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Islamic State destroys Muslim shrine as part of “Elimination of Polytheist Landmarks” initiative

Jun 23, 2015 12:36 pm By Robert Spencer

isis-destroy-palmyra-shrineEven though the tomb of Sheikh Mohammed Ali was a Muslim shrine, the Islamic State considers destroying it to be its Islamic duty. Muhammad himself is depicted in a hadith as appearing to be in favor of such actions: “Narrated ‘Aisha and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas: When the last moment of the life of Allah’s Apostle came he started putting his ‘Khamisa’ on his face and when he felt hot and short of breath he took it off his face and said, ‘May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets.’ The Prophet was warning (Muslims) of what those had done.” (Sahih Bukhari 1:8:427)

“Isis destroys Palmyra shrine as group vows to ‘remove polytheism,'” by Jack Moore, Newsweek, June 23, 2015:

Isis has destroyed the tomb of Sheikh Mohammed Ali near Palmyra after announcing it would begin “removing the landmarks of polytheism” in the area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Photos of the shrine being destroyed were circulated online in a report called ‘The Elimination of Polytheist Landmarks’ released by Isis’s media arm Wilayat Homs. The photos also show a second, unidentified shrine being destroyed by the terror group.

The photos depict Isis militants transporting explosive material to the site of the religious figure’s tomb, which sits atop the Mohammed Ali mountain, north of Palmyra. The city, captured by the group last month, is a Unesco World Heritage Site which the UN describes as a site of “outstanding universal value” due to its 1st and 2nd Century temples.

Rami Abdel Rahman, founder and director of SOHR, confirmed the detonation of the Mohammed Ali shrine to Newsweek and said that it was a popular tourism spot for Muslims around the world.

“It is important because for a long time the people have gone to visit this shrine,” he said. “Muslims visit this area and Mohammed Ali mountain.”

Rahman believes that the destruction of the shrines in Palmyra will continue, but indicates that the group might be feeling under pressure due to the advance of soldiers loyal to the Assad-regime.

“I think that Isis know that the regime are too close to this historic city and they will bombard this area,” he concluded.

Activist Batoul al-Homsi also confirmed to London-based Al-Araby that Isis militants blew up two shrines in response to the reinforcement of the Syrian regime forces near the city. The source said that the group “rigged the archeological city [with explosives], after regime forces summoned reinforcements to bolster their positions near Palmyra”….

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Filed Under: Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Islamic supremacism Tagged With: Palmyra, Sheikh Mohammed Ali


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Comments

  1. John C. Barile says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    I’m trying to recall the name of the Ottoman sultan whose tomb in northern Syria, in the midst of the Islamic State, is garrisoned by Turkey, which has extraterritorial sovereignty over it. That ‘s one shrine the IS wouldn’t dare disturb.

    • Huck Folder says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 2:33 pm

      Surreal (islamic!)

      http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/suleyman-shah-turkish-troops-raid-syria-isis-tomb/385864/

      “The tomb of Suleiman Shah, the grandfather of the Sultan Osman, founder of the Ottoman dynasty (the tomb known under the name of Turk Mezari), situated at Jaber-Kalesi shall remain, with its appurtenances, the PROPERTY OF TURKEY, who may appoint guardians for it and may hoist the Turkish flag there.”

      “In 2014, ISIS troops neared the tomb and demanded that Turkey evacuate; then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that any attack would meet with retribution: “The tomb of Süleyman Şah and the land surrounding it is OUR TERRITORY. We cannot ignore any unfavorable act against that monument, as it would be an ATTACK ON OUR TERRITORY, as well as an ATTACK ON NATO LAND.””

      And arrogant.

      • John C. Barile says

        Jun 23, 2015 at 11:50 pm

        What, you don’t want to fight for our NATO ally Turkey’s HONOR? /sarc

      • John C. Barile says

        Jun 23, 2015 at 11:55 pm

        I take it you gotta beef with Eric Holder.

  2. Barry Soetoro says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    The NPR crowd would be happy if ISIS would come to the US and start blowing up religious sites

    • duh_swami says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 1:30 pm

      What???

  3. duh_swami says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    When Allah is always on your mind, a shrine is a distraction, and must be destroyed because of idolatry. A few years ago the Saudi’s bull dozed ancient buildings around Mecca, including the reported house Mahound was born in, so that these places would not become shrines and detract from Allah..

    • somehistory says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 8:36 pm

      When they can’t play music, watch movies or television, read anything but their unholy book that tells them …kill, kill…kill,,,,and destroy anything and everything that someone who thinks differently might like or use….when they aren’t allowed to eat all day or drink water all day and all of the women are wearing the garbage bags….what else can they do? They run out of human victims to rape, torture and kill, so they have to do something with all of that time of no work and no play. If they don’t blow things up…. their lives are bound to be dull…with no work and no play.

