Palestinians After More than Philistine Lands

 

The Palestinian leadership and spokespersons have made the false claim repeatedly that they are the descendants of the long dead Philistines and claim they are simple demanding their ancient homelands. There are any number of problems with this narrative starting with, but not ending with, the fact the Philistines were of Greek descent, not Arab. Then there is the little inconvenient fact that the Arab expansion from their ancestral homelands of the Arabian Peninsula waited until well after the Roman Empire had fallen, somewhere around 625 of the Common Era. All these and other little equally inconsequential truths aside there remains the one as to what exactly were the Philistine lands. Truth be known, the Philistines being a people of the sea held solely coastal cities with their five capital cities being Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Gath. This would relate to Ashdod as the northern most city and continuing down the coast including Gaza on to approximately the Egyptian border possibly extending into parts of norther Sinai Peninsula. This would be about half again more land than Gaza which is currently held by Hamas and is sometimes referred to in editorials as Hamastan. Claiming to be the Philistines would rule out the entirety of their claims to lands of the West Bank, but why let realities get in the way.

 

Tribes of Israel and Land of the Philistines

 

What brought this on was reading some of the overly forgiving eulogies rightfully praising Simon Peres at his state funeral last week. The picture painted of Peres was one of a man whose life was spent in the unswerving desire for peace and of a gentle soul who was next to faultless and was the measure of understanding. I would have liked to have known of the man described, but that is often how eulogies are, aggrandizing those traits the world found laudable while ignoring those which did not meet the world’s universal measure of greatness. Thus almost none mentioned that Simon Peres was the driving force which drove the building of the experimental reactor at Dimona which could be used for the production of nuclear weapons grade materials, and his deals to acquire French Mirage jets which served as the backbone of the early Israeli Air Force as well. They omitted his support for settlements in what many once believed were lands which at best could have been thought to be negotiable Israeli lands and other Zionist endeavors which assisted in building a strong and viable State of Israel in the 1950s and early 1960s before Peres remade himself into a leftist icon and the man who pursued peace regardless of the consequences and never once saw any of the difficulties resulting from his actions. Simon Peres was a force of wild abandon that wreaked havoc as it broke down every argument and logical caution all in the name of Oslo.

 

Once he had drafted and brought the Oslo Accords, forcing them upon his own nation and government using every coercion and international pressure in order to force Israel to kneel before the altar of Oslo, as if it were the Golden Calf in the plains before Mount Sinai during the Exodus, and the results were similar in both cases. Simon Peres sold the chimera of land for peace and made such into an idolatrous religion with the Oslo Accords as the idol of worship and constructed a virtual Shrine of Oslo where land for peace was to be worshiped and the term Oslo was a sainted and holy word. This idolatrous cult diverted many an Israeli just as idolatrous cults of the Philistines, Egyptian, Hittites, Edomites, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans stole Israelite souls throughout Israeli history. In many of the times past the Israelite people and later the Jews were punished for their taking of false gods and worship of idols in place of Hashem. Some have postulated that the terrorism could have been interpreted as divine retribution for the worship of the doctrines of Oslo over the Commandments in Torah. There are many wisdoms and truths about the Land of Israel in Torah which we are not to question but to protect and serve to make them holy and dedicated to the worship of Hashem as commanded in Torah. Perhaps it would be of interest for this lay person to tell of the few with which even I am familiar.

 

First and foremost, the land of Israel belongs to Hashem and Hashem has assigned the Israelites, many call us Jews but that term defines Jews everywhere while Israelites are the Jewish People who have remained through time or returned to these ancient and holy lands thus making us separate in one aspect from other Jews, to tend and care for the lands of Hashem and the lands will care for us for as long as we keep Hashem’s Commandments. Hashem gave us these lands to sustain us as a reward for living by the Commandments of Torah and the lands will be bountiful in measure with our obedience and pure worship of Hashem as Commanded in Torah. There are more than Ten Commandments, there are six-hundred-thirteen Commandments, Mitzvot, in Torah and the Rabbis have added quite a number of regulations, one might call them, over the years as listed in Talmud and other doctrinaires. We are to follow these directives from Torah as if our lives depended upon them because they actually do depend upon them if the land is to support us and keep us. Those who do not follow Hashem and do these Commandments will be “vomited from these lands” as the lands will reject the sinners. After the last exile which lasted almost two-thousand years we hope we have learned this one truism at long last.

 

There are instructions as to how we are to face those living in the lands which Hashem was to give us and this should probably apply to the modern times as well. We are to give these people three alternatives, each less hospitable than the previous one. The most hospitable is they are welcome to remain in the lands and we will not settle where their cities exist as long as they leave us in peace to follow Hashem and they agree to obey the Noahic Code of seven commandments upon which all civilized nations are to be based according to Torah. These are not dissimilar to the Ten Commandments but are slightly less demanding (see image below). Those agreeing to this may live within the lands and will be afforded equal protection from outside attacks and be treated as equals with equal rights and be free to live providing they reside peaceable and obey the Noahic Code, the Devine Code of seven universal commandments.

