TALES FROM GABRIEL - MARY AND THE BIRTH OF JESUS

'Tales From Gabriel' is a collection of myths, legends, fables or stories I am collating, each of which are interesting on its own, but more fascinating is, a few hundred or thousand years later, they landed on the pages of the Holy Book of Islam. The Quran, supposedly compiled in the 7th century, is the spoken word of God conveyed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. These tales are post-fact canonised. Have they been plagiarised into Truth? Opinions are strictly personal.

It's that magical time of the year again. The nativity scene is an ever present iconic display in shopping centres all over the world during the festive December season. It is a scene that has been painted by many famous artists through the ages since the Italian Renaissance. Mother Mary and new born Jesus are portrayed in the manger surrounded by angels, saints, cherubins, kings, etc in all sorts of themes. The reality is, nobody else, except Joseph, was there. Most definitely, the three wise men from the East were not there. They arrived two years too late. 

The most famous painting was Caravaggio's 360-year-old masterpiece, "The Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence". This $100m painting was stolen from the Oratory of San Lorenzo, Palermo, Italy one rainy night in 1969 and has never been seen ever since.

Caravaggio's Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence

True to the minimalist view, Luke 2.7 (KJV) :

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Sans other details, it is assumed Jesus was born IN the manger. Mary and Joseph had travelled from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to register to pay a new tax decreed by Caesar. All the inns were full and the couple had to shelter in the manger. But to be spot on, some shepherds came probably a few days later. These shepherds were out in the fields watching their flocks by night. An angel appeared and told them of the birth of The Saviour that they can find in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. They decided to go Bethlehem to visit.

Quran, surah 19:16-27

So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place.
Then the pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, “Alas! I wish I had died before this, and was a thing long forgotten!”
So a voice reassured her from below her, “Do not grieve! Your Lord has provided a stream at your feet.
And shake the trunk of this palm tree towards you, it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon you.
So eat and drink, and put your heart at ease. But if you see any of the people, say, ‘I have vowed silence to the Most Compassionate, so I am not talking to anyone today.’”
Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said ˹in shock˺, “O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing!

The Quran adds two miracles to sustain Mary - a palm tree and a stream. Could the idea of giving birth under a palm tree and refreshing water have come from Gospel of Pseudo-Matthews?

Pseudo-Matthews chap 21:

"And it came to pass on the third day of their journey, while they were walking, that the blessed Mary was fatigued by the excessive heat of the sun in the desert; and seeing a palm tree, she said to Joseph: Let me rest a little under the shade of this tree. Joseph therefore made haste, and led her to the palm, and made her come down from her beast. And as the blessed Mary was sitting there, she looked up to the foliage of the palm, and saw it full of fruit, and said to Joseph: I wish it were possible to get some of the fruit of this palm. And Joseph said to her: I wonder that you say this, when you see how high the palm tree is; and that you think of eating of its fruit. I am thinking more of the want of water, because the skins are now empty, and we have none wherewith to refresh ourselves and our cattle. Then the child Jesus, with a joyful countenance, reposing in the bosom of His mother, said to the palm: O tree, bend your branches, and refresh my mother with your fruit. And immediately at these words the palm bent its top down to the very feet of the blessed Mary; and they gathered from it fruit, with which they were all refreshed. And after they had gathered all its fruit, it remained bent down, waiting the order to rise from Him who had commanded it to stoop. Then Jesus said to it: Raise yourself, O palm tree, and be strong, and be the companion of my trees, which are in the paradise of my Father; and open from your roots a vein of water which has been hid in the earth, and let the waters flow, so that we may be satisfied from you. And it rose up immediately, and at its root there began to come forth a spring of water exceedingly clear and cool and sparkling. And when they saw the spring of water, they rejoiced with great joy, and were satisfied, themselves and all their cattle and their beasts. Wherefore they gave thanks to God."

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew was written sometime in mid-6th century, thus preceding the Quran. However, Pseudo-Matthew was itself copied from a 2nd century product Protoevangelium of James. Considered a heretical writing, the James protogospel was condemned by Pope Innocent I in 405 AD and rejected by the Gelasian Decree around 500 AD. It is believed Pseudo-Matthew was Protoevangelium of James recycled with offending parts edited out. Chap 21 of the palm trees and water is an addition found only in Pseudo-Matthew. 

