Archive for the ‘Koran’ Category
An Ancient Civilization May Have Existed Beneath The Persian Gulf
December 9, 2010: Jeanna Bryner (Managing Editor) / Live Science – December 9, 2010
Veiled beneath the Persian Gulf, a once-fertile landmass may have supported some of the earliest humans outside Africa some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago, a new review of research suggests.
At its peak, the floodplain now below the Gulf would have been about the size of Great Britain, and then shrank as water began to flood the area.
Then, about 8,000 years ago, the land would have been swallowed up by the Indian Ocean, the review scientist said.
The study, which is detailed in the December issue of the journal Current Anthropology, has broad implications for aspects of human history. For instance, scientists have debated over when early modern humans exited Africa, with dates as early as 125,000 years ago and as recent as 60,000 years ago, the more recent date is the currently accepted paradigm, according to study researcher Jeffrey Rose, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham in the UK.
“I think Jeff’s theory is bold and imaginative, and hopefully will shake things up,” said Robert Carter of Oxford Brookes University in the UK. in an e-mail to LiveScience. “It would completely rewrite our understanding of the out-of-Africa migration. It is far from proven, but Jeff and others will be developing research programs to test the theory.”
Viktor Cerny of the Archaeogenetics Laboratory, the Institute of Archaeology, in Prague, called Rose’s finding an “excellent theory,” in an e-mail to LiveScience, though he also points out the need for more research to confirm it.
The findings have sparked discussion about who exactly the humans were who occupied the Gulf basin among researchers, including Carter and Cerny, who were allowed to provide comments within the research paper.
“Given the presence of Neanderthal communities in the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates River, as well as in the eastern Mediterranean region, this may very well have been the contact zone between moderns and Neanderthals,” Rose told LiveScience. In fact, recent evidence from the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome suggests interbreeding, meaning we are part caveman.
Watery Refuge
The Gulf Oasis would have been a shallow inland basin exposed from about 75,000 years ago until 8,000 years ago, forming the southern tip of the Fertile Crescent, according to historical sea-level records.
And it would have been an ideal refuge from the harsh deserts surrounding it, with fresh water supplied by the Tigris, Euphrates, Karun and Wadi Baton Rivers, as well as by upwelling springs, Rose said. And during the last ice age when conditions were at their driest, this basin would’ve been at its largest.
In fact, in recent years, archaeologists have turned up evidence of a wave of human settlements along the shores of the Gulf dating to about 7,500 years ago.
“Where before there had been but a handful of scattered hunting camps, suddenly, over 60 new archaeological sites appear virtually overnight,” Rose said. “These settlements boast well-built, permanent stone houses, long-distance trade networks, elaborately decorated pottery, domesticated animals, and even evidence for one of the oldest boats in the world.”
Rather than quickly evolving settlements, Rose thinks precursor populations did exist but have remained hidden beneath the Gulf. [History's Most Overlooked Mysteries]
“Perhaps it is no coincidence that the founding of such remarkably well developed communities along the shoreline corresponds with the flooding of the Persian Gulf basin around 8,000 years ago,” Rose said. “These new colonists may have come from the heart of the Gulf, displaced by rising water levels that plunged the once fertile landscape beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean.”
Ironclad Case?
The most definitive evidence of these human camps in the Gulf comes from a new archaeological site called Jebel Faya 1 within the Gulf basin that was discovered four years ago. There, Hans-Peter Uerpmann of the University of Tubingen in Germany found three different Paleolithic settlements occurring from about 125,000 to 25,000 years ago. That and other archaeological sites, Rose said, indicate “that early human groups were living around the Gulf basin throughout the Late Pleistocene.”
To make an ironclad case for such human occupation during the Paleolithic, or early Stone Age, of the now-submerged landmass, Rose said scientists would need to find any evidence of stone tools scattered under the Gulf. “As for the Neolithic, it would be wonderful to find some evidence for human-built structures,” dated to that time period in the Gulf, Rose said.
Carter said in order to make for a solid case, “we would need to find a submerged site, and excavate it underwater. This would likely only happen as the culmination of years of survey in carefully selected areas.”
Cerny said a sealed-tight case could be made with “some fossils of the anatomically modern humans some 100,000 years old found in South Arabia.”
And there’s a hint of mythology here, too, Rose pointed out. “Nearly every civilization living in southern Mesopotamia has told some form of the flood myth. While the names might change, the content and structure are consistent from 2,500 B.C. to the Genesis account to the Qur’anic version,” Rose said.
Perhaps evidence beneath the Gulf? “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae on our hands,” said Rose, quoting Douglas Adams.
Ur: Ancient Native City Of Abraham (Part 1)
Ur: Ancient Native City Of Abraham (Part 2)
The Tonka Report Editor’s Note: The unmarked landmass to the right and above the Gulf is Iran… - SJH
Link to original article below…
Jones Cancels Burning Korans On 9/11 After Website Is Shut Down
September 9, 2010: Antonio Gonzales / Associated Press via Yahoo News - September 9, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy says he is canceling plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11.
