hajj

December 18th, 2007
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Discussion (20)¬

  1. Warren says:
    December 18, 2007 at 7:35 am

    …and worship a meteorite.

  2. jONES. says:
    December 18, 2007 at 8:31 am

    Admittedly I know next to nothing about the muslim religion, only the bare bones of it… but where does the meteorite come into this?

  3. IshMalik says:
    December 18, 2007 at 9:36 am

    @Warren

    That fact has kept me highly amused decades!

  4. IshMalik says:
    December 18, 2007 at 9:38 am

    jONES

    Have a look at

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

  5. Demon says:
    December 18, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    Alright, I don’t get it. What is so funny about circumambulating a square box like zombies with a big stone which was originaly was called Allah, the largest black stone god?

  6. JohnnieCanuck says:
    December 18, 2007 at 3:38 pm

    Oh, they worship as one, all right. Carefully separated as to Sunni or Shi’ite sects.

    Occasionally the devil doesn’t get stoned, when someone gets between a thrown rock and a hard symbol. Strangely, the affronted will often retaliate by throwing a rock back in the general direction of their assailant, with no hope of hitting him. Mayhem follows.

    If that really were the Devil In Petra, he probably would be enjoying himself immensely.

  7. Uncle Roger says:
    December 19, 2007 at 10:10 am

    I dunno, doesn’t seem any more or less reasonable than any of the other superstitious rituals any religion has. Which is to say they all seem pretty darn silly to me.

  8. jONES. says:
    December 19, 2007 at 11:43 am

    well that explains alot… the whole religion is stoned…

    seems like a kinda rocky basis for a religion which has risen into meteoric prominence in the region…

  9. Ish says:
    December 19, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    jONES, you are the new Richard Whitley (That’ll only make sense if you’re from the UK!)

  10. JayBee says:
    December 19, 2007 at 5:33 pm

    Let’s praise Allah that there were no deaths like the years before by stampedes…
    Oh actually no! If they die there, they go straight to Heaven for a fast meeting with the virgins!

  11. Rob says:
    December 20, 2007 at 3:40 am

    Yes, dont forget that the ladies don’t get to worship a large lump of rock sticking up into the air..perhaps in case it gives them any funny ideas?
    It’s long overdue for us to sort out whether someone’s beliefs demand respect just by virtue of them having them sincerely and strongly or because of their actual content.
    If the former then the inhabitants of the local psychiatric hospital (many of whom also think that they are prophets) need to be afforded the same respect.
    If the latter then this bunch of bronze-age idiots might be treated with fear but that is not really the same as respect now, is it?

  12. prozacville says:
    December 20, 2007 at 4:36 am

    Been watching ‘Make Me A Muslim’ on C4 this week, thinking about this column. The best bit had to be when they got in a muslim stand-up ‘comedian’. Proof, if proof were needed, that unless someone is actually poking fun at religion (J&M and their readers) believers ain’t the greatest of wits.

  13. dd says:
    December 21, 2007 at 12:15 am

    “believers ain’t the greatest of wits”

    I once asked a hindu whats the difference bettween hinduism and christianity. He said we worship shiva not shava (shava = corpse in sanskrit).

  14. Hobbes says:
    December 21, 2007 at 6:41 am

    By the way, how can an omniscient god change his mind (as in the “Flood”)? Think about it.

  15. Jerry w. says:
    December 24, 2007 at 8:21 am

    Well, as the hindu said to the hot dog stand owner:

    “Make me one with everything”.

    Funnier when spoken, try it on a friend.

    http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

  16. jONES. says:
    December 27, 2007 at 7:13 am

    Nope, not from the UK… Richard who-now?

  17. Rich says:
    January 2, 2008 at 7:12 am

    @jONES

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

    “His trademarks were his jolly, avuncular manner; his fondness for excruciatingly bad puns…”

  18. Paul May says:
    December 17, 2013 at 9:30 am

    The stone is a carryover from the previous polytheistic religion–it’s used as a signifier of continuation and power over the old gods.

  19. Bones'sDog says:
    May 1, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    Hobbes, why can’t someone who know a lot make different decisions on different days? Even if “a lot” means “everything that can be known and a littley bit more”?
    I know what is in my fridge. I decide I want to eat a curry. On opening the door and seeing the contents I decide that a sausage in a bun is an easier bet as I’m feeling lazier by the second.
    Decisions are not always based on strict logical processes, or on any processes and knowledge of facts. They can be based on impulse of the moment.
    The Old Testes tells us that Jehovah has poor impulse control, whether he knows everything or not.
    That and he’s testy, inconsistent and slightly pouty.
    All good qualities for an ancient god.

  20. Bones'sDog says:
    May 1, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Ooops, I really should not leave proof-reading up to the auto-corrector. Either that or I should clean up the dictionary my spelling checker uses.
    Sorry.

    On the subject of that black brick in a box, isn’t that roughly the equivalent of the Christians making a pilgrimage to Delphi or Stonehenge or touching wood for god luck?
    Isn’t it haram? Anti-Islam? Worshipping false gods? Or is it made okay just because the real Mo’ did it?
    If that last, could Islam suddenly decide that the real Mo’ liked bacon sandwiches and real ales and respected the age of consent?

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