Where could the inspiration for palm tree and water come from? Professor Suleiman Ali Mourad* suggested a good candidate is the mythology of the birth of  the Greek and Roman God, Apollo. In Greek mythology, the Titans were the earlier group of gods that were defeated by the Olympians. The king of Olympian pantheon, Zeus, had eyes on Leto, a Titan goddess. When Leto became pregnant, Hera, the wife of Zeus, was infuriated. She cast a spell on Leto that no land will let her set foot on to deliver her child. Leto finally was able to land on the floating island of Delos. Leto had  twins. The first born was daughter Artemis who was delivered without difficulty. Hera then caused Leto a painful 9 days to deliver Apollo. Leto sat down under a palm tree where the River Inopus flows seasonally with the flooding of the Nile. The delivery was so painful Leto had her arms wrapped around the palm tree.

The Greek mythology could itself be transferred from an earlier Egyptian story. The Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 BC) is known as the 'father of history', being the first man to have written a historical book called 'The Histories' which narrated an account of the Greco-Persian wars. The word 'history' was coined by him.

Herodotus' account of contemporary pilgrimage by Egyptians to temples in the Egyptian Delta:

"This is the story of Psammetichus' conquest of Egypt. I have often made mention of the Egyptian oracle, and I will now treat fully of it, for this it deserves. This Egyptian oracle is in a temple sacred to Leto, and is situated in a great city by the Sebennytic arm of the Nile, on the way upon from the sea. The name of the city where is this oracle is Buto; I have already named it. In Buto there is a temple of Apollo and Artemis. The shrine of Leto in which is the oracle is itself very great, and its outer court is ten fathoms high. But I will now tell of what was the most marvellous among things visible there: in this precinct is the shrine of Leto, whereof the height and length of the walls is all made of a single stone slab; each wall has an equal length and height, namely, forty cubits. Another slab makes the surface of the roof, the cornice of which is four cubits broad.

Thus then the shrine is the most marvellous of all things that I saw in this temple; but of things of lesser note, the most wondrous is the island called Chemmis. This lies in a deep and wide lake near to the temple at Buto, and the Egyptians say that it floats. For myself I never saw it float, nor move at all, and I thought it a marvellous tale, that an island should truly float. However that be, there is a great shrine of Apollo thereon, and three altars stand there; many palm trees grow in the island, and other trees too, some yielding fruit and some not. The story told by the Egyptians to show why the island moves is this: when Typhon came seeking through the world for the son of Osiris, Leto, being one of the eight earliest gods, and dwelling in Buto where this oracle of hers is, received Apollo in charge from Isis and hid him for safety in this island which was before immovable but is now said to float. Apollo and Artemis were (they say) children of Dionysus and Isis, and Leto was made their nurse and preserver; in Egyptian, Apollo is Horus, Demeter Isis, Artemis Bubastis. It was from this and no other legend that Aeschylus son of Euphorion stole an imagination, which is in no other poet, that Artemis was the daughter of Demeter. For the aforesaid reason (say the Egyptians) the island was made to float. Such is the tale."

It would seem the Greek-Roman mythology appropriated the Egyptian story. In Pseudo-Matthew, Jesus had already been born. The inclusion of palm tree in Pseudo-Matthew suggests a Greek-Roman and not Egyptian origin. And typical of gospel narratives, Pseudo-Matthew created the miracles of palm tree bending and water flowing. It would seem the Quran appropriated from Pseudo-Matthew and changed the miracle of water flowing and birth under the palm tree. 

Ancient stories of important persons born under sacred trees come with miracles or something unusual were common.  Palm trees, while not exactly sacred, are held with great respect in Middle East. Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Gautama Buddha under a sal tree in the Garden of Lumbini, Nepal, in 621 BC. The sal tree is a Hindu sacred tree. She delivered the baby standing up and holding on to the tree.

It is not uncommon in history for one culture to appropriate a story from another culture and rebrand it to suit their purpose, or for the stories to diverge differently through passage of time. For example, when Constantine Christianised the Roman Empire, the birth of Christ was celebrated on December 25th to coincide with the celebration of the rebirth of Sol Invictus, the Roman Pagan Sun God. Both Protoevangelium of James and Pseudo-Matthew were written when Roman culture had dominance and influence, narratives had to be tempered for wider mass consumption.  

However, it is one thing to appropriate myths, legends and stories and bastardise them in non-scriptural works, it is an entirely different matter to canonise them as did the Quran.



* Some part of this blog is distilled from research paper by Prof Suleiman Ali Mourad titled 'From Hellenism to Christianity and Islam: The Origin of the Palm tree Story concerning Mary and Jesus in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Qur'an'. Prof Mourad's research and publications focus on medieval Islamic history and religious thought, including jihad ideology, sacredness of Jerusalem, Qur'anic studies, and the presentation of Jesus and Mary in the Qur'an and Islamic tradition.

