The next time you hear some over-educated clown pontificating about the dangers of “religious extremism” and suggesting that there is any kind of parallel at all between “Islamic fundamentalists” and “Christian fundamentalists”, you have my permission to call that person a fool or a liar…. or both. When, exactly, was the last time you heard of one Christian sect killing members of another, just for being there? It appears that Sunni extremists are killing Shiites (and the reverse has happened in the last years as well… or the last centuries, for that matter) who are simply on religious pilgrimage.
Iraqi police: Female suicide bomber kills 40
The attacks against the pilgrims appear to be part a Sunni extremist campaign to rekindle the sectarian conflict that nearly plunged the country into full-scale civil war two years ago.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt packed with nails among Shiite worshippers in Karbala near the revered Imam Hussein shrine, killing eight pilgrims and wounding more than 50.
A day earlier, at least 12 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in bombings in Baghdad that targeted Shiite pilgrims traveling to Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the south.
Iraqi officials have mounted an extensive security operation to protect the pilgrims, who will be celebrating Monday’s end of 40 days of mourning that follow Ashoura, the anniversary of the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.
He was killed in a battle near Karbala for the leadership of the nascent Muslim nation following Muhammad’s death in 632. His death contributed to the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
About 40,000 Iraqi troops have been deployed along major routes to Karbala, and officials say security cameras have been installed near the Imam Hussein shrine to keep a lookout for possible threats.
Despite strict security, al-Qaida and other extremist groups have frequently targeted Shiite pilgrims during religious commemorations, which were severely curtailed under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.
This appears to be work of raw hatred of “the other.” No Christians do this, anywhere in the world, nor have they done for centuries.
Do fundamentalist Christians make you fell physically threatened? I didn’t think so.
