violent post-election protests after losing to incumbent President Yoweri Museveni."

I was waiting for some mass-murder event by Muslims in connection with the World Cup, I really was. Talk about predictable, unfortunately.

"May Allah's anger be upon those who are against us," Sheik said."

Mass-Murder always brings a smile to Allah's face.

And to think an illiterate 7th century bedouin brought the plague of Islam to the world:

“Islam is an absurd theology of an immoral Bedouin, a rotting corpse which poisons our lives." - Kemal Ataturk

Must be some of the "Muslims honor their women" thing that some of the Muslim posters have been ranting about....

excuse my post about, it was intended for the earlier posting...

Didn't the US recently take 6,000 Somalians who were causing difficulties among the Sudanese refugees in Uganda? Kenya, Uganda, south Sudan: crawling with Somalians, bringing Islam to continue the work of Allah via "the refugee tragedy". Allah loves the refugees he creates and the useful kindness of Christians who take them in.

In Mogadishu, Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa, an al-Shabab commander, told The Associated Press early Monday that he was happy with the attacks...

The good Sheik is pleased with the well executed mass murder, AP is happy to get the scoop.

*** Tabari 8:141 ***

That's what you call a win-win situation. Far be it from the objective professional journalists at AP to delve into why they're reporting on one or more these deals on an almost daily basis.

Amazingly, there were no Israeli Zionist invaders or settlers there.

Islam wages a genocidal war for world domination against all nations and all denominations, including, as far as most Islamic sects are concerned, against other Muslims who do not conform exactly to their own interpretations of Islamic Law.

The Jews and the Israelis are simply first on the list of those who are to be killed. For those who delude themselves that there is such a thing as "Moderate Islam" I have bad news: After the Jews, and the Americans, and the Europeans, and the Christians, and the Buddhists - you are next!

"Blood and pieces of flesh littered the floor."


Muslim calling cards...

BTW>...there was no blockade....

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again.

"The Jews and the Israelis are simply first on the list of those who are to be killed."

Don't forget the Christians:

"First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people." - Islamic saying

FOX is reporting one American killed, not identified yet.

Even MSNBC is admitting that the death toll is over 60. There was a church group there from Pennsylvania, 3 injured, possibly the one American death so far?

They cannot win at anything, they cannot create at all , they can only kill and destroy. It is the muslim way,not the way of the enlightened but the way of the inflamed, the way of mad mohamad and his legion of brainwashed zombies who now walk in our streets, take over our churches and trample on our freedom to conduct a peaceful civic life.

Why the rush to judgement??? - I mean, this has all the markings of Dutch soccer zealots.... /sarc (as if that tag were needed)


The Reuters version is here (via the Aussie ABC):
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/12/2950722.htm

'Cup revellers killed in Ugandan explosions'

Update from AFP via Aussie ABC says at least 64 dead and 65 wounded.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/12/2951281.htm?section=justin

'Death toll up from Uganda bomb blasts'.

To get a sense of the scale of this attack as compared to other Muslim mass-murder attacks against non-Muslim targets in non-Muslim lands in recent times (I won't go into the orgies of mass murder that have been carried out by Muslims, against Muslims, in places like Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan), I compared it with the London bus and tube jihad attacks of 7 July 2005. There were many more *injured* in those attacks - 700 - but the number of people killed outright in London by the jihadi murder-'martyrs' - 52 - is actually *less* than Uganda has just suffered.

And Winston Churchill mentioned the death cult of Islam "providing incentives to slaughter" in The River War. He certainly pegged that death cult at the tender age of 24 (the survivors of Beslan at a far earlier age), and proved that when he was a young man and perhaps whilst still a teenager, he had far more wisdom in his little toe than what any of the blockheaded leaders the West has produced over the last 55 or so years ever had, or will ever have.

According to the latest version of the CIA world factbook, here are the 'religious background' percentages for Uganda.

Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census).

In other words - Christianity of some kind or another accounts for 83.9 % of the population, there are another 3.1 % 'other' (probably including Hindus), and Muslims account for 12.1 % (probably rather more than that, now, since the figures are based on the 2002 census).

"Mass-Murder always brings a smile to Allah's face."

Not so. Mass murder always brings a smile to the Devil's face, not Allah/God.

Blaming Allah/God for such mass murder always brings a smile to the Devil's face.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah

Oi stonebrain, Allah IS the devil.

"Allah IS the devil."

Not so. Stop believing that lie. "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God". Jewish Arabs and Christian Arabs have been referring to God as Allah even before Muhammad and Islam came along. See the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah

Muslims have forever sullied the term "allah" for me. There's no going back now.