 

Noahic Codes

 

The second choice is they may choose to leave the lands entirely. If they choose this they will be afforded ample time to gather their belongings, herds, moveable property, vehicles, wagons and household goods and leave to choose a new homeland and we promise not to harm them, chase after them or bring upon them undue hardship once they have left for their future new homelands. Granted, this was much more easily achieved when the Israelites came to the Promised Lands after the exodus from the exile in Egypt (Mizraim). Of the Canaanite Tribes there were a few who chose to remain and did so in peace, some chose to leave and went forth from the land unhindered, but most chose the last alternative to their dismay and eventual demise. The third choice is to bring war against the Israelites and to try and vanquish us. Those choosing to take this stance and bring war face the ultimate response, annihilation. In case of war we are instructed by Torah to bring complete and total war against those who choose to treat us with violence and we are instructed to kill them to the last individual and to destroy their cattle, goods, and all that is theirs so as to wipe their name from history from that point forward. Total war is what we are described to bring against those who bring violence against us in Hashem’s lands.

 

This is not how we have treated the violences brought against us and instead have sought to make a peace with those who have chosen war. Peace cannot be made with people whose stated desire is your eradication. Reading even the school books that the Western nations of Europe as well as the European Union, United States, Canada, Australia and the United Nations have paid for in full and some have sent representatives to review the content of the texts and approved them and they state that the Jew in Israel is a mortal enemy to the Palestinian who must murder them wherever they find them. This is taught over and over again in every class imaginable and such is reinforced through plays and exercises where they reenact the murder of IDF troops and Israeli Jews. They have children’s shows on television where they sing songs about the heroic martyrs who murdered Jews and how they too will murder Jews when they are older. The governments of the world know of these textbooks which they pay to have printed. They know of these children’s television shows and the summer camps which are paramilitary training camps which teach the genocidal murder of all Jews worldwide. The world governments and most of the academics know of the naming of parks, schools, summer camps, soccer teams, sports tournaments, streets, squares, mosques and buildings of all types after murderers of Jews, or terrorists, of what they call blessed martyrs which is their term for suicide bombers who successfully murdered Israeli civilians including often numerous Arab Israeli citizens. The world knows of these things and gives it tacit approval all the while condemning Israel for any defense put forth to protect Israeli civilians. The western nations, especially the United States, demand that Israel remove blockaded streets, remove checkpoints and allow Palestinians free access into Israel basically instructing Israel to not enforce the borders with Palestinian Authority semi-autonomous regions knowing full well that doing so will provide clear access for terrorists into Israeli cities where they can and will murder Israeli civilians and then when these attackers are prevented from murdering Israeli civilians by police and they are shot the world protests the extrajudicial killing as if there had been no threat to life despite the terrorists already having stabbed or shot any number of individuals often resulting in deaths or permanent debilitating injuries which scar, disfigure and disable the victims for life.

 

There is a term in history, more of an explanation really; it is the theory that Jewish blood is cheap, often costless and inconsequential. This was true in much of history both in Europe and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) area under Islamic rule and Greek and Roman before that. One example were the Crusades where when they had numerous troops who were not battle-hardened and had never tasted blood (killed a man) they would assault Jewish towns and ghettos somewhat for sport and for the experience of killing so that when they reached the holy lands they actually had mastered their weapons and no longer gave killing a second thought which made them better soldiers. This training also made the slaughter of entire towns and cities in the holy lands easier on the soldiers’ consciences as they “purified” (rid) them of their non-Christian peoples. Do not believe this was only a Crusader practice as there was also purification in the Islamic world where they too were readying armies for the conquest and spread of Islam and often also for retaking the Holy Lands. As Jerusalem was of obvious value above and beyond that of any normal city as well as was Bethlehem and Nazareth, the Muslims were particularly driven to hold these cities simply to deny the Christians their prized possessions which they found made them lesser fighters, or at least that was the theory.

 

Once these cities, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem had finally been conquered, the next city of premium value and declared the third most important city for Islam became Constantinople. It replaced Jerusalem which had previously held that title until it was finally secured and defended and proven beyond the ability of the Christians to challenge. They treasured Constantinople so much they even gave it an Islamic name, Istanbul. Once they had finally broken through the walls of Constantinople and taken the city and renamed it Istanbul, they went the additional step of taking the Hagia Sophia, the largest and most decorative cathedral of the world at that time, and transformed it with the addition of four minarets and named as the Aya Sofya First Imperial Mosque of Istanbul (modern picture below where it now serves as a museum covering its entire history). The Hagia Sophia has had a spotted history of grandeur and falling into gross disrepair as well as suffering a number of earthquakes and one pillaging. Today it has had most of its frescos restored and the plaster removed to reveal others once again displaying its grandeur as a museum open to the public. One can only hope this grand structure and example of glorious architecture remains in all of its historic beauty for posterity but that will remain to be seen.

 

Aya Sofya First Imperial Mosque of Istanbul
Hagia Sophia Museum

 

Once the Muslims had taken Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul it eventually fell to the Ottoman Turks, themselves Muslims, and to the allies after World War I after which it was returned to Turkish rule as Turkey remained as a nation in the aftermath of the Great War. They needed a new third holiest city for the conquests to continue. This did cause some differences of opinion as there were three separate cities which served at times holding the honor of greatest target of Islamic armies. The Islamic armies of the west which had invaded Europe by crossing the Gibraltar Straights and entering Spain, or Andalusia as the Muslim named the area, first gave the honor to Madrid and then Barcelona as the third holiest city in Islam, simply the manner in which the next targeted assaults intended to conquer were named. The Islamic forces then took most of Portugal so quickly along with Spain that Lisbon, as far as we could discern, was never so honored. The next target was France and the Muslim forces had experienced no real opposition of consequence so set their sights high and named Paris as their next great conquest. They ran into a problem somewhere around Tours, France in October of 732, where the forces under the leadership of Charles “the Hammer” Martel who defeated the Islamic forces in such a definitive battle that they were turned back out of France and back into Spain.

