The attack on the "Golden Mosque" officially begins the Iraq Civil War.

Yeah--the war that we've all been saying would happen for the last 3 years. It's full on now and there won't be any turning back. The beginning of the end has begun.

The destruction of the Golden Mosque will get it's own date entry.

That's hard to do regarding this war. I just mean that this mosque thing is really really bad and has certainly ramped up a civil war that's been quietly going on behind the scenes. It's certainly the beginning of the end for those who have said that everything is peachy keen over there cause it's about to get 50 times worse.

I was ready to hit the stores for water and batteries.

sorry - this is a republican war, it should be fought by republicans for republicans.

They should also have to pay for it, and I mean in dollars.

Was it worth it? Support our troops. The house of cards wouldn't have fallen if only . . . they hadn't dang diggity blown up that heathen shrine (or fill in the excuse ____________________).

'the people' were thinking. Or perhaps what we weren't thinking.

but this has definately shocked it up to a whole new level,
29 mosque attacks just reported

so what's worse than cluster fuck? Dirty bomb going off in a major American city? I guess if that happens it'll be our fault for not allowing the unwarranted tapping of our phones or the torture of everybody and anybody that the US government "suspects" of aiding the "enemy"

.

to people's views of the Middle East...

That's quite a challenge.

Over here, I am an apostle for Democracy...

For my brothers and sisters in the U.S., I am trying to raise the level of discourse, understanding and knowlege of this place.

Everything is VERY cool!

I'm glad you are here and I enjoy your discourses and information.

Salaam.

I also consider myself a Sufi... I moved in that direction from Unitarianism when I moved here and began studying.

Almost everyone here is Sunni though

here in the US. The Sunnis I know here in the States are happy to associate with us, but here we are both minorities.

I know that the Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia have demolished the home of the Prophet (pbuh) and other sites sacred to Sufis. I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind this desicration in Iraq. Was this the shrine of Hassan the Martyr?

The most prominent remains of this past is the famous Great Friday Mosque from 852 with the unique spiral minaret. This mosque itself is predominantly in ruins, with only the outer walls standing. The plan of the mosque is 240 times 160 metres, i.e. more than 38,000 m². The walls are about 10 metres high, 2.65 metres thick and supported by 44 towers. An ambitious restoration process began in the late 1990's, aiming at rebuilding the columns and eventually the roof.
The spiral minaret, "Malwiya" in Arabic, is a separate structure from the main congregation hall, 27 metres north of the main hall. It is 52 metres high, and 33 metres in diameter. It is easily entered by a staircase spiralling up on the outside of the round walls. At the summit, the staircase penetrates the structure for the first time, giving access to a flat platform on the top, about 3.5 metres wide. It is believed by many that the minaret was built about 15 years before the main structure... http://i-cias.com/e.o/samarra.htm

NOW I understand why this is so important! It was indeed beautiful. Sadly, I believe the Beloved Prophet (pbuh) was correct when he said the real threat to Islam would come from within.....

I have hung-out with a number of Sh'ia brothers and sisters and this will not be pretty.

This is a really big deal.

If you want to understand the intensity of belief of the Sh'ia, just go with some friends to an Ashurah Event. It was one of the most intense things I have ever seen.

It was like a combination between an intense revival meeting and a controlled riot!

... of Iran. This is the predominant group of Shi'is, constituting about 80% of all Shi'is worldwide.

This is a big event. This was an important site for Shiites.

The FR reaction over this is really telling. I checked a little while ago and there was ONE thread about this, with a fewe responses cheering the destruction.

Yeah, support the troops my ass. US marines are going to be in the middle of that shit storm. There seemed to be one poster over there with a few working brain cells who realized this.

i think you're right

I wonder what's next?

At Najaf, a spectacular gold-domed mosque enshrines the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin, one of his first followers and the husband of Muhammad's beloved daughter, Fatima. The word Shi'a is a contraction of the Arabic for "the party of Ali." But all Muslims, not just Shiites, remember Ali for chivalry in battle, scholarship -- he wrote the first Arabic grammar -- piety and generosity.

Shiites believe that Muhammad chose Ali to be his successor, or caliph. But because Ali, then 30, was at the Prophet's deathbed, he was not present when other leaders elected an older man as caliph.

Ali was finally elected as the fourth caliph in 656. One of Muhammad's widows then joined a revolt against him, but Ali defeated it. Tribal and sectarian troubles continued, however, and Ali was assassinated in 661 by one of his former soldiers who was angry that Ali had negotiated an end to a long battle. The Shrine of Ali in Najaf is known as "the wondrous place of martyrdom."

In mainstream Shiite theology, Ali is the first of 12 Imams, and the word means far more than its Sunni usage of "prayer leader." Most Shiites revere 12 Imams as successors and descendants of Muhammad... http://www.post-gazette.com/World/20030407shiites0407p5.asp

But a couple of years ago I was thinking that once they started blowing up the mosques, all bets were off. And now it's happening.