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TALES FROM GABRIEL - ABEL AND CAIN

'Tales From Gabriel' is a collection of myths, legends, fables or stories I am collating, each of which are interesting on its own, but more fascinating is, a few hundred or thousand years later, they landed on the pages of the Holy Book of Islam. The Quran, supposedly compiled in the 7th century, is the spoken word of God conveyed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. These tales are post-fact canonised. Have they been plagiarised into Truth? Opinions are strictly personal.

Genesis 4 tells the story of Abel and Cain, the first two of Adam and Eve's three children. Cain was the first born who tilled the land. Abel tended to the flocks. For an offering to their Lord, Cain brought some fruits and Abel brought some portion of the first born in his flock. The Lord was pleased with Abel's offering. Cain was angry out of jealousy and one day in the fields, he killed his brother.

The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain was fearful that anyone who finds him would kill him. Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who find him would kill him

That is the short and simple story in the Bible. The Quran carries the same story but with 2 additions.

Quran, surah 5:27-30 The original story:
(as translated by Quran.com)

Relate to them in truth ˹O Prophet˺ the story of Adam’s two sons—how each offered a sacrifice: one’s offering was accepted while the other’s was not, so he threatened ˹his brother˺, “I will kill you!” His brother replied, “Allah only accepts ˹the offering˺ of the sincerely devout.
If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you, because I fear Allah—the Lord of all worlds.
I want to let you bear your sin against me along with your other sins, then you will be one of those destined to the Fire. And that is the reward of the wrongdoers.”
Still, the other convinced himself to kill his own brother, so he killed him—becoming a loser.

Quran, surah 5:31 A sub-story of a crow burying a dead crow:
(as translated by Quran.com)

Then Allah sent a crow digging ˹a grave˺ in the ground ˹for a dead crow˺, in order to show him how to bury the corpse of his brother. He cried, “Alas! Have I ˹even˺ failed to be like this crow and bury the corpse of my brother?” So he became regretful.

Quran, surah 5:32 A moral exegesis:
(as translated by Quran.com)

That is why We ordained for the Children of Israel that whoever takes a life—unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land—it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity. ˹Although˺ Our messengers already came to them with clear proofs, many of them still transgressed afterwards through the land.

The story is lifted off the Bible albeit worded differently, but where did the 2 additional verses come from? Western scholars have written about this and concluded the additional verses came from talmudic literature. For some understanding of talmudic literature, this model is helpful.

Oral traditions existed for thousands of years. It got written down progressively over a period of time. It is very difficult to refer to the Torah for any specific law. The Talmud solved this problem by arranging the laws according to subject matter.

The Talmud originally consisted of only the Mishnah. The Gemara was added later on, also progressively over time. Jewish rabbinical inquiry by normative methodology uses a series of questions in all situations. For example, after killing Abel, what did Cain do? Did he bury his brother? Where did he learn about burial? etc. Stories were created for illustration purposes for which there are many. These are not Biblical stories and anyone not familiar with the Jewish Bible and overhearing them narrated in public spaces could easily mistake them for materials from Scripture.

In Midrash (explanation) Tanhuma: 
“After Cain slew Abel, the body laid outstretched upon the earth, since Cain did not know how to dispose of it. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, selected two clean birds and caused one of them to kill the other. The surviving bird dug the earth with its talons and buried its victim. Cain learned from this what to do. He dug a grave and buried Abel. It is because of this that birds are privileged to cover their blood.”

In Pirḳe de-R. Eliezer chap 21:
This is a midrash attributed to Eliezer ben Hurcanus, a prominent rabbi in the 1st and 2nd century.
“The dog which was guarding Abel’s flock also guarded his corpse from all the beasts of the field and all the fowl of the heavens. Adam and his helpmate were sitting and weeping and mourning for him, and they did not know what to do (with Abel), for they were unaccustomed to burial. A raven (came), one of its fellow birds was dead (at its side). (The raven) said, ‘I will teach this man what to do.’ It took its fellow and dug in the earth, hid it and buried it before them. Adam said ‘Like this raven will I act.’ He took the corpse of Abel and dug in the earth and buried it.”

In Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5b
“For so we have found it with Cain that slew his brother, for it is written, the bloods of thy brother cry. It says not ‘the blood of thy brother,’ but the bloods of thy brother. – his blood and the blood of his posterity. (Another saying is: Bloods of thy brother – because his blood was cast over the trees and stones.) Therefore, but a single man was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single soul to perish from Israel scripture imputes to him as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and if any man saves alive a single soul from Israel scripture imputes it to him as if he had saved alive a whole world.”

Comments:

There is an excellent Islamic apologetic in Islamic-awareness.org. Basically their contention is the Quran preceded these talmudic writings and therefore it is exactly the reverse, i.e., that the Bible in fact copied from Islam. I like this apologetic article for it is a scholastic historical criticism of the claims of Western scholars, unlike the usual hysterical reaction of vitriol and threats to any views critical of Islam. But is there an aorta of truth in that view? 