The Jihad is not going well in the West, frustrated by being caught left and right, prosecuted and imprisoned, or deported. Shucks, that must really suck if you're a jihadist wanting those 72 virgins real bad, now spend the rest of your days having 'jail sex' with other jihadis, or big bruiser tattooed sex boss. "Get the soap, boy."

So they turn to softer targets, like people in a restaurant watching soccer finals on TV, or fellow believers at the mosque for whatever sick perverted reason, or just go home and beat the wife, rape her, and then say the magic "I divorce you" three times, and click you heels, and voila! Boy, this Jihad, sick that it is, is beginning to take on some pretty absurd weirdness, almost funny, except innocent people die. Africa is an easier target than the West, so blow they go. What a tragedy, and this is the 21st century!

Sick primitive bastards. 15637 murders as of last count by the 'religion of pieces'.

Yup. Well evocated. Forever sullied in word and deed indeed.

Yup. Well evocated. Forever sullied in word and deed indeed.

Excuse the double-post, lost my patience for a minute.

"What a tragedy, and this is the 21st century!"

According to the calender of the lunatics this is the beginning of the 13th century. At least the sick cult of Mo got the date right. ;-)

I hope the Ugandan military grows a set and launches an all out war on Shabaabaloo. Somebody's needed to do that for a long time. Realist, it's not the color of their skin that makes them inhumane, it's islam.

'realist', I don't know you from Adam, but your vile comment smacks of troll. I can't remember your previous posts raising any flags, but what you said there speaks to me of somebody who is deliberately intending to be divisive. Take this as a caution from a Black Londoner.

Realist, racism is unwelcome here.

I find your comment very offensive.

Sorry - have to beg to differ - the Jihad in the West is going just swimmingly - it's just that it's not so much a bomb jihad as a demographic and propaganda jihad.
But for those who are called to violent jihad, you are correct.

"Jewish Arabs and Christian Arabs have been referring to God as Allah even before Muhammad and Islam came along. See the link below."

That's simply not true. Why would Jews and Christians evoke the name of an Arabian pagan moon idol?

In addition, the Bible would contain the word "Allah" - yet, it doesn't, anywhere, in either the OT or NT.

Neither does the Bible contain the word "Islam" - which is because it didn't exist. Muslims didn't exist. And that Muslims actually spew the drivel that "Everyone was once Muslim" is the BIGGEST LIE EVER TOLD.

Realist - you need to get lost - I'm sure the Klan has a blog where you can hang out with like-minded bigots.....

Realist,

Racism is wholly unwelcome in this forum, and you'll find no like-minded fellows among the regulars here.

Living Stone:

Al-Lat was the Arabian goddess worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca and whose symbol was the crescent moon. Which at least explains why the stone looks like that. Oh, btw, she was a triple goddess. On the other hand, you've also got the various moon gods: Sin, Aksum, Hubal, and, of coure, Allah.

Muslims will of course deny this, but hey we've all got a fatwa on our heads already over Draw Mohammed Day, so anything you care to add is redundant.

Have to agree with IMF -- the demographic, taqiyya, Sharia jihad in the West is going swimmingly and we had better wake up to it very soon.

Keep your thoughts about racism out of this forum, this has nothing to do with any race black, white. This has everything to do with the religion of peaces and religion of death----- islam. The blacks are suffering a genocide in southern sudan and darfur due to the ideology of islam which considers them second class. The jews are in the frontlines suffering these thughs dayin dayout. These islamic scum are turning our beautiful countries into rubbish dump for the lunatic retarded mohammadan ideology.

Al-Lat was one of Allah the moon god's 3 daughters. The 3 daughters were the offspring of the moon god and the sun goddess in Arabian pagan myth.

The crescent moon symbol was Allah's. He was the moon god, and the chief pagan deity.

http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

Muhammed got rid of the wife and daughters and appropriated the moon god for his personal use in inventing "monotheistic" Islam.

Living Stone...Wikidpedia is not a good source of reliable information...

Allah is Sin the Chaldean moon god with a name change and a promotion...Mahound, that naughty man, was the first to use the 'Peter Principal' of elevating someone to the level of their incompetence...In other words, he gave Sin a new name and 'kicked him upstairs'...Once Allah became incompetent, he wrote a best selling book...The Quran...The greatest and most comprehensive book of basic incompetence ever written...