Pastor Terry Jones said Thursday that he decided to cancel his protest because the leader of a planned Islamic Center near Ground Zero has agreed to move its controversial location.
The agreement couldn’t be immediately confirmed.
Jones’ plans to burn Islam’s holiest text Saturday sparked an international outcry. President Barack Obama, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan and several Christian leaders had urged Jones to reconsider his plans. They said his actions would endanger U.S. soldiers and provide a strong recruitment tool for Islamic extremists. Jones’ protest also drew criticism from religious and political leaders from across the Muslim world.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Christian minister in Florida is canceling plans to burn Qurans on Sept. 11, heeding an international outcry that drew criticism from President Barack Obama and religious and political leaders across the Muslim world.
The Tonka Report Editor’s Note: The illigitimate US government decries the threat of an American citizen burning a book - something that I personally do not advocate, yet, it is his right. Then, in retaliation, the US government “burns” his book (website), violating his Constitutional rights. This is an illustration at the height of hypocrisy and the depth of tyranny that Americans have apparently now accepted as freedom…
Website Pulled On US Church That Wants To Burn Korans
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iCOmq6xX87ErMuEs3Or3tgqY5vDA
Book of Poetry
Placed in the corner of an old bookshelf
Covered with cobwebs and dust from the years
Forgotten prose near Shakespeare and Poe
Lay a book of poetry bound in black leather
Authored by One through the quills of many
Ancient writings within guilded pages
The Sword of Light passed down through the ages
Published for those who believe and rejoice
The end of the world’s satanic devise
A promise to those who make the wise choice
Eternal life by the grace of Christ
Pray for the people who pled to not know
The Word of God in the Bible they owned
Never once read by their eyes now dead
Trembling where they go…
Steven John Hibbs – Copyright 2002
UPDATE: Florida Pastor Cancels Koran Burning And Now Reconsiders
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/quran_burning
Clowns are creepy…
Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb (The Wall)
War is peace, there is no pain you are receiving… - SJH
Link to original article below…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100909/ap_on_re_us/quran_burning
White House Warns A Florida Church Not To Burn Koran’s On 9/11
September 8, 2010: David Usborne / The Independent – September 8, 2010
Stunt to mark 9/11 anniversary would risk US troops in Afghanistan, says Petraeus.
The already simmering cauldron of clashing emotions between Christians and Muslims risked bubbling over yesterday as the White House intervened to try to stop a small Florida church from burning copies of the Koran. Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said that the anti-Islamic protest – threatened by an evangelical church with just 50 members – could endanger the lives of American soldiers.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added her disapproval at a dinner in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths,” Mrs Clinton said.
The top US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, also said the images of a burning Koran would be used by extremists to inflame public opinion and incite violence. His remarks were echoed by a statement by the US embassy in Kabul condemning the church’s plans. Iran issued its own stern warning against the bonfire, which is planned for this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The planned torching of the scriptures by the Florida church – the so-called Dove World Outreach Center – has already re-awakened memories of the publication by a Danish newspaper in 2005 of a satirical cartoon lampooning the Prophet Mohamed which triggered protests outside western embassies around the world. In the same year, rioting was sparked around the world by a Newsweek article detailing how US interrogators were taking copies of the Koran into bathrooms inside Guantanamo Bay and threatening to flush them down toilets in an effort to make detainees talk. The magazine retracted the report but only after 15 people died in the violence.
There were expressions of disdain and concern that the torching of the copies of the Koran will fan fresh hatred from both civilian and military leaders. The Muslim community in the US is already under unusual stress because of the political firestorm unleashed after efforts by a Manhattan imam and a developer to open a mosque and Islamic community centre close to Ground Zero. Fresh protests for and against the mosque are set for this Saturday at the site of the proposed centre. This prompted one group of relatives of 9/11 victims last night to call for a truce over the weekend.
The Nato Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, also condemned the proposed Koran-burning, calling it disrespectful. The State Department went a step further, calling it “un-American” and suggesting it could additionally put diplomats and American civilians travelling overseas at risk. “We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values; in fact, these actions themselves are un-American.”
So far, the leader of the church in Gainesville, Florida, has made no indication of a willingness to cancel the burning, but said he was taking the words of Mr Petraeus into account. “We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it,” said Terry Jones, who has a website that offers “Ten reasons to burn a Koran” and also promotes a book he has written called Islam is of the Devil. Last year the church made headlines by offering T-shirts for sale bearing the book’s name.
Mr Jones told CNN: “We are weighing the thing that we’re about to do. What it possibly could cause. What are we trying to get across.” General Petraeus said that the proposed burning could damage relations between the West and the Islamic world in much the same way that the publication of photographs of the abuse of Muslim inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq did four years ago.
That the church’s action could also create new diplomatic problems for Washington became clear as Iran made its own contribution to the controversy. “We advise Western countries to prevent the exploitation of freedom of expression to insult religious sanctities, otherwise the emotions of Muslim nations cannot be controlled,” a foreign ministry spokesman in Tehran, Ramin Mehmanparast, told reporters.
