Just 10 More Shopping Days Until August 22nd
Yep. If the ongoing speculation about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's apocalyptic vision for the end times and the return of the "hidden Imam" (the "Mahdi") has any connection to his deadline date (August 22) for his response to the UN incentive package for halting Iran's nuclear weapons program then you just might want to pick up some bottled water and toilet paper on your next trip to the store.
I have written about this date several times and noted its significance for Islam here and here. In addition to being the date of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin after the 1st Crusade the date also apparently commemorates "the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1)." (WSJ via Drudge)
Personally, I have speculated on a nuclear attack on Israel (probably Tel Aviv) and others have considered the possibility of a massive conventional attack on Israel by Iran as well.
Lately, however, I am thinking that Iran might be planning to set off a nuclear test explosion on August 22 to demonstrate to the world that they do, in fact, already have "the bomb."
It is, of course, possible that they have developed it themselves. But is unlikely that they would "waste" their hard-fought weapon on a mere "test."
More likely, to my mind, is that they have developed their own nuclear bomb but will keep it and set off a smaller one that they have acquired from Russia or Korea as their test demo.
Such a test would clearly send "chills" down the spines of the rest of the world and make the future far more uncertain than it is already.
If, in fact, we do get past August 22 relatively unscathed then I would not be surprised to soon hear Ahmadinejad quoting another significant date in Islamic tradition as the next "deadline" on Iran's march into historical infamy.
I have written about this date several times and noted its significance for Islam here and here. In addition to being the date of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin after the 1st Crusade the date also apparently commemorates "the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to 'the farthest mosque,' usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1)." (WSJ via Drudge)
Personally, I have speculated on a nuclear attack on Israel (probably Tel Aviv) and others have considered the possibility of a massive conventional attack on Israel by Iran as well.
Lately, however, I am thinking that Iran might be planning to set off a nuclear test explosion on August 22 to demonstrate to the world that they do, in fact, already have "the bomb."
It is, of course, possible that they have developed it themselves. But is unlikely that they would "waste" their hard-fought weapon on a mere "test."
More likely, to my mind, is that they have developed their own nuclear bomb but will keep it and set off a smaller one that they have acquired from Russia or Korea as their test demo.
Such a test would clearly send "chills" down the spines of the rest of the world and make the future far more uncertain than it is already.
If, in fact, we do get past August 22 relatively unscathed then I would not be surprised to soon hear Ahmadinejad quoting another significant date in Islamic tradition as the next "deadline" on Iran's march into historical infamy.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 10:08 PM
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