Another thing Living Stone, that you might look up in wickidpedia...What ever happened to Ar-Rahman?

al-Shabaab...Their frustration is understandable...'The worst creatures' in the world Quran 98:6, are worshiping a cup instead of Allah...This is the worst kind of shirk, the most vile kind of idol worship possible...A cup...This is enough to injure the sensibilities of any pious Mahoundian...
Yes, it is true that many Mahoundians worship a black rock, but that's different because rocks can talk, have feelings, and hate Jews...But not so with a cup...Cups represent the anti-Allah...A cup is a container, when it over flows the contents spill out into the environment...'My cup runneth over with love', is blasphemy of the highest order...Every pious Mahoundian knows that you can't get love from a cup, that this is a vicious lie spread by the Anti-Allah, and has to be stamped out before it multiplies...and so al-Shabaab attacks...It sounds a little like 'spreading mischief and corruption in the land'...Quran 5:33...Of course 5:33 says nothing of blowing people up, but that's probably because explosive vests were not invented when Allah sent down that aya...

"Whatever happened to Ar-Rahman?"

Noodles?

"Whatever happened to Ar-Rahman?"

Noodles?

I always suspected that...You know what happens when noodles get wet...It does seem like Islam is a big pot full of wet noodles...

"I always suspected that...You know what happens when noodles get wet...It does seem like Islam is a big pot full of wet noodles..."

Oh, that was hilarious! Thanks for the lol!

I could go on about wet noodles, but JW is a family site...
No reason to upset the young reader...

Per FOXNews, the death toll just hit 64, and the "glorious and heroic" Al-Shebaab just claimed responsibility.

I guess security proved too heavy for the Jihadists in South Africa itself—not for want of trying, though. I know several matches were targeted, including the early USA/England game.

So, they turned their "talents" on an Ethiopian restaurant and a rugby club where fans were watching the World Cup final in Uganda.

It's not that they haven't done this before—teenagers watching the World Cup have been murdered by Al Shebaab in Somalia.

"Somali jihadists issue ban on watching World Cup soccer, start killing to enforce it"

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/that-didnt-take-long-somali-jihadists-issue-ban-on-watching-world-cup-soccer-start-killing-to-enforc.html

The previous batch of Jihadists to grab control in Somalia—the "Islamic Courts Union"—also killed fans tuning in to the last World Cup in 2006.

They referred to playing soccer matches as a "satanic act"—as opposed to blowing up innocent people watching a ball game, of course, which is a glorious act of Jihad.

"...al-Shabaab just threatened Uganda and Burundi in the past few days."

This could get interesting. The tribes of Burundi are not exactly the most stable of peoples; they have a history of ferocious massacres of each other. If the Somalis carry out any bombings in Burundi, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Burundian "peace-keepers" in Somalia carry out some savage reprisals.

Whenever the depradations of al-Shebab come up, I like to remind readers that in 2006 more than 1,500 Somalian immigrant Muslims demonstrated in Peavey Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- in favor of the jihad in their home country.

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/1500-muslims-protest-somalia-defeat-in-minnesota

So, instead of seeing a mass rally of nearly 2,000 Muslims protesting against such atrocities, we not only get silence, we also get outright support.

Oi deadhead, islam is evil and Allah is Satan. You are afolower of the most evil cult the planet has ever seen. Terrorism is the norm for Islam, whether the victims are Israeli Jews or Ugandan Christians. What else can you make of a cult whose supposed 'holy men' tell their flock to murder at will those who don't follow the strictures of their unhioly book?

Religion of peace?

Arabic-speaking Jews use "Allah" when referring to God.
Rabbi Saadia Gaon's ninth-century Arabic translation of the Hebrew Bible uses "Allah" to refer to God.
Maimonides used "Allah" to refer to God when he wrote his "Guide to the Perplexed" in Arabic.
I have in my possession classic Jewish texts in which "Allah" is used in traditional religious songs.

"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God.

Kim, you're really misinformed on the word "Allah."

Allah is the Arabic word for "The Supreme Being" and it is the word used by Arab speaking Christians and Jews since the very beginning and even to this day.

There is no way you can try to say otherwise without the advent of bigotry. The fact is that even Jesus said something very similar to the word "Allah" because he spoke Aramaic.

Do you know what the word for God in Aramaic is ? It is Elaw - that's right. Elaw prounces almost the same as Allah because Jesus was a MIDDLE EASTERN JEW.

Sorry to tell you this but pretty much everyone in the Bible looked and spoke like most modern Arabs.

Channel 4 TV, UK - (includes video reports):

"Somali jihadists 'admit' Uganda bombings"

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/africa/world+cup+fans+killed+in+ugandan+explosions/3707707

Bug off, Mohammedan. You're wrong.

You're really misinformed on the word "God."

You're the bigot, like all Mohammedans. Bug off, Mohammedan.

"Religion of peace?"

I get your sarcasm. Islam has as much to do with God as a shark has to do with compassion and mercy.