Meanwhile protests against the Florida church have already began to break out, notably with a march by hundreds of demonstrators in Kabul on Monday. On Sunday, thousands gathered outside the US embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, to show their anger at the proposed burning.
The Preacher: A Small Church In The Heart Of Small Town USA
The global reverberations from the Dove World Outreach Center’s anti-Islam campaign belie its insignificance, even in the small Florida town of Gainesville where the centre attracts barely 50 congregants. Founded in 1986, the church is now run by a former hotel manager, Terry Jones, a lanky preacher with a bushy white moustache who is treated as a fringe figure even in Gainesville (population 125,000).
Under his guidance, Dove is trying to change the evangelical church’s role “from a local church to an apostolic church with a world vision”. There are an estimated 115,000 white evangelical churches in the United States that wield significant political clout. The movement’s umbrella group, the National Association of Evangelicals, has also urged the group to give up its protest.
The church’s website claims that it seeks to “expose Islam” as a “violent and oppressive religion” and to raise awareness “that the Koran is leading people to hell”. Mr Jones, however, told the New York Times that he had no experience of what the Koran said. He said that he had received more than 100 death threats and has now started wearing a pistol.
The church runs similarly virulent campaigns such as “abortion is murder; homosexuality is sin”, and also ran a “no homo for mayor” campaign. Its “International Burn a Koran Day” Facebook page has attracted more than 8,400 online followers. An opposing group has almost twice as many followers. Local opposition has been swift: two dozen churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organisations in Gainesville have planned inclusive events to counter Mr Jones’s protest.
The Tonka Report Editor’s Note: I haven’t covered this story until now because I wanted to observe how it unfolded. This is how I see it at this point: Pastor Terry Jones is beginning to look and sound more and more like an agents provocateur for the Christian Zionist movement to foment more hate and distrust (divide and conquer) between Muslims and Christians, create an excuse to elevate attacks abroad in order to escalate US military involvment, and as cover for the Jewish Zionist involvement in the 9/11 false flag by announcing the burning of Koran’s on that very day. And how does the obscure so-called ’pastor’ of an unknown church with 50 members gain worldwide attention unless the corporate mainstream media intended it to be so?! - SJH
Link to original article with additional videos below…
Destroy Thy Neighbour: Israel’s Founding Myths Prevent Peace
Robert Parry / Consortium News – July 9, 2009
The rationale for formally designating Israel a Jewish state – as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now demands – rests on three religious-political pillars: God’s purported covenant with Moses instructing the ancient Israelites to conquer the land, the injustice of the Roman-era Diaspora that supposedly removed them centuries later, and the brutal persecution of European Jews in the Holocaust.
Yet, two of these pillars – Moses conveying God’s covenant to the Israelites and the Roman Diaspora – appear based on almost no historical reality, the stuff of legend and possibly even lies that crumble under any serious scrutiny.
Normally, such ancient stories might be regarded as harmless tales that some people treasure as part of their Judeo-Christian faiths, except that Netanyahu’s new demand means that these myths now threaten peace in the Middle East and conceivably could push the modern world into more bloody warfare. Therefore, they must be given fresh examination.
Ironically, it was the Nazis’ drive to exterminate European Jews during World War II that is the one pillar founded on historical reality, although some extreme enemies of Israel insist on making Holocaust denial a central feature of their attacks.
Also, some adversaries, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have argued that it is unfair to make the Palestinians pay for a crime against humanity committed by the Germans.
Yet, the Holocaust is not in historical dispute. That horrible reality – an industrial-style extermination campaign that also targeted Gypsies, homosexuals and Communists – was proven after the World War II from a multitude of Nazi records, photographs and eyewitness accounts.
It is the tales of Moses from the Torah (or the first five books of the Old Testament) and the legend of the Roman Diaspora that lack serious historical underpinnings.
The Diaspora myth has been addressed in a new book by Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, When and How Was the Jewish People Invented? It debunks the notion that Rome removed the Jewish people en masse from the Holy Land in the First and Second Centuries A.D. and scattered them across Europe.
Instead, most East European Jews appear to be descendents of converts, principally from the Kingdom of the Khazars in eastern Russia, who embraced Judaism in the Eighth Century, A.D. The descendants of the Khazars then were driven from their native lands by invasions and – through migration – created the Jewish populations of Eastern Europe.
Thus, Sand argues, many of today’s Israelis who emigrated from Europe after World War II have little or no genealogical connection to the land. According to Sand, a bitter irony of Israel’s founding may be that it displaced Palestinians who could be the actual descendants of the ancient Israelites, who stayed on the land and eventually converted to Islam.
Other descendants of those ancient Israelites maintained Judaism as a strong presence in the Middle East, both in Palestine and in successful communities from Egypt to Iraq and Iran. These Jews faced few religious pressures until after Israel was founded in 1948, when this new European intrusion into Islamic lands was viewed in the context of the Crusades a millennium ago. [More on Sand's book below.]
Link to entire article below…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/188814-Destroy-Thy-Neighbour-Israel-s-Founding-Myths-Prevent-Peace
