There’s a very simple solution to this. Drop all plans for a memorial, other than what is there now, and let it grow. Nothing they build can be more powerful than what has been placed there now, and if you don’t believe me, I suggest that the next time you’re in Pennsylvania, you visit Shanksville.

Like or Dislike: 0  0

This is a jihadi memorial. No amount of politically correct doublespeak will make me think differently. Why are we letting this happen? Why is free speach only for a select few?

Like or Dislike: 0  0

The fact that this ‘memorial’ will have glass blocks for the victims, including the four hijackers, tells me all I need to know: This is a jihadi memorial. No about of wishy-washy circumlocution will change that, only a redesign will.

Like or Dislike: 0  0

Steve,

There are plenty of other sites besides the easily edited by anyone Wikipedia. I would recommend staying away from CAIR sites and their ilk. However, the “ask an Imam” site (if it is still up) is insightful if only to see what these people are really saying to each other. Mind you that it is just about as nauseating as looking at any other hate site, but informative in a Sun Tsu sort of way (know your enemy and all). I would stay away from the easy to find jihadist web boards as they are havens for hackers trying to make zombie computers and monitored by US (and pretty much every other intelligence agency in the world) SIGINT to trace down the terrorists on them.

That said, there are plenty of non-governmental groups/blogs/watchdogs watching the jihadists and studying the aspects of Islam and its government as Islam is the only religion which also entails a full set of laws for governance. MEMRI offers translations of Arabic and Farsi TV and other media outlets for starters. Palestine Media Watch is another. These are just two of the dozens I know of.

You may also want to look up the cultural meaning of a Mihrab. They are not “Prayer Niches” in the Judaic-Christian sense of the word. The are places where a leader, particularly a war leader, stands. It is a completely different concept than any other religion. Just like “peace” to Westerners means something totally different to Muslim leaders.

Like or Dislike: 0  0

I’m afraid Philadelphia Steve is pulling your leg. Muslims do not face east for prayer, unless they happen to be due east of Mecca. Neither does the Wikipedia page cited say any such thing. Do a search for “east” on the page referenced and it does not come up.

It is true that for most of Islamic history, Muslims had no accurate way to determine the direction to Mecca, and came up with a variety of rules of thumb to compensate. Sometimes they would have mosques face down the road to Mecca. Sometimes they would align with the walls of the Kaaba. Sometimes they would point south, as Muhammad’s mosque in Medina roughly did. I have never come across any source that claimed that mosques ever faced east.

Here is a page from David King’s 1999 book on direction finding in Islam, showing some of these rules of thumb: http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z36/AlecRawls/MirhabOrientationDavidKing1999p4-1.jpg

Both churches and synagogues do sometimes face east. In Judaism this is to face Jerusalem. In Christianity I think it is to face the rising sun, symbolizing ressurection.

In any case, as the post describes, the issue is pretty well settled amongst Muslims, now that there are accurate ways to determine the direction to Mecca. Modern Muslims use the great circle direction to Mecca, and this is the direction that a person facing into the giant Flight 93 crescent will be facing (to within two degrees).

Like or Dislike: 0  0

Philadelphia Steve,

Wikipedia is your source???

Oh Lord help us!

Like or Dislike: 0  0

pecksniff. heh.

Like or Dislike: 0  0

Actually, only the Mihrab, or Prayre Niche, points toward Mecca, not the entire mosque. and generally Muslims orient themselves to point east, toward Mecca when they pray. The entire Mosque does not have to point toward Mecca. (When on the Saudi peninsula, muslims will orient themselves directly toward Mecca, no matter where they are in the country. When further away, they face east, on the assumption that their prayers will travel around the globe toward Mecca. (for those who believe the world is round).

So, if the flight 93 Memorial was truly a “Mosque”, then the entire memorial would face east, and not across the pole toward Mecca.

By the way, early Christian churches had a similar orientation. In their case pointing east toward Jerusalem. So, perhaps the Flight 93 memorial is truly a Christian symbol, and pointing toward jerusalem, not Mecca, if you are looking for hidden meanings.

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

Like or Dislike: 0  0