 

Meanwhile, as well as much later in history, the next target was in the west of Europe where the Islamic Ottomans targeted Vienna. The interesting item here is the Ottomans made two separate attempts to take the city laying siege to the city in 1529 and again in 1683. The Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent made the first attempt to take Vienna laying siege to the city for almost three months when nature decided to turn upon the Ottoman forces. First there came rain storms which destroyed what tunneling efforts had not already been defeated by the defenders of Vienna. The frontal assaults broke first at distance by the use of arquebus, a rifle-like hand cannon (see image below), and at closer range the use of long pikes broke the assaults. This was followed by an early and particularly heavy snow leading to a rout where many supplies and artillery were abandoned and many men captured. This led to years of conflict between the Austria-Hungarian forces backed by Spanish and Holy Roman forces against the Ottoman Empire forces leading eventually to another attempt at taking Vienna.

 

Arquebus, a rifle-like hand cannon

 

Beginning on July 14, 1683 the Ottoman forces under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha and Kara Mehmed of Diyarbakir initially fought their way to the walls of Vienna and laid siege to the city. The siege held for a couple of months until September 12, 1683, when relief forces arrived to relieve the city. King John III Sobieski of Poland had prepared his forces for a total war of relief for the city of Vienna during the summer of 1683. He requested and received guarantees from all the neighboring countries and backed by the Holy Roman Empire states for a pact of nonaggression while he mustered his entire army to march to relieve Vienna. His forces arrived and backed by Holy Roman Cavalry leaving sufficient forces at key junctions and guarding all bridges to sustain resupply of his forces, King John III Sobieski defeated the Ottoman forces laying siege to Vienna and broke the stalemate thus setting his name into the history books as the man who began the eventual defeat of the Ottoman Empire and broke their advances into Europe once and for all. Thank you for tolerating this trip through history though off topic. I do tend to ramble.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Hillary and the Hajj, Really

 

What do you do if something is failing to provide the viable result desired and there appears to be no way forward? You invent an alternative and go your own way and find a new path to your goal. This year the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was facing a great insult and embarrassment as the Saudi Royal Family had dealt him a great insult. There were arguments as to whether the Hajj would permit the Shiite practices to be performed within the most definitely Sunni nation of Saudi Arabia at the Hajj they are sponsoring in Mecca. The answer came fast and hard, no way on the blessed earth of Allah would such practices be permitted. The Iranians and the Saudis resorted to bringing up conflicts, especially those where Iranians died or were injured, particularly by Saudi security police at the Hajj and the end result the Saudi Royal Family took the hardest road possible and declared the Supreme Leader to be a false Muslim and an Amgushi, that is, not a Muslim, a heretic, a follower of the pre-Islamic Persian religion disguised as a Muslim. This was the greatest insult and the last straw. The Iranians answered insult with insult declaring that they suspected Saudi Royal Family of being a remnant of the Jews who once resided in the times of Muhammad at the Khyber Oasis and were slaughtered by Muhammad and his fighters. They further their insult with a cartoon of an accursed tree pictured and described below. The Iranian and Shiite response to the Saudi “Amgushi” was expressed by insulting and derogatory drawings that appeared on social media, such as the one below:

 

The Tree Cursed in the Quran
Used as a Shiite anti-Saudi drawing
Sourced from Shiite Websites

 

This is the description of this Iranian use of the “cursed tree” provided by Dr. Mordechai Kedar in his article “A joyous holiday and a sad world” published in Arutz Sheva.

 

This drawing is based on a quote from the Koran that talks about a cursed tree and shows the tree with the words “The Family of Saud” on its trunk while towards the bottom of the tree the following words appear: “Let the entire world know that the Family of Saud are the reason for the Arab and Islamic catastrophe (“Naqba”). The root of destruction and ruin in this world.”

To the right of the tree are the words: “The Family of Saud – the tails of the Jews,” expressing the Shiite rumor that claims that the Saud family are actually descendants of the Jews who lived in the Khyber Oasis until the 7th century and who pretend to be Muslims to this day but are really Jews in secret despite the Hadith that declares that “there are no two religions in the Arab Peninsula.”

The leaves on the “cursed tree” are Wahhabism, explosive-filled vehicles, crime, slaughter, destruction, incitement, ethnicity, terror, explosions, “takhfir” (declaring Muslims to be heretics), Jabhat al Nusra, division, ISIS, al Qaeda, Boko Haram. On the left of the tree there is a green Saudi flag with a sword, but instead of the Shahada (the testimony – the Islamic creed that declares that there is no G-d but Allah and that Mohammed is his prophet) that is on the flag, it says “May Allah curse the House of Saud.”