Islam sucks. Go back to your own countries, Islamic Barbarians.

@Channe

Jesus said "Eli, Eli, lamah sabachtani"

That's Aramaic for "Eli, Eli, lamah azavtani"

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

It's from the Hebrew Pslam.

El is Lord in Hebrew. It HAS NO RELATION TO allah (which is shortened form of allat, the Arabian moon god.

By the way, the proper Hebrew term for God is Jehovah or YHWH, which means "He will come to be"

God (or YHWH) named himself after his greatest miracle, the Messiah Jesus Christ born through the Virgin Mary.

"Oi deadhead [Living Stone], Islam is evil and Allah is Satan. You are a follower of the most evil cult the planet has ever seen. Terrorism is the norm for Islam, whether the victims are Israeli Jews or Ugandan Christians. What else can you make of a cult whose supposed 'holy men' tell their flock to murder at will those who don't follow the strictures of their unholy book?"

Exactly.

Muslims just mass-murdered 64 innocent people in Kampala, Uganda. GO ***** YOURSELVES MUSLIM BARBARIANS MASS-MURDERERS.

Anyone who defends evil Islam is as evil as Evil Islam.

@Channe:

"Jesus said "Eli, Eli, lamah sabachtani"

That's Aramaic for "Eli, Eli, lamah azavtani"

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

It's from the Hebrew Psalm.

Eli is Lord in Hebrew. It HAS NO RELATION TO allah (which is shortened form of allat, the Arabian moon god.

By the way, the proper Hebrew term for God is Jehovah or YHWH, which means "He will come to be"

God (or YHWH) named himself after his greatest miracle, the Messiah Jesus Christ born through the Virgin Mary."

BRAVO YANKEL! THANK YOU!

"That's simply not true. Why would Jews and Christians evoke the name of an Arabian pagan moon idol? In addition, the Bible would contain the word 'Allah' - yet, it doesn't, anywhere, in either the OT or NT."

Well, since you don't believe this source, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah , I can only suggest that if it's possible for you to do, ask Jewish Arabs and Christian Arabs directly if they refer to God as "Allah".

Think about this. Most ancient people considered the sun as "God" or the moon as "God". Does this mean that "God" is a Sun-God or a Moon-God. This is the precise logic of this link ( http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm ) which you provided.

"God" is not a proper name, neither is "Allah", "Dios," "Dieu," etc.

Furthermore, of course you wouldn't find "Allah" in Hebrew, Greek, or English Bibles because "Allah" is an Arabic word. But I'd bet you'd find "Allah" in an Arabic Bible. "Allah" in Arabic is the equivalent of "God" in English, "Dieu" in French, "Dios" in Spanish.

Lastly, if somebody put words in your mouth, are you responsible for those words? Of course not. Well, in the same way, Muhammad put the Devil's words in Allah's/God's mouth. Allah/God is surely not responsible for those Devil's words that Muhammad put in His mouth.

Allah is a name...It means 'al_lah...'The god'...The god, two words is a duality...The word 'God' is a title and not a name...It is a singularity...When Moses asked God (not Al-lah) his name..., God avoided the name issue and said, I AM THAT I AM, which is not a name, it means 'existence is existence...He did not say, 'I am Allah', he said 'I AM'...When Moses said, 'Who shall I tell the people sent me...The God with no name said 'Tell them I AM sent You'...
God uses that title through out the book of Exodus referring to himself a 'Lord Am'...Never Allah...Allah is the moon god Sin who is presiding over the Qlipoth with Satan and Molech as his main demonic henchman...Because of the duality of all lesser gods, Allah is the Lord of Matter...All evil happens in matter, so that Allah's other title is Lord of Evil...Al-lah...

Thank You. I'm tired of dealing with hard-head doesn't-get-it Muslim Living Stone.

Jesus is God

allah is Not

End of story

Allah cannot predate Mohammedanism because that is where the term originated. It is in response to Mohammed's design to consolidate all the Arabian tribes with all their pagan deities under one banner god, selecting the moon god, which he renamed "Allah". Any similarities to such names resembling "allah" are linguistic coincidences, nothing more.

Note in the 99 names of god there is no such name as "Allah" per se, not even "akbar". Some of the attributed names have contradictory messages, such as being 'wise, forgiving, loving' etc, while simultaneously allah is the 'avenger, inflictor, harmer, subduer' etc. So this is just a list of superstitious primitive tribal attributes projected onto their deity, probably collected from all the other (now extinct and haram) gods in the Arabian universe.