My personal opinion of the Islamic-awareness.org refutation is :

1. Western scholars are aware these specific Talmudic passages are dated 7th/8th century. However, the oral traditions from which they were based are from thousands of years earlier.

2. Were this an isolated incident, it might have been viewed differently. However, the fact is there are way too many instances of parallelism of Quran to Biblical and non-Biblical Christian stories and legends.

3. There is no complete extant manuscript of the Quran from 7th/8th century. The final complete Quran in more or less current form was compiled sometime in the 9th/10th century.

Note:
According to Islamic narrative, the first caliph after Muhammad's death in 632 AD, Abu Bakr, had compiled a copy of the Quran which was entrusted to Hafsah, the 4th wife of the prophet. (It was narrated by Muhammad ibn Ishaaq she kept it under her bed and some part was chewed by a sheep). The 3rd caliph Uthman, had copies made which were sent to 5 different cities. All these would be 7th century manuscripts. None of these are available today..

Ancient incomplete manuscripts in bits and pieces have been found. The earlier ones are :

Tübingen fragment - kept in Tubingen, Germany. Dated 641 - 671 AD.
Sana'a Manuscript - kept in Yemen. Dated before 671 AD.
Codex Parisino-petropolitanus - kept partly in Paris, Moscow and Vatican City.  Made up about 45% of the text. Dated 7th or 8th century.
Topkapi Manuscript - Kept in Istanbul, Turkey. Dated 8th century.
Samarkand Kufic Quran - kept in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Dated 795-855 AD.

Carbon dating of manuscripts are unreliable because the ink cannot be tested. It is only the animal skin parchments that are tested. In ancient times, these writing materials are washed and recycled all the time. So the writings could have come much later. 

What is most significant is a quote from Gerd Rüdiger Puin, a German scholar of Oriental studies, specializing in Quranic palaeography, Arabic calligraphy and orthography. He headed a restoration project commissioned by the Yemeni government to study and catalogue the Sana'a Manuscript.

In a 1999 article published in the American magazine The Atlantic, Gerd R. Puin has been interviewed and quoted as saying that:

"My idea is that the Quran is a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad. Many of them may even be a hundred years older than Islam itself. Even within the Islamic traditions there is a huge body of contradictory information, including a significant Christian substrate; one can derive a whole Islamic anti-history from them if one wants.

The Quran claims for itself that it is 'mubeen,' or 'clear,' but if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn't make sense. Many Muslims—and Orientalists—will tell you otherwise, of course, but the fact is that a fifth of the Quranic text is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Quran is not comprehensible—if it can't even be understood in Arabic—then it's not translatable. People fear that. And since the Quran claims repeatedly to be clear but obviously is not—as even speakers of Arabic will tell you—there is a contradiction. Something else must be going on."

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TALES FROM GABRIEL - ALEXANDER THE GREAT

'Tales From Gabriel' is a collection of myths, legends, fables or stories I am collating, each of which are interesting on its own, but more fascinating is, a few hundred or thousand years later, they landed on the pages of the Holy Book of Islam. The Quran, supposedly compiled in the 7th century, is the spoken word of God conveyed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. These tales are post-fact canonised. Have they been plagiarised into Truth? Opinions are strictly personal.

Of all the larger than life figures in antiquity, there is none other than Alexander the Great who had his extraordinary exploits further amplified by legends. To explain in today's lingo, Alexander's exploits went viral, thanks to the legends.

What does Alexander the Great have to do with the Quran? What does it explain about Lee Kuan Yew's house at No 38 Oxley Road? And why did a learned ISIS recruiter left Islam after learning the legends? Let the miller weave his tale. 

The historicity of Alexander the Great

The above feature image of Alexander in battle against the Persian King Darius III is a reconstructed painting of a mosaic in Pompeii.

Alexander (356 – 323 BC) was the son of Phillip II, King of Macedonia, Greece. He succeeded his father at age 20 in 336 BC and thereafter spent almost his entire young life in military campaigns.

Greece consisted of several independent city states, constantly at war with each other. Within 1 year, Alexander had control over almost all of Greece, and achieved his father's pan-Hellenistic dream. He then moved East into the Balkans and then South into Phrygia (present day Turkey).  Phrygia's capital Gordium is where the legend of the Gordian Knot was set. The knot was said to be impossible to untie. Anyone who can untie it was destined king of the world. Alexander simply used his sword to cut it loose. By 332 BC he had taken Gaza. (And by the way he didn't see any people known as Palestinians there). Next he turned West and took Egypt where he laid the foundation for the great city of Alexandria in 331 BC, a city whose name has never changed to this day.