 

Back to the Hajj and the resulting rift and separate but presumably equal Hajj’s as the imperfect solution to the perfect problem. The similarities will become evident with the final descriptions. Let it remain for now that the Iranians are holding their own Hajj, a solution used in previous centuries to solve such impasses, in the Iraqi city closest to Mecca, Karbala. There is another reason for this site as it was there that in the year 680 C.E. a military unit of the Sunni Umayyad Caliph Yazid ibn Muawiyah carried out an attack where Hussein Ibn Ali, the leader of the Shiite rebels, was murdered and ritually executed by being beheaded. This is the ultimate Naqba, catastrophe, in the Shiite form of Islam and is the point where the two forms of Islam became forever enemies. This is the response to the insult of referring to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei as being an Amgushi.

 

But first a little explanation of how this may also be a similar situation as may be faced soon with Hillary Rodham Clinton. We have all heard how Hillary Clinton has unbelievably high negatives and the sole reason she is even competitive is due to Donald Trump having even higher negatives before the American peoples. Were the Republics Party to be running virtually any other candidate, they would be leagues ahead of Hillary in the polling data. This is not to insinuate that they would actually have such a lead, but they would poll as having such a lead. History has taught that nothing is done until the last report of vote counts in each state are finalized, until then the Devil is in the details. Equally reported is that were Trump facing virtually any Democrat, including or especially a complete unknown, Trump would be being trounced in the polls and the election would be declared over by the mainstream media. So, what if the October surprise is the Democrats replacing, or at least appearing to replace, Hillary Clinton with a far more electable candidate? The Democrat Party could let it be known in the second or third week in October that Hillary Rodham Clinton had fallen so ill that she has been rushed to a private and undisclosed hospital and is unable to continue the race or even to serve as President. Then in a similar manner as the Democrats once before had pulled off in Minnesota with Senator Paul David Wellstone who died right before the elections in a plane crash. He was replaced immediately on the ballot by former Vice President Walter Mondale who then proceeded to lose the election. So, what if it is decided that Hillary is too ill to continue the campaign or serve as President?

 

In most states the Democrat Party would appoint her replacement and in other states her name would remain on the ballot but the Party would claim any vote for Hillary is a vote for their chosen candidate. Come Election Day it is found that the Democrat Party had been remiss or unable to replace Hillary on the ballots such was expected due to her still being amongst the living. Again a huge campaign would go forth that by voting Hillary you were actually voting for her replacement. We have to face that almost any Democrat other than Hillary and a select few, any other Democrat would destroy Trump, or at least that has been the polling and the Democrats are well aware of this. So Hillary is declared out for the count and in theory replaced by an electable Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden or Senator Elizabeth Ann Warren. Of the three it is probably Joe Biden who would be the weakest and even he would stir up support and enthusiasm which Hillary has not even been able to buy at her rallies.

 

And then, with Christmas fast approaching and Hillary Clinton in name only won the election with the understanding that the alternate candidate would be the one to become President there comes a miracle, Hillary has had a full recovery coming from the sole place such would be possible, a recovery deemed in Heaven above. Suddenly the voters find themselves hoodwinked as Hillary Rodham Clinton rises as a Phoenix from the ashes blazing in her full flamed glory taking the oath of office. Election Impossible accomplished in fine bait and switch fashion. President Hillary Rodham Clinton will have been elected and takes her victory lap from the steps of the Capital Building down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House before the cameras of all networks and her coronation proceeds as if nothing strange was committed. Those hoping for Trump to win or desire anybody but Hillary in the White House; even the dog catcher from Podunk, Idaho, had better pray for Hillary to suddenly become obviously healthy and thus not so infirm that this ploy would be believable.

 

Phoenix Rising from the Ashes Blazing in her Full Flamed Glory

 

How many out there living in the real world believe that such a pirouette bait and switch to fool more of the gullible American left public and too many others could happen; especially if the substitute is a woman, first woman President, hard to pass that one up, then reveal the reality of their sick and demented desires to crown Hillary Rodham Clinton with the historical moniker of being the first woman as President. This was promised to her when she lost to President Obama, then a Senator like her, soulless and also offering an even more tempting first; Hillary was promised not just to be the Democrat Party candidate but to be the all-American candidate who would be swept into the White House riding a wave of popularity and support. Well, yes, something went wrong along the way, the person they have to work with is Hillary. Even with such a handicap, the Democrat Party made a promise and they will keep that promise no matter what lies and deceits they will have to commit. Come Hell or high water, Hillary Clinton will be coronated, if not now, then at some time later. Hillary cannot be permitted to die and not have been President of the United States. People opposed to Hillary Clinton should be prepared and expect the most unexpected and seemingly ludicrous steps to be taken and anything legal or not to be committed in order to have Hillary Clinton be the next President as it has already been written and thus must be done. As Yul Brenner said in the 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments,” as Pharaoh Ramses II, “Let it be written. Let it be done.” That was the royal decree of the ancient Egyptian ruler and is now the code for the Democrat Party, and they have writ large that the next President will be Hillary Rodham Clinton; now they just have to get it done by any and all means necessary, expect no less.

 

Yul Brenner from 1956 movie “The Ten Commandments,”
as Pharaoh Ramses II “Let it be written. Let it be done.”