This 'religion' besides being vindictive and dangerous to our lives, is merely storytelling by ignorant tribesmen. Now in our 21st century (their 13th) their evil superstitious vie to rule again, and cause death in their path. Like Uganda - or Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Turkey, Sudan, Chad, Somalia, in the Islamosphere alone- and in other lands where Mohammedans vie for power, like Thailand, Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Lebanon, Israel, India, Bosnia, Macedonia, now even making inroads (through foolishly allowed in-migration) in Western countries like England, France, Holland, Sweden, Spain, USA, even China. This is already a long list, but you get the idea. The murderous cult of Allah is hard at work, killing and maiming, for their evil god. Its 100th name must be "death".

I hate to weigh in on this Allah/God issue, but I find it difficult to refrain when I see elementary points being misapprehended.

1. "Allah" is just a label. For example, a can of poison can have the label affixed on it "Spinach". Does that make Spinach into poison?

2. Whether the label "Allah" meant approximately "god" in the generic sense of "a divinity" in Arab culture before Islam began, or whether it was the specific name of one specific deity in a pantheon of polytheistic gods (analogous to the Greek god Poseidon, or Ares, or Athena; etc.) -- is a question of historical record, not a matter of theology.

3. It is a matter of fact that Arab Christians today, and probably for centuries, have used the label Allah as a synonym for what English speakers mean when they say "God" with capital G. Indeed, it is possible that Arab Christians before the time of Islam used the label Allah to denote what Greek Christians at the time referred to as ho Theos -- God with a capital G. Some people here seem to think that Arabia at the time of Mohammed was completely filled with polytheistic pagans. In fact, numerous Christian, and Jewish, communities of Arabs existed at that time, and for centuries in Arabia before Mohammed was ever born. Again, whether or not Arab Christians did in fact use the label Allah to denote "God" in the centuries preceding the advent of Islam would be a matter of historical record, not a matter of theology.

4. The English word "God" with a capital G is no different linguistically from the English word "god" with a small g. The latter is a label usually used to denote divinities in a polytheistic theology; the former for the monotheistic divinity. Europe before the advent of Christianity (and conversion of Europe took a long time, centuries) believed in gods (or their various linguistic equivalents among the various barbarian tribes). When Europe became Christian, at some point the same word that previously denoted polytheistic gods was singularized, and capitalized -- "God" -- to denote the Christian deity. Does the pagan past of the word "God" delegitimize the word? The same question -- and the same theo-logic that underpins that question -- pertains also to the Greek ho Theos and the theos that simply denoted any one of the multitude of gods in pagan Greek theology prior to Christianity. (Note: at the time of the early Christians, Greek was the linqua franca of the Mediterranean, from Spain to Greece, from Italy to North Africa, and the New Testament was written in Greek.)

5. However, considering the uniquely atrocious perversion of the label Allah by Muslims over the past 1400 years, I would argue that Arab Christians should simply substitute another label for it in their Bibles and in their liturgies -- as a matter of principle, sort of analogous to the fact that the Swastika, while it preceded Nazism and may be a part of other cultural traditions, has become a symbolism which virtually everyone agrees to leave in the dustbin of history.

"Eli" means "my God" in Hebrew.

Lord is "adon," while adonay is "my lord." El can also mean force, or power, in Hebrew, as in the saying "et zeh asiti ba EL yadi" or "I did it with the power of my hand" literally.

El can mean a god or THE God.
Elohim can mean gods or THE God. Elohim also literally means "forces," "powers," or "judges."

There are many words for THE God in Hebrew:

El Shaday = God Allmighty
El Rachum = the Merciful (literally "wombed") God

Elohim/ El refer to God as revealed in storms, natural occurences, creative forces, etc. It is a masculine word.

YHVH is never pronounced and refers to the aspects of divinity as revealed in history, interpersonal actions, and one's private life. It is usually pronounced as Hashem or "the Name." This is a feminine word.

YHVH is an amalgam of past, future, and present tenses of the Hebrew word "to become" (hayah-hoveh-yihyeh) and can be translated literally as BECOMING, though no translation really does this word justice. It indicates the Divine Being as one of movement, the opposite of a being in stasis and unchanging.

So Kim, you're saying that I ( an orthodox Jew) who studied at a yeshivah am a "Muhammedan."

Sorry Kim, but your tactics are below slimey and they remind me of tactics used by Nazis, Islamo-fascists, dogmatic communists, and various other followers and hanger-ons of totalitarian and anti-intellectual ideologies.

I have watched you in action here for some time.

You are rude, ignorant, and offensive; and utterly shamless in engaging in character assassination.

I await your apology for calling me a Muslim, but I won't hold my breath.