On the fringe of the present day Libya, Alexander turned south for the city of Ammon. Take a mental note of this desert city for it has significance in my tale. Ammon lies on a huge depression in the desert so it sits on a great water basin. Thus there are numerous oasis. Where there is water, there is life. The region was inhabited by an indigenous African people the Romans called Berber. It was a term for all other people who were neither Hellenistic nor Egyptians living in the Maghreb, the Northern coastal regions of Africa, present day Libya, Morocco, Tunisia. These were the people who conquered the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and ruled for 800 years where they were known as Moors. Shakespeare's Othello was a Moor. The Berbers eventually got Arabicised and assumed Arab identity.

Ammon has an eponymous god with an Oracle at Siwa. The god Ammon is depicted as a ram and had a far reaching cult in the Mediterranean. Ammo means 'sun' in Greek. In Egypt it got infused with the sun god Ra to become Amun-Ra, Zeus in Greece (Roman Jupiter) took on Ammon's depiction with horns of the ram. The Oracle of Siwa was very famous at the time. Alexander visited the temple to seek consultation in the footsteps of Greek mythological heroes Perseus and Heracles and other kings. Even Queen Cleopatra was said to have visited the hot springs there.

This is a map of Alexander's travels and his empire. He traversed East-West, West-East, North-South, South-North. You can refer to this later for it has significance in my tale..

Alexander fought in 19 battles, often against a much larger enemy force, and never lost a single one. As each defeated foe accepted him as overlord, they contributed new military contingents to replace his depleted forces. He led an army that had such diversity which most certainly exerted tremendous pressure tearing at the seams due to competing egos, interests, loyalties and jealousies . Yet for one so young, he was able to hold the centre. It said a lot about his military craft and leadership.

Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. The intellectual sophistication side of him was revealed in the way he treated his defeated foes and his respect for local customs and their gods. Alexander took back with him from India 10 gymnosophists. These were ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the extreme of abstaining from food and clothing for purity of thought. Alexander was known to have had many fascinating Q&A sessions with these near naked wise men of the East. It is very plausible Alexander's quest for knowledge impressed Demetrius, one of his adjutants, to later request Ptolemy to build the famous library at Alexandria. The Great Library of Alexandria was eventually built by Ptolemy II.

The legends and myths of Alexander :

All these came from a book called Alexander Romance, thought to be written before 338 CE in ancient Greek and translated into Latin. The problem is the original manuscripts are lost. Extant copies are in various languages (Coptic, Ge'ez, Middle Persian, Byzantine Greek, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Syriac, Hebrew) with copies of copies over different period between 4th and 6th century. There is thus not one book but several with variations as stuff got added. The original was attributed to Callisthenes who was Alexander's historian. Callisthenes was a Macedonian who followed Alexander in his campaigns. Since Callisthenes died before Alexander, he couldn't be the author. That is why all extant copies of "Romance" are attributed to Pseudo-Callisthenes.

It is in the style of 'credence narrative', based on historical events married with the genre of ancient mythologies full of pagan gods, demigod heroes, supernatural beings, strange beasts, prophecies, and oracles. "Romance" has a hundred more strange beasts than Homer's Iliad.

Independent of "Romance" is another collection called Alexander Legends which is in Syriac said to be written between 6th and early 7th century.

For my purpose here, only two myths are mentioned.

Alexander's Gate:

Alexander was said to have built a wall of iron at a mountain pass which prevented certain barbaric tribes from invading Persian territories. This is called Alexander's Gate. There are four places which are collectively known as the Caspian Gates. Details in "Legends" are vague so it is not clear which of the four is Alexander's Gate.

Most think Alexander's Gate is at Derbent Pass. However, both Derbent and Darial are too far North in the Caucasus Mountains and outside of the Persian Empire.

In real history, Alexander passed through Rhagae in pursuit of Darius III. Pliny The Elder (23-79 AD), a Roman philosopher, wrote in "Natural History" about the error of calling the Caucasus passes as Caspian Pass. His geographical description of the pass Alexander took fit the one near Rhagae which is close to today's Tehran. Pliny also noted remnants of iron gate across the river.

There is record of Alexander passing through Rhagae but he didn't build nor repair and gate. The four Caspian Gates were built before and after Alexander's era.

Gog is the people who lived in the land of Magog. In biblical eschatology, God calls on Gog to invade the land of Israel. Josephus (37-100 AD) a Jewish-Roman historian famous for his book "History of Jews", identified the Scythians living in today's southern region of Russia as Gog. (Josephus also wrote about a man called Jesus, thus attesting to the historicity of Christ.)