 

So, just like may come with Hillary, the Hajj is being declared to be made to a different place which will be established by the Shiite leadership in Iran as being just as holy and just as righteous and just as commanded by some reference from the Quran through certain precedents. This Shiite Hajj may become a permanent fixture for as long as the Iranians control their puppet state in the southern half of Iraq and their hatred of the Sunni and especially the Saudi Royal Family who the Iranians consider heretics and pretenders. Should this rift be settled as a matter of contention simply by directing the Shiites to make the Hajj to Karbala the world can heave a sigh of relief and continue on with no more and no fewer problems than before. The real problem is this war of words between the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the Family Saud, has just elevated significantly. The decree to have an independent Hajj for Shiite Islam from Sunni Islam has formalized the rift and the ancient disagreement between the two largest forms of Islam. This is simply the latest of flare-ups between the Sunni and the Shiites since they had different opinions on the correct succession after Muhammad died. This argument dates back to before 680 soon after Muhammad died when Hussein Ibn Ali was murdered.

 

The difference between the two groups is exemplified in the story behind the “Twelvers,” a sect of Shiites who are awaiting the return from his hiding place of the Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. Muhammad al-Mahdi was appointed as the next replacement of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, but went into hiding as the majority form of Islam, the Sunni, was annihilating the rebellious Shiites at every opportunity and particularly executing their leaders. This Twelfth Imam presumably has been hiding for quite some time without having lost any of his strength and mental acuity and will arise from his hiding place and lead the Shiites to a glorious victory over the Sunni and then conquer the world. For the Twelfth Imam to return, the entire known world would be in chaos with devastation of the highest order. The Twelfth Imam would appear from his place of hiding, many believe that hiding place is a well in Qom where they have established a Mosque so he can pray upon coming out from hiding. They have also built a beautiful roadway for the Twelfth Imam to utilize to take him to the Capital City, Tehran, where he is to meet the Supreme Leader and together plan the conquest of the Sunni Muslims, unbelievers of Shia Islam amongst Muslims as they are heretics. This would include almost all of the cities of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States as these are predominately Sunni nations. Then they would proceed to those they considered idolatrous such as Buddhists, then the Jews, finally Christians and then would come the purging and purification of the Shiite Islamic family. The process would continue until the world had been perfected and every person was a full believer supporting the Five Pillars of Islam, Shahada or Faith, Salat or Prayer, Zakāt or Charity, Sawm or Fasting (during Ramadan), and Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca, which for Shiites has become Pilgrimage to Karbala.

 

Depictions of the Return of the Twelfth Imam

 

What is more worrisome is that Iran has made known their displeasure with the Saudi Arabian Ruling Family considering them to be apostates who blaspheme Islam, especially Shia Islam, and are deserving of death or something worse, life as a disgraced Muslim walking the Earth in continuous shame. The Iranians have also stated their desire to liberate the northeastern provinces of Saudi Arabia where the vast majority of their Shiite minority reside. The fact that this area also contains ninety plus percent of the oil wells has nothing to do with this conquest but they must keep this property and not just liberate the Shiites but instead of having them come home the Iranians plan to incorporate these lands as a part of their Shiite home making them and the oil wealth all Iranian. When one adds that Iran very likely is a nuclear armed nation despite, or some say because, of the great efforts of President Obama and his Secretary of State John (Scary) Kerry as well as a large effort by former Secretary of State and potentially next President Hillary Clinton before Kerry, that makes any confrontation between these two Muslim power states in the Middle East even more of a danger. One need remember that the Saudi Royal Family invested in the Pakistani nuclear research and bomb development. They did not do that from the goodness of their heart but instead made an agreement that the Saudis would pay for the Pakistani efforts and actual production of a nuclear weapons stores providing these stores be made available to the Saudi Royal Family should the need arise.

 

One overtly aggressive move too far by Iran and you can bet some cargo aircraft will leave Saudi Arabia, fly to Pakistan, stay a few hours, and return to Saudi Arabia some few tons heavier. These planes will either be taking actual routes established as passenger or even freight lanes which are active or will fly with their transponders deactivated, by accident, of course. These flights if they have not already found some nuclear devices coming in the hold of normal flights between the two nations, will even the playing field and make the chance of a nuclear exchange in the Middle East a definitive probability. Should open war be started between Saudi Arabia and Iran, one can bet that it will spread bringing Yemen, Iraq, Hezballah and any other Shiite forces which can be brought to bear facing the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which includes the Gulf oil states and Saudi Arabia plus Egypt and Jordan and one might expect to see some Turkish forces making this a more general Middle East War and one such without Israel, imagine that. These declarations of intent to join the fight as necessary will be the actual initial declaration of war even if fighting has been engaged for months. The pooling of available resources will initiate a war on a different level.