You have valid points, Hesp. The Christians and Jews who lived in lands conquered by the Mohammedans already had their vocabulary for God, which may have included "Allah", though my suspicion is that this was a word that migrated from the Muslim Arabs to the Judeo-Christian population. Only if the original Greek and Hebrew bibles used "Allah" would it justify thinking that the word predated Islam. Otherwise, it was an add-on in later centuries.

But put yourself in Mohammed's shoes for a moment. Here he was trying to consolidate diverse Arab tribes into a common fighting force, and as a good warlord, he cast around for what would be acceptable to these tribes, something they could all relate to. By then Christianity had already made its mark on the Middle Eastern world, so some common ideas of the Christians, and their predecessor Jews, could be used to his advantage. One such idea, rather clever, is to take a 'consensus' god, one that is already widely deified (Al-lat, Al-Ylah, Sin, Aksum, Hubal - all moon gods), so this became the moon-god renamed "Allah". Not a bad idea, since it would already gain some familiarity and acceptance. Then there was the Christian idea of Trinity to contend with, and he did that initially by giving Allah a similar trinity, which was "Al-Lah, Al-Rahman, Al Rahim". But this proved an embarrassment contradicting his One-god idea, so the latter two were demoted to attributes of Allah, "the compassionate, the merciful", which is what Al-Rahman and Al Rahim mean anyway. Case solved. Then comes the problem of differentiation from Christianity and Judaism. So what should Mohammed do? Easy, outlaw some things the Christian practice, like the wine in their communion. But to be consistent with tagging Islam unto the Abrahamic faiths, he followed pretty much the same Jewish dietary laws, forbidding pork, though with some variations. He also carried forward the slaughter of sacrificial goats. (Shellfish and bovine animals got slightly different interpretations, where the Sunni allow shellfish, for example, but the Shia do not.) Then the day of worship had to be addressed (all while Gabriel is whispering nothings into his epileptic mind) so better to move the sabbath from Saturday or Sunday. What's left, Monday or Friday? Friday it is!

The point being is that while Mohammed and his lieutenants were plotting his war strategies against all the infidels, he had to cobble together a credible religious ideology that would find wide acceptance among the Arab tribes. The consensus that worked best was Allah, and the anecdotal stories from the bible that he somehow managed to misinterpret, thinking he was improving them. Not a very complex ideology, Islam, really just a justification for the subjugation of its adherents into total submission. Obviously, for fourteen centuries, it worked. Today, with literacy and free flow of information, and the tremendous success of secular societies as opposed to the regressive backwardness of Islamic societies, the mullahs and imams still trying to use the old Mohammed formulas are running into trouble. What do you do? Well, as any failing enterprise that has gone down into the dirt had done, you give it more of the same, with a vengeance. Ergo, today Jihad is waged with as much vigor as those poor bastards can muster, even killing their own, especially women who fall in love with infidels abroad, and killing apostates, or anyone who criticizes Islam, they're so desperate. This is rough on those poor Moslems, I feel their pain. But also hold them with utter contempt.

The whole thing is a deadly farce, as Uganda just witnessed. Same goes on in so many other Islamic countries, from Egypt to the Caucasus, all North Africa to South Asia, all desperate to hang on. What's their solution? More and more Sharia, or course, for all. Not going to happen, Islam is in its last days.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, outlaw music, like those Christian hymns, and forbid human representational art, like those icons. That'll fix them. Fun too, the sourpuss.

Battle_of_Tours. Brilliant Analysis....and in regards to personal pronouns etc, the correct usage of which certainly can bridge gaps, YHWH bar Issa is certainly a good place to begin building. Worth a try if the truth be known, and could get the ball rolling on t'other side of the fence.

Battle of Tours,

"Only if the original Greek and Hebrew bibles used "Allah" would it justify thinking that the word predated Islam. Otherwise, it was an add-on in later centuries."

Not necessarily. The first six centuries after Christ were extraordinarily dynamic and productive centuries of growth and expansion of Christian communities, culture and theology, from Spain, to southern Europe, across all of North Africa, throughout the Middle East, and deep into SE Europe towards what later became Russia.

Christianity, unlike Islam, did not spread by forcing its original language on the new cultures it converted. For example, the great proselytizers Cyril and Methodius, pioneers in the 9th century A.D. in the conversion of the Slavs and the people who became the Russians, did not force the Slavs and Russians to use the Greek word for "God" nor the Hebrew word for "God": instead, Cyril and Methodius used the Slavic language and created a Slavic Bible -- in which, I am nearly certain, the Slavic word Bogu was used for Theos or what we know of as "God". It is likely that a similar process occurred with Arabs in the six centuries prior to Mohammed, and that they had already done what you claim Mohammed did with the word "Allah" -- i.e., the Christian Arabs had already, long before Mohammed, used the term from their culture which fit best with the more refined theology of (Christian) monotheism to which they had converted.