  4. Richie says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    Isn’t there a sect within Islam that wants to destroy the black stone in Mecca?
    I wonder how Muslims will react if other Muslims destroy that pagan phallic black rock.

    • duh_swami says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 1:34 pm

      I wonder if anyone has ever washed that stone off. it must have a big layer of dried slobber…If anyone ever took a scrub pad to it, they would discover it is still while under all that black…

    • Huck Folder says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 2:36 pm

      Er Richie, it’s not phallic, it’s vaginal.

  5. Angemon says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    The city, captured by the group last month, is a Unesco World Heritage Site which the UN describes as a site of “outstanding universal value” due to its 1st and 2nd Century temples.

    Not for long – at this rate, there won’t even be ruins of the ruins.

  6. ConnectingDots says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    United Nations cannot protect its UNESCO World Heritage sites?

    Well, knock me over with a feather!

  7. Tequila Not Taqiyya says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Since it is muslim, I could care less. But don’t touch anything non-muslim!

    • Lioness says

      Jun 24, 2015 at 11:59 am

      Agree, let them blow it up to smithereens, that one and every other Muslim “shrine” on the planet. Maybe while blowing it up, a few of them will go up in smoke with the shrine.

  8. jewdog says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    If the EDL had blown that up there would be outrage and cries of racism, but when the Muslims do it, it’s ho-hum. To ISIS, cartoons are hate crimes, but blowing up shrines is strictly Halal. They better double the guards at the Elvis museum.

    • Porky The Crusader says

      Jun 23, 2015 at 4:32 pm

      Lol….Elvis is everywhere.

  9. Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    Somebody destroyed a shrine to Mohammed Ali?
    Cassius Clay is not going to like this.

  10. mortimer says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    The Soddy Barbarians have been destroying EVERY SINGLE SHI’ITE shrine and every vestige of any historical site even associated with Mohammed’s companions in Arabia.

    There is no difference between the Soddy Barbarians and ISIS except that the Soddies did it earlier on!

  11. Matthieu Baudin says

    Jun 23, 2015 at 11:37 pm

    This is what they dream of doing to our Egyptian antiquities.

  12. Colin says

    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:09 am

    So, almost the last word on dyng Mohammed’s lips were, “May Allah, curse the Christians and the Jews..Could this be the same revered figure who invented the Religion of Peae? I’m shocked, do you hear… shocked!”

  13. Alarmed Pig Farmer says

    Jun 24, 2015 at 11:28 am

    …and when he felt hot and short of breath he took it off his face and said, ‘May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets.’

    You see? The Holy Prophet Mohammed (not me) was always thinking. Even down to his last moments, he was good to lay a curse on Infidelism and its shrines.

    Which brings up the Turks. How dare they not destroy the Hagia Sopjia, how dare they first turn it into a mosque and then later keep it around as a tourist trap to be able to make some extra dough. With the Islam it’s all or nothing; it’s about commitment.

    ***

    Mohammed fired off his famous Letters to the Heads of State with a stern warning to submit or else. Well, they didn’t submit and they got the or else part. Be warned. Warn. It is time for New Caliph Abu Barkr al-Baghdadi to pick up the pen and fire off a missive to Recep Erdogan telling him to raze the Hagia Sophia or else. But Recep would only sneer down at the letter, knowing full well that Abu Bakr will send his boys into Asia Minor to try to take the place, so why should he give up a steady cash flow from an old church? These are the weighty duties and decisions left to Moslem rulers.

    • bill walker says

      Jun 24, 2015 at 7:52 pm

      ALL religions are a curse on humanity for their gullibility. Currently, the Muslim ‘faith’ is the worst of a bad lot.

      • H. Berry Fin says

        Jun 25, 2015 at 11:13 am

        Mr. Walker,
        Are you leaving your religion of Atheism unmentioned? Correct me if I am wrong, but don’t you believe that there is no God and that everything that exists evolved from nothing?

        That would be a real leap of faith into darkness in my view; and not perticulally scientific.

      • vassilis pastras says

        Jun 26, 2015 at 4:25 pm

        sir, it would be more accurate to say that monotheism is the worse. the reason is that it promotes the notion of absolute truth,deriving from the one true god.the result is fanatism and rejection of any differentiation.not only the non believers can not be tolerated but also the so called heretics inside the same religion.we today admire the ancient civilizations; maybe we should consider whether ancient polytheism allowed space to those developments,or else to a more open minded approach of the world

  14. H. Berry Fin says

    Jun 25, 2015 at 11:15 am

    Wasn’t there a movie once titled: Planet of the Apes?

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