 

Such a development will signal that both sides feel they are not in an advantageous position so they will announce a list of allies in the region and prepare special weapons squads for deployment. One side, probably Iran, will introduce the use of chemical weapons and biological agents as well. This will spark a similar if not stronger response from the Saudi Royal Family. This might be the point where the initial use of nuclear weapons will be used, but not as expected. They will be used to cleanse their own lands where any biologic weapons have become ultimately effective and the sick are infecting the healthcare workers and all they meet before they turn too sick to even stand. This transmission will necessitate drastic action to contain the spread as such an agent cannot be permitted to reach any heavily inhabited regions. Nuclear cleansing of an infected region is a likely means of destroying the pathogen and in its own way curing those on the ground. This use of a nuclear weapon to cleanse the area can also give that nation the reason to use nuclear weapons then on the enemy claiming that the nuclear weapons dropped to destroy the pathogen was actually a nuclear attack by the other side. It matters little which country introduced nuclear weapons to the conflict nor how they were deployed nor the reasons; all that matters is the first one using them will not be the last one using these ultimate weapons. Once the nuclear weapons atop missiles and tucked within fighter-bombers fly, the game changes forever as this will prove one can use nuclear weapons as long as they are limited to a range of tactical nuclear weapons. Needless to point out that even these in and of themselves may not be the final weapons used and there may come a point where a nation with thermo-nuclear weapons uses these weapons of last resort, the modern city-killers with selectable power settings. Then it may be worse and the first thermo-nuclear weapons without the selectable yield technology, and it has but one setting, destroy all within your range or likely area.

 

The real fuel for this conflagration may start originally as Iran’s desire to impress their own hegemonic rule over the entire Middle East. Many have interpreted that to mean Iran would strike at Israel first and hardest, but this fight is not about the differences between Iran and Israel, this is a fight over who represents Allah. This fight between Sunni and Shiite will be limited initially but has the potential to spread far and wide. Would such start the next World War? That is the sixty-four billion dollar (adjusted for inflation) question. The one reality is as being the fight over who is the real representative of Allah, we can expect there will be no means for ending the war until one side has been completely and utterly destroyed, and therein lays the problem as it is next to impossible. Such a war will be a war to end all wars as it may decide the future for everyone once Islam achieves its real goal, world conquest and the subjugation of all people within. Then they can begin perfecting the world by ridding it of improper thought and possibly of the impure animals starting with hogs and dogs. With Allah presumed to be in support of both sides and Allah being unconquerable, there can be no situation so dire that prayers cannot move mountains, or can they? Split the sea, easy, the Ten Plagues, part of a year’s work; lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, well, all in its proper and good time; and As far as Hashem choosing which side should win, that will be left to Allah as Hashem probably has no desire and will allow others to decide this fate. Should the violence start to spread, then Hashem might be forced to choose a nation to assist or at least allow to stand outside the growing hostilities.

 

The Hajj and Hillary Rodham Clinton are flashpoints signifying evil bodings potentially for our world and the societies within. The splitting of Hajj destinations can only further divide two groups alienating the already alienated. Both sides are waiting for the other to blink such that they can possibly gain some advantage. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and the conservative Never Trump’ers are dividing the nation into smaller and more hostile divisions Balkanizing the United States. Should the United States also become so divided that the different political factions all go their own way, there will be no more United States and instead there will be the federated entities that were America. No more super power under the Stars and Stripes, just a loosely held group of arguing children, man-child’s all looking like adults but acting like spoiled brats refusing to reside or abide by anybody holding a different opinion. That is what the political correctness of Hillary et al will bring to the United States with micro-aggressions and perceived slights where none exist and children raised never knowing what it means to lose because there are no trophies for losing efforts once you leave your safe zones at your chosen university. What will these young adults, the future leaders, do when they run into people who have different thoughts and can use them to actually think, not just feel good about oneself. Hajj being split and America being split, neither is a good or welcomed sign.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Colonial Expansions Resumed

 

The greatest colonial force in the history of humankind is again on the march. This colonial system has expanded reaching beyond the size if not scope of the great European empires of France, Spain, Portugal, England and the rest. This expansionary force has reached beyond the scope of all systems with the exception of Communism and is now ascending as Communism collapses in Europe and Russia. This expansive colonial force is, of course, Islam. Islam is not actually a religion as much as a weaponized political force wrapped in the shroud of an all-consuming religion. Islam is perfectly named and correctly translated to English meaning “Surrender.” That is exactly what Islam requires and Sharia is the force used to demand the complete turning over of one’s existence to Islam. All free will is surrendered. All curiosity is surrendered. All of one’s society and way of life is surrendered. Islam demands that it be granted all power over every act one will be permitted from the moment Islam assumed full influence in an area. Islam empowers the cult of personality placing the most successful Imam as Caliph, and the greatest Imam is that which has conquered the largest number of minds into blind obedience into every interpretation given of the Quran.

 

Inside the Quran is the secret magic of Islam and Sharia. The Quran contains verses placed in order not chronologically, not by importance of highest to lowest or lowest to highest, but from shortest to longest. The Quran is assembled in a manner which lends to its being memorized starting at the earliest of ages. Thus Islamic education takes over the entirety of the education system into which it plants memorized verses. It is then the privilege of the Imam to exemplify and amplify by their teaching those verses which are dominant and those which are of lesser standing. This too lends itself to a means of conquest. Islam can be all things to all peoples simply by expressing certain verses as superceding all other verses. This lends perfectly to the use of Taqiyya which is using deceit to gain advantage and for the sole implementation of Sharia. The implication of Sharia is the ultimate goal of Islam as once Sharia has been imposed on a society, Islam will inevitably become the sole religion and further, only the manner of Islam practiced by the main body will result in the only permitted form of Islam. In the world today that would mean that Sunni Islam is dominant. Even this realization still leads to an eventual conflict between the main proponents of Sunni Islam, Wahhabi Islam or the Muslim Brotherhood Islam.