But again, this is not a matter of theology, nor of our speculation: it should be a matter of historical record. There has been lots of scholarship studying these things, and I'm sure there are scholarly articles investigating the Christianity of pre-Islam Arabs which would clear this up (unless the evidence is insufficient to make any pronouncements, which I doubt).

Leave a comment

NOTE: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.







Not Peace But A Sword by Robert SpencerDid Muhammad Exist? The Muslim Brotherhood in America, by Robert SpencerIslamophobia: Thoughtcrime of the Totalitarian FutureMuslim Persecution of Christians, by Robert Spencer Obama and IslamThe Ground Zero Mosque: Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks
The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran


Stealth Jihad


The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam


The Truth About Muhammad


What they’re saying about Robert Spencer
“My comrade-in-arms, my pal, my buddy.”
Oriana Fallaci

“Robert Spencer incarnates intellectual courage when, all over the world, governments, intellectuals, churches, universities and media crawl under a hegemonic Universal Caliphate’s New Order. His achievement in the battle for the survival of free speech and dignity of man will remain as a fundamental monument to the love of, and the self-sacrifice for, liberty.”
Bat Ye’or

“Robert Spencer is indefatigable. He is keeping up the good fight long after many have already given up. I do not know what we would do without him. I appreciate all the intelligence and courage it takes to keep going despite the appeasement of the West.”
Ibn Warraq

“America's most informed, fearless, and compelling voice on modern jihadism.”
Andrew C. McCarthy, Senior Fellow at National Review Institute

“Robert Spencer is the leading voice of scholarship and reason in a world gone mad. If the West is to be saved, we will owe Robert Spencer an incalculable debt.”
Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

"The consummate Islam critic and expert." — Bruce Bawer

“Over the years, we have become friends, and I have received his assistance on several pieces of legislation I proposed.”
Former Congressman Tom Tancredo

“Few people are capable of applying scholarship, analytical reasoning, and objectivity to their topic -- while simultaneously being readable and witty -- as can Robert Spencer.”
Raymond Ibrahim

“A national treasure...The acclaimed scholar of Islam.”
Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy

“I am indeed honored to call him my friend.”
Brad Thor, novelist

“A top American analyst of Islam....A serious scholar...I learn from him.”
Daniel Pipes

“A brilliant scholar and writer.”
Douglas Murray

"One of my best teachers."
Ashraf Ramelah, Voice of the Copts

“Thank God there’s at least one man with balls left in the West.”
Kathy Shaidle, Five Feet of Fury

“I read people like [Mark Steyn] and Bob Spencer and the rest of them, and I say, ‘Boortz, you’re pretending you’re an author. These people really are. They really write some entertaining, some standup stuff.’”
Neal Boortz

“Robert Spencer is the Stephen King of Jihad.”
Chris Gaubatz, Muslim Mafia

“Armed with facts and fearlessness, Spencer stands up for Western civilization.”
Michelle Malkin

“Widely read in conservative foreign policy circles.”
New York Times

“Widely read in many quarters in Washington.”
Washington Post

“A canny operative who likely has the inside track on the State Department’s Middle East affairs desk should the tea party win the White House.”
New York Magazine

“A hero of the American right.”
Karen Armstrong

"The leading anti-Islamic intellectual in the United States....The go-to Islam expert for the right wing."
Salon Magazine

“Robert Spencer is an Edward Said turned upside down.”
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz

“One of the nation's most notorious Islamophobes.”
Hamas-linked CAIR

"Geller and Spencer are probably the most important propagandizing Islamophobes in the world. These people's voices speak very loudly — not just here in the United States but overseas."
Heidi Beirach, Southern Poverty Law Center

“Satanic ignoramus.”
Khaleel Mohammed

“The Likud anti-Christ.”
Dar al-Hayat newspaper (Saudi Arabia)

“Zionist Crusader, missionary of hate, counter-Islam consultant.”
Al-Qaeda’s Adam Gadahn, “Azzam the American”



Follow me on Twitter
facebook islam
RSS feed

Monthly Archives



Donate
Jihad Watch is a 501 (c) 3 organization. Donations are tax-deductible.


Robert Spencer debates on The Quran Teaches WarVideo: Robert Spencer on CPAC Breitbart News
SIOAFreedom Defense InitiativeJihad Watch VideosAmerican Freedom Law Center
Note: Listing here does not imply endorsement of every view expressed at every linked site.

