"Islamic State" attacks major Muslim holy site, ahead of major Muslim holiday

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Suicide bombing in Medina.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Ugh. Last time a holy site (Mecca) was attacked, the Sauds took even more fundamentalist approach.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Al is right. These people are nihilists and nothing more.

[Mopsus]

Ah, but the target was a tomb - which makes it not a Muslim holy site, but a shirk holy site!

[Helsinkian]

The Wahhabis themselves have been quite hostile toward the tradition of honouring graves, including that of Mohammed:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dome#Tomb_of_Muhammad

[Famous Mortimer]

This quite in line with ISIS' history of destroying "idols". I'm just surprised they took it to its logical conclusion. This will no doubt cause them to loose a huge amount of their ideologically support in the Arab world. We only hope it causes Islamic fundamentalism in general to lose support, although I doubt it.

[Famous Mortimer]

Also, this just goes to show what many have been saying, Islam actually is already undergoing a Christian like Reformation. ISIS are the Protestants.

[Helsinkian]

Also, this just goes to show what many have been saying, Islam actually is already undergoing a Christian like Reformation. ISIS are the Protestants.

Yes; the contemporary Western secularist commentators who say that "Islam needs a Reformation" fail to understand that the Christian Reformers of the 16th century were not proponents of secularism. If one reads on the founder of Wahhabism, one will see that he too used the rhetoric of bringing the religion back to its "pure" roots after centuries of corruption.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

[Antonio the Sixth]

Also, this just goes to show what many have been saying, Islam actually is already undergoing a Christian like Reformation. ISIS are the Protestants.

Yes; the contemporary Western secularist commentators who say that "Islam needs a Reformation" fail to understand that the Christian Reformers of the 16th century were not proponents of secularism. If one reads on the founder of Wahhabism, one will see that he too used the rhetoric of bringing the religion back to its "pure" roots after centuries of corruption.

The parallel makes no sense in either direction.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

Um, how do you "reverse" that? And for that matter how would it be a positive development for liberal churches with woman pastors and accepting gays to go under the Vatican's control and reverse those progressive actions?

[Mopsus]

Yeah, what people are looking for is not a Muslim Reformation, but a Muslim Enlightenment.

(Interestingly, the Muslim World had the beginnings of an Enlightenment [or was it a Renaissance?] centuries before the West, but it never got off the ground. This may or may not be telling)

[RFayette]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

Boo hiss.

But yeah, I agree that Islam would do well to actually become more hierarchical (as the Catholic church used to w/ Christianity and still does to a lesser extent).  If a worldwide fatwa against terrorism could be made that was perceived as binding upon all Muslims, then it would definitely help clamp down on terroristic interpretations of the Koran/Hadith.

[ingemann]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

Yes let's return to the religious overlordship of a Roman autocrat, no thank I prefer a pluralistic Church which doesn't bend its head to a foreign head of state. Also I prefer a clergy who rapes as few children as possible and on that point we do better.

[Famous Mortimer]

Also, this just goes to show what many have been saying, Islam actually is already undergoing a Christian like Reformation. ISIS are the Protestants.

Yes; the contemporary Western secularist commentators who say that "Islam needs a Reformation" fail to understand that the Christian Reformers of the 16th century were not proponents of secularism. If one reads on the founder of Wahhabism, one will see that he too used the rhetoric of bringing the religion back to its "pure" roots after centuries of corruption.

The parallel makes no sense in either direction.

I've always thought harsh Islamic states like Taliban Afghanistan and ISIS bore a surprising resemblance to Calvin's Geneva and Cromwell's Britain. All banned music, dancing, card games, and basically fun of any kind. They also all believed in a very austere version of worship. Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas. ISIS blew up some people on Eid.

[ingemann]

Also, this just goes to show what many have been saying, Islam actually is already undergoing a Christian like Reformation. ISIS are the Protestants.

Yes; the contemporary Western secularist commentators who say that "Islam needs a Reformation" fail to understand that the Christian Reformers of the 16th century were not proponents of secularism. If one reads on the founder of Wahhabism, one will see that he too used the rhetoric of bringing the religion back to its "pure" roots after centuries of corruption.

The parallel makes no sense in either direction.

I've always thought harsh Islamic states like Taliban Afghanistan and ISIS bore a surprising resemblance to Calvin's Geneva and Cromwell's Britain. All banned music, dancing, card games, and basically fun of any kind. They also all believed in a very austere version of worship. Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas. ISIS blew up some people on Eid.

A better comparison would be the Münster Rebellion. Calvin and Cromwell was mostly sane and didn't declare war on the entire world, while the Anabaptist of Münster had the same kind of crazyness that ISIS have, to such a degree that if the local Catholics hadn't beaten down the revolt, the neighbouring Lutheran would likely have invaded and done it for them.

[MaxQue]

If anything, I'd rather see Islam become more Catholic. (And for that matter the Protestant Reformation largely reversed while we're at it).

Um, how do you "reverse" that? And for that matter how would it be a positive development for liberal churches with woman pastors and accepting gays to go under the Vatican's control and reverse those progressive actions?

Early Protestants weren't liberal at all.