 

Reading the Quran one will inevitable discover that there are verses which are contradictory where there are a set which preach acceptance and peaceful coexistence and still others which dictate conquest and submitting any native population forcing conversion or death choices and still others which direct exactly how one is to live one’s life. There are the obvious religious teachings such as prayer five times each day, observing Ramadan fasting, giving of alms, making of the Haj to Mecca in one’s lifetime and the acceptance of Allah and Muhammad as Allah’s messenger on Earth as the final revelation. These five laws are called the “Five Pillars of Islam” pictured below. Additionally the Quran teaches what foods are acceptable as Halal and numerous other requirements of Islam. Beyond these basics are the two sets of verses which are obvious in their differences.

 

 

The two obviously contradictory verses within the Quran are the Mecca versus preaching peace, acceptance, pluralism, respect for other religions and even recognizing the Promised Lands as belonging to the Jewish people. Then there are the verses demanding conquest, subjugations and the eventual complete absorption of a society by force if required which were recorded in Medina. An introductory explanation can be found here. Suffice it to say these different and opposing verses are implemented such that Islam slowly builds until reaching a critical point at which it conquers. Islam has attempted to conquer Europe at a minimum twice, once from the west and once from the east.

 

The western offensive was eventually halted in the Battle of Tours where the Frankish forces commanded by Charles Martel who was also known as Martellus (“The Hammer”), who defeated the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate advancing out from Spain in October 732. The Battle of Tours was known to Islam as the Battle of the Palace of the Martyrs (Arabic: معركة بلاط الشهداء‎‎, transliterated as ma’arakat Balâṭ ash-Shuhadâ). This turned back the Islamic armies who were later driven from Spain starting with the Spanish reconquest and the imposition of the Inquisition to cleanse the Spanish of any remnants of unbelievers, mostly Muslims and Jews. This was a cleansing by the Church to reestablish their dominance after recovering from Islamic conquest.

 

The conquest from the east was turned back at Vienna in the breaking of the Siege of Vienna on September 11 through 12, 1683. This battle pitched the Ottomans against the Holy Roman Empire and was subsequent to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and its being renamed Istanbul to erase its history in Christianity and Roman, Greek, Persian and even earlier civilizations and empires going back originally in the first known empire of the Hittites. The breaking of the Siege of Vienna was largely accomplished by the addition of the Polish forces to those of the Holy Roman armies and the commander, the King of Poland leading the troops himself, King John III Sobieski. The battle was depicted by an anonymous British artist shown below. This was the high watermark of the Ottoman Empire’s thrusts into Europe. The Ottoman Empire was finally defeated as a result of World War I leading to the Sykes-Picot Treaty, Treaty of Versailles, and the Treaty of Sèvre which codified the San Remo conference and the Mandate System subsequently recognized by the United Nations in Article 80 of the Charter.

 

Siege of Vienna Depicted by an Anonymous British Artist

 

Islam originated in the Arabian Peninsula by the Prophet Muhammad starting around 611 to 625 in Mecca and finally truly established in Medina around 629 establishing it in both cities until his death in 632. This led to the Rashidun Caliphs who ruled and expanded Islam from 632 through 661 and were succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphs ruling from 661 through 750 and expanding Islam further taking it into Spain finally halted by Charles Martel in 732 as noted above. A map depicting these early advances can be seen below. The early expansion would continue to include subsequent conquest of Constantinople and under the Ottomans conquer up to Vienna where they were stopped and repulsed by the Holy Roman Empire aided by the support of the Polish Army and the combined troops commanded by King John III Sobieski of Poland, also as noted above.

 

Islamic Expansion

 

Islam in the Middle East and much of North Africa is currently engaged in a great political upheaval which will likely spell the end of the Sykes-Picot Treaty’s borders and set up of states to be replaced either by tribal boundaries or possibly a unified Islam likely broken into two camps, the Sunni and the Shiite. The Shiites will most definitely be under the control either directly or indirectly by Iran and will include Yemen, western Syria and potentially central Syria, Lebanon and Southern Iraq. The Sunni Islamic camp will include as separate but potentially allied Egypt and Saudi Arabia with each under strong leadership and the partnership always slightly tentative between these two. Saudi Arabia and Egypt may include Turkey though Egypt and Turkey are currently at odds over loyalty or opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan will remain a lesser player probably seeking shelter under Egypt or Saudi Arabia if not both. Jordan also has a delicate balance with the Muslim Brotherhood with their allowed a presence but not overtly ruling the country. Then there are the Kurdish forces which have been showing signs of joining the radical jihadi forces but on their terms. This will depend on the Kurdish forces currently engaged by Turkey surviving the Turkish offensive bent on wiping them out as a viable fighting force. This has led to some friction between Turkey and the United States who was serendipitously supplying the Kurds with bombing support and some logistics and planning. The one obvious challenge to all Sunni forces is the Islamic State which has terrorist bands in the Sinai Peninsula and Libya as well as their main body centered in southern Syria and into central Iraq. The Islamic State is currently opposed by all state actors who are refusing to grant the Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi who is a self-proclaimed Caliph and insisting that the Islamic State is the new Caliphate, something which remains to be seen.