» ACT for America
» Always on Watch
» American Center for Democracy
» American Coptic Association
» American Council for Kosovo
» American Freedom Alliance
» American Freedom Law Center
» American Islamic Forum for Democracy
» American Sheepdogs
» American Thinker
» Americans Against Hate
» Americans for Legal Immigration
» Amerisrael
» Amillennialist Contra Mundum
» Annaqed
» A New Dark Age Is Dawning
» Answering Islam
» Answering Muslims
» Anti-CAIR
» Apostates of Islam
» Aramaic Broadcasting Network (ABN)
» Armies of Liberation
» Assyrian International News Agency
» Atlas Shrugs
» Atour — The State of Assyria
» Australian Islamist Monitor
» Biafra Nation
» Blazing Cat Fur
» Bosch Fawstin
» Brad Thor
» Brussels Journal
» CAIR Watch
» Campus Watch
» Caroline Glick
» Christians Under Attack
» Citizen Warrior
» Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights
» Conservative Nation News
» Copts.com
» Creeping Sharia
» Daniel Pipes
» David Horowitz Freedom Center
» The David Project
» David Thompson
» David Yerushalmi Law
» D. C. Watson
» Dearborn Underground
» DEBKAfile
» Dhimmitude.org
» Dry Bones
» Ellis Washington Report
» Europe News
» Eye On Islam
» Ezra Levant
» Faith Freedom International
» Father Zakaria
» Federale
» Five Feet of Fury
» Foundation for Democracy in Iran
» Free Congress Foundation
» The Free Copts
» Freedom Defense Initiative
» FrontPage Magazine.com
» Geert Wilders
» Genocide1915.info
» Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center
» History of Jihad
» Hizb ut-Tahrir Watch
» Honest Reporting
» Honor Killings
» Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities
» India Defence
» Infidel Blogger’s Alliance
» Infidels Are Cool
» The Intelligence Summit
» International Analyst Network
» International Free Press Society
» Internet Haganah
» The Investigative Project on Terrorism
» IOwnTheWorld.com
» IranPressNews
» Iran va Jahan
» Islam Review
» Islam Speaks
» Islam Versus Europe
» Islam Watch
» Islamic Terrorism in India
» Islamist Watch — Middle East Forum
» Israel Matzav
» JihadOnBuddhists.org
» Kejda Gjermani
» KRSI: Radio Sedaye Iran
» Liberated
» Logan's Warning
» Looking At the Left
» Mahdi Watch
» Mapping Sharia
» Mark Steyn
» Martin Kramer
» MEMRI TV
» Middle East Facts
» Middle East Quarterly
» Middle-East-Info.org
» Middle East Media Research Institute
» Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA)
» Militant Islam Monitor
» Morning Star
» Muhammad Tube
» The Muslim Issue
» Muslim World Today
» Myths and Facts
» National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition
» NewsReal Blog
» No Mosques At Ground Zero
» Nonie Darwish
» Northeast Intelligence Network
» Occidental Jihadist
» One Jerusalem
» Open Speech
» Operation Give
» Operation Gratitude
» Organiser
» Orwellian Culture
» Palestinian Media Watch
» PamelaGeller.com
» Panun Kashmir
» Pedestrian Infidel
» The People's Cube
» The People of the Book
» Persecution Project
» Political Islam
» Politically Incorrect
» Politiskt Inkorrekt
» Q Society of Australia
» Radio Farda
» Radio Jihad
» RAWA: Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
» Raymond Ibrahim
» Red Alerts
» Refugee Resettlement Watch
» Religion of Peace
» Republican Riot
» Reuters Middle East Watch
» The “Reverend” Jim Sutter
» SANE: Society of Americans for National Existence
» The Second Draft
» Shire Network News
» SITE Intelligence Group
» Small Wars Journal
» Smoke-Filled World
» The Snooper Report
» Snow Report Blog
» StandWithUs
» Steve Lackner
» The Stiletto Blog
» STOP! Honour Killings
» Sultan Knish
» Tell the Children the Truth
» Terrorism Awareness Project
» Theodore’s World
» Tom Gross Media
» Translating Jihad
» Una via per Oriana
» Undaunted
» United States Central Command
» Urban Infidel
» Walid Shoebat
» Winds of Jihad
» Women Against Shariah
» World Council for the Cedars Revolution
» Yid With Lid
» Z Street
» Zilla of the Resistance
» Zionist Conspiracy
Crucified Again by Raymond IbrahimDavid LittmanOriana Fallaci Thousands of Deadly Terror Attacks Since 9/11The incredible Reza Aslan automated insult generator! iGoogle Gadget
Site Meter