"Legends" fused the myth of Alexander's Gate with the Biblical apocalyptic tradition of Gog and Magog, which made it very popular in the Middle Ages. This found its way into later copies of "Romance" and the Quran. The myth depicted the pass as too wide. Alexander prayed and the mountains moved closer, allowing the iron gate to be constructed.

The Quran has a short story of Dhu al-Qarnayn, sometimes written as Du'l-Qarnain, together with Yajuj and Majuj. Dhu al-Qarnayn in Arabic means "the two horned man",  a reference to Alexander as the mythical son of Ammon, the one depicted by rams. Yajuj and Maju is Gog and Magog. This story sits uncomfortably in its incoherence in Surah 18 together with the story of  "Sleepers of the cave".

The seduction of Olympias:

"Romance" opens with the seduction of Olympias, wife of Philip II, by Nectanebo II, in all its duplicity and concupiscence. Nectanebo II was a king of Egypt who dabbled with the occult and black magic. An invading army nears and he saw his own defeat. He fled to Macedonia where he became a famous magician. He lusted after Olympias and by black magic he seduced her when Philip II was away on a campaign. He came to her as if in a dream in the form of god Ammon. The union birthed Alexander, thus giving him a demi-god status. "Romance" made Alexander the son of Nectanebo, not Philip II. Why this myth has great significance, you will soon see. 

The Corpse of Alexander:

Towards the end, Alexander faced two internal problems. The Macedonian contingent had by then developed battle fatigue and wanted to return home. His infusion of Persian practices into the military did not go down well with Macedonian soldiers. Friction developed and a serious plot was uncovered. Callisthenes was implicated and thrown in prison where he died a few months later. Alexander died in 323 BC in Babylon from Malaria, which was common at the time. There were some suggestions he could have been poisoned.

In death as in life, Alexander casted a huge shadow over his empire. His body was embalmed for the grandest funeral that took two years in the planning. Alexander's death left a huge power vacuum. He had divided his empire amongst his 4 satraps - Antigonus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. All understood one thing. The body of Alexander was a talisman representing authority. Whoever was closest to Alexander in death earns legitimacy in the succession. All four would have wanted Alexander buried in their province. Perdiccas was the highest ranking official in Babylon and he determined Alexander was to be buried in Aegae in Macedonia where their kings were laid to rest.  Alexander was placed in a golden coffin and escorted by a grand column on the journey.

Somewhere in Syria, Ptolemy hijacked the body and brought it back to Memphis. Some of Alexander's men switched allegiance and followed Ptolemy. Perdiccas needed to regain authority so he pursued. Due to some disastrous decisions at the River Nile which caused the death of many Macedonian troopers, Perdiccas was murdered by his own men. War was avoided. 

Alexander's four generals fought several wars for supremacy. The last war was The Battle of Ipsus 301 BC. When he erroneously thought his coalition had lost, Ptolemy pulled out of the conflict and returned to Egypt.   

Ptolemy set about to create his own empire in Egypt in what we might today call an elaborate disinformation programme. The last Egyptian pharaoh was Nectanebo II who was deposed by the Persians in 343 BC and died in exile. Egyptian tradition required a pharaoh to come from the same lineage. Ptolemy promoted Alexander as actually the son of Nectanebo II and therefore claimed the throne posthumously. While he made himself out as the illegitimate son of Philip II making him half-brother of Alexander, his rightful successor.

Ptolemy built a cult around Alexander and created stories. A new king normally issues new coins to announce his arrival. Ptolemy issued coins of Alexander (with two horns of Ammon) on his death. This is why history left us such rich heritage of Alexander in statutes and in mosaic, courtesy of Ptolemy. The false Alexander lineage allowed the Ptolemaic dynasty to rule for 150 years all the way to the last Ptolemy VII, the famous Queen Cleopatra, who committed suicide in 30 BC after her defeat by Octavia Caesar in the naval Battle of Actium 31 BC.

In 305 BC Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh and made Alexandria his capital. Alexander's remains were placed in the golden coffin and transferred to Alexandria. Ptolemy II honoured Alexander with more cultish ceremonies. Ptolemy IV had to transfer Alexander's remains to a glass coffin to melt the gold coffin to fund his treasury. Imperial Rome saw Alexander as the epitome of power and several caesars visited his tomb. Over time the adulation cooled and eventually Alexander's remains were lost to history. It was thought following the rise of Christianity after Emperor Constantine there could have been a destruction of pagan culture and Alexander's tomb destroyed. In 1850s when Britain colonised Egypt, they carted back to London Museum what was thought to be Alexander's sarcophagus. Turned out that sarcophagus was for the exiled Nectanebo II.

Comments:

Coming back to 38 Oxley Road, the more astute reader would have understood by now the analogy to Alexander's body. Lee Kuan Yew's abode is a talisman for authority and power which legitimises the House of Lee. It has to be retained for the future generation of leadership from that lineage. Could this be the real reason for the son to deny a father's death wish for his house to be demolished?