 

The advance guard of the Islamist forces are currently infiltrating the Western nations as a part of the “refugee” crisis which has Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia allowing increased immigration with minimal if any checks on any Middle Eastern or North African claiming to be refugees from any of the wars currently embroiling much of the area. These refugees include Syrians, Afghanis, Iraqis, Iranians, Yemenis, Libyans, Algerians and others from as far as the Horn of Africa to Morocco back across to Pakistan. Imbedded within the refugee population are teams of Islamists, both Sunni and Shiite largely from Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezballah on the Shiite side and Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda and smaller groups on the Sunni side. All these planted groups plus unknown numbers of Muslims who are being excited by the signs of a resurgent Islam are taking on themselves the mantle of jihad and attacking in what are call “Lone Wolf” attacks. The violence and lawlessness which has come along with the predominantly male fighting age single unaccompanied men has led to some second thoughts across Europe. Sweden is paying undocumented Middle Eastern refugees money to leave and presumably return to their national origins in the Middle East, or at least appear to be heading in that direction. Some Eastern European nations simply refused to allow any refugees to permanently remain within their borders with some places the military at the train stations forcing the refugees to continue on to Germany, France, Britain or anywhere but “here”. Russia has pretty much been bypassed as a nation for the refugees. The biggest scandal has been the entire Islamic world refusal to accommodate resettling any of the millions of refugees. Turkey and Jordan have been stymied by the hordes crossing from Syria and Iraq simply to escape the wars in those nations. Quietly Israel has provided aid to Jordan in the form of additional water and electricity to assist the refugee situation. Whatever additional aid has been provided is uncertain.

 

On another front the Islamic State is serious about their becoming the next Caliphate and is fighting against Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as throughout the remainder of northern Africa. Further, terror groups including Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighboring nations and some groups formerly tied with al-Qaeda also have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. The main problems with these forces have been in the Sinai Peninsula and have been aided as possible by Hamas in Gaza. This has made for a strange cooperative effort by Egypt and Israel in sharing intelligence and closing all borders over land and sea by both nations to prevent military and dual use items from being used by Hamas as much as they are capable. Hamas has stolen, re-appropriated if you insist, the building provisions such as bricks and cement and concrete for their tunnel construction to infiltrate into Israel or the Sinai. This has had the strange effect of a world demanding that more building provisions be sent into Gaza despite the known misuse. Apparently building tunnels with humanitarian aid is just fine with much of the world providing those tunnels are used to murder Israelis. So nice to be appreciated in this manner, we bet!

Meanwhile, the numbers and severity of crimes, many of which could be termed as Jihadic or terrorist attack, have been exploding across Europe with concentrations in Germany, France, and the Scandinavian nations, the places which took in the largest share of Muslim refugees or had large Islamic populations to begin with. One systemic problem has been the radicalization of the younger indigenous Muslims by the instigators planted within the refugee populations. By all appearances, what had been considered to be the peaceful Muslims, the good Muslims if you will, only need be aroused and pushed, perhaps threatened to join jihad or else and they appear to respond, at least a percentage. There will be those who will rightfully point out that the problems are caused by a minority, anywhere from negligible (obviously the low estimate) to as high as one in five or even in four but not quite three, or so we hope. Still, twenty percent of three or four million refugees is still well over half a million persons and add in the “Lone Wolves” and you are likely approaching a potential of three-quarters of a million threatening social cohesion which had been low to begin with. Seven-hundred-fifty-thousand jihadists will overwhelm European and western society’s ability to cope with such a threat.

 

These are just the initial wave as the refugees are still pouring into eastern Europe heading northward and westward aiming for Germany, France, Britain, the Scandinavian countries; anywhere that a strong social basket is deployed giving what amounts to a guaranteed wage for all persons reaching and registering with the government no questions asked. The problems in Germany alone appear to be sufficient that Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to be on her way out of office come the next elections no matter what the future holds, as the people are furiously upset with her open borders policies. Should Donald Trump win in the United States, his election will in part be all about closing the borders, all the borders including those currently used by the State Department to import as many Islamic refugees as humanly possible. The most interesting and important item is that very few of the refugees are Christians or Yazidis, people truly under threat just remaining in the Middle East and North Africa. It is as if these refugees are not desirable and the few who manage to arrive in Europe are often murdered in the camps by the other refugees. One would think that the Christians would identify themselves as such to the Europeans and they would be separated out but maybe the European powers that be are not interested in importing devout Christians, Christians who have resisted unknowable hardship that Western Christians have never faced. Western European Christians face a different threat, indifference and a strong societal urge for hedonism. We know from past empires failing that when the public turns as a whole to hedonism as their life’s theme the society will die within two generations at most, often in one generation. Perhaps these two symptoms go together one causing the other. Hedonistic society not reproducing as that would curtail the fun and thus requiring immigrants to replace the children they refuse to have of their own and then they wonder what happened when the new refugee brought morality closes all the doors and brings their fun ride to its undeniable terminal end. Perhaps this is the Requiem for Europe and Christianity in the Western world, or at least in Europe. Requiem for Europe, somebody should write a song with this title, it would be appropriate to salute the death of a society.

 

Beyond the Cusp