It is apparent Ptolemy's disinformation also influenced "Romance" and "Legends" and all have been pedalled much like how online materials are shared carelessly nowadays, oblivious to authenticity.

It is difficult to understand the logic of Alexander for its place in the Quran. Readers may be interested to do some research on a Musa Cerantonio. He is Irish Australian, born Robert Cerantonio to an Irish family. At age 17 he converted to Islam. As a white convert, he was a novelty. Got paraded all over Muslim ummah to give speeches. Believed in fundamentalist version of Islam. Became a famed recruiter for ISIS. In 2014 went to Mindanao, Philippines, to help start a caliphate there. Got thrown out the country for overstaying. In 2016 organised a group to return to Philippines by boat illegally as his passport was impounded. Was arrested and landed in jail in Australia. In jail, he came across "Romance" and realised the similarities of Alexander in legends to Dhu al-Qarnayn in the Quran. He suffered a crisis of faith and thereupon committed apostasy. Served time and released from jail in May 2023. He is now an atheist. How strange what "Romance" can do to a fundamentalist-hardened man when many outreach programmes cannot.

The Quran, surah 18:83-97
(As translated by Quran.com)

They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Ⱬul-Qarnain. Say, “I will relate to you something of his narrative.”
Surely We established him in the land, and gave him the means to all things.
So he travelled a course,
until he reached the setting ˹point˺ of the sun, which appeared to him to be setting in a spring of murky water, where he found some people. We said, “O Ⱬul-Qarnain! Either punish them or treat them kindly.”
He responded, “Whoever does wrong will be punished by us, then will be returned to their Lord, Who will punish them with a horrible torment.
Then he travelled a ˹different˺ course
until he reached the rising ˹point˺ of the sun. He found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.
So it was. And We truly had full knowledge of him.
Then he travelled a ˹third˺ course
until he reached ˹a pass˺ between two mountains. He found in front of them a people who could hardly understand ˹his˺ language.
They pleaded, “O Ⱬul-Qarnain! Surely Gog and Magog are spreading corruption throughout the land. Should we pay you tribute, provided that you build a wall between us and them?”
He responded, “What my Lord has provided for me is far better. But assist me with resources, and I will build a barrier between you and them.
Bring me blocks of iron!” Then, when he had filled up ˹the gap˺ between the two mountains, he ordered, “Blow!” When the iron became red hot, he said, “Bring me molten copper to pour over it.”
And so the enemies could neither scale nor tunnel through it.

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TALES FROM GABRIEL- SLEEPERS OF THE CAVE

'Tales From Gabriel' is a collection of myths, legends, fables or stories I am collating, each of which are interesting on its own, but more fascinating is, a few hundred or thousand years later, they landed on the pages of the Holy Book of Islam. The Quran, supposedly compiled in the 7th century, is the spoken word of God conveyed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. These tales are post-fact canonised. Have they been plagiarised into Truth? Opinions are strictly personal.

The Story:

During the reign of Trajanus Decius (AD 201 – 251) who was Roman emperor from 249 to 251, there lived 7 young men in Ephesus, a city in ancient Greece. That was a time Rome was persecuting Christians and the religion had basically gone underground in order to survive.

One day Decius arrived in Ephesus. He ordered a public offering of sacrifice to Roman pagan gods. In this manner Decius can identify Christians who will not offer sacrifices. Those who disobeyed were to be executed. Everyone in the city obeyed except for the 7 young men who refused to deny their faith. They went into hiding. When it became untenable to remain in the town, they fled to the mountains and took refuge in a cave. One of them was chosen to administer to their needs, let's call him Iamblicus. Each day, Iamblicus would go into town dressed as a beggar, to procure food.

Decius soon heard about the 7 youths and ordered a search. When word reached Decius about the secret cave, he ordered it be sealed up. So the cave opening was sealed and the young men left to their doom. One of the masons wanted to honour the youths for their strong faith. He wrote their names and the reasons their being condemned. He hid the note in a box amongst the boulders.

Some 300 years later, the owner of the land, unaware of the history, wanted the cave re-opened. When the cave was opened, the 7 youths woke up as if they had slept over the night. They had no idea 300 years had passed. Iamblicus assumed his usual chore of going down to the town to buy bread for the day. Upon arriving at the town he was surprised the town had changed overnight. The townscape was different and he was surprised to see signs of the Cross on many buildings. Soon he realised people were talking about Jesus openly. Iamblicus found a bakery, bought what he needed and paid for it. But there was a problem. He tried to pay with old coins bearing the face of Decius. It was then the reign of Theodosius II (408–450) so coins had changed. To resolve the matter, Iamblicus was brought before the Deacon of Ephesus. Following the interrogation, they proceeded to the cave, and true enough they found six other youths who all corroborated Iamblicus's account. The Deacon found the note left by the mason and accepted the miracle as the work of the Lord to show to the Church the mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead.

Constantine I (272 – 337) had transformed Rome from paganism to Christianity. During the reign of Theodosius II (408–450) there were deeply divisive theological disagreements about the resurrection of the body in the day of judgement and life after death. Some felt resurrection of the body was not possible and therefore it can only be interpreted as resurrection of the soul. When the case of the 7 youths were reported to him, Theodosius II, being a practicing Christian, wanted to meet the 7 youths to honour them for their commitment to the faith. After they had the audience with the Emperor, the 7 youths fell into their final sleep a second time till the Lord returns and final Resurrection.

Comments :

There were many versions with differing details. Many disagreed on the number of youths and some included a dog. The Quran, in its eternal wisdom, never reveal the number but says "My Lord knows best their exact number. Only a few people know as well." 

Another common difference is the number of years the youths slept. The Quran puts it at 309 years which obviously is lunar years. Converted to solar years it is 300.

Names of youths also differ. Some accounts use Maximilian, Iamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus and Antoninus.

Hundreds of manuscripts have been found in Syriac, Aramiac and Greek. The earliest was one by Bishop Jacob of Serugh (450–521) who wrote from an earlier Greek version which has been lost. Jacob also mentioned a church consecrated to the 7 sleepers.

There are several places that have laid claim to be the grotto where the youths slept. Daniel the Pilgrim from present day Ukraine, travelled the region widely in the 12th century during the times of the Crusade. He wrote extensively of his travels and claimed to have seen relics of the sleepers' cave.

The American author Washington Irving, possibly plagiarised the myth for his famous short story "Rip Van Winkle" first published in 1819.

The fact is the 'sleepers' is not in the liturgical calendar and Roman missal. There is no archaeological or documented evidence that the story was other than just an invention to propagate or demonstrate the theological concept of end time Resurrection.

The Resurrection of the Dead on the second coming of Christ is such a fundamental part of Christian faith that the Orthodox Church commemorates the 'sleepers' story on August 4 for the first time the youths fell asleep and October 22 for the second sleep. In Roman Martyrology the 'sleepers' have been listed on July 27 since 1961.

Notice that the list refers to 'the 7 holy sleepers' and not saints or martyrs as there was no beatification of any real life character. It is in effect to commemorate a very popular myth that served to underline the fundamental concept of Resurrection of the Dead. In 1961 the 'sleepers' was listed as number 7th item to be read. I was told in 2004 it was moved up to number 1. But this is only reflected in the Latin version of the Roman Martyrology. The reason is unknown. Perhaps it is to give more recognition to the story at an era where people are loosing belief in the supernatural.

The Quran surah 18:9-25
(Translated as per Quran.com)

Have you ˹O Prophet˺ thought that the people of the cave and the plaque were ˹the only˺ wonders of Our signs?
˹Remember˺ when those youths took refuge in the cave, and said, “Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Yourself and guide us rightly through our ordeal.”
So We caused them to fall into a dead sleep in the cave for many years,
then We raised them so We may show which of the two groups would make a better estimation of the length of their stay.
We relate to you ˹O Prophet˺ their story in truth. They were youths who truly believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.
And We strengthened their hearts when they stood up and declared, “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will never call upon any god besides Him, or we would truly be uttering an outrageous lie.”
˹Then they said to one another,˺ “These people of ours have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not produce a clear proof of them? Who then does more wrong than those who fabricate lies against Allah?
Since you have distanced yourselves from them and what they worship besides Allah, take refuge in the cave. Your Lord will extend His mercy to you and accommodate you in your ordeal.”
And you would have seen the sun, as it rose, inclining away from their cave to the right, and as it set, declining away from them to the left, while they lay in its open space. That is one of the signs of Allah. Whoever Allah guides is truly guided. But whoever He leaves to stray, you will never find for them a guiding mentor.
And you would have thought they were awake, though they were asleep. We turned them over, to the right and left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. Had you looked at them, you would have certainly fled away from them, filled with horror.
And so We awakened them so that they might question one another. One of them exclaimed, “How long have you remained ˹asleep˺?” Some replied, “Perhaps a day, or part of a day.” They said ˹to one another˺, “Your Lord knows best how long you have remained. So send one of you with these silver coins of yours to the city, and let him find which food is the purest, and then bring you provisions from it. Let him be ˹exceptionally˺ cautious, and do not let him give you away.
For, indeed, if they find out about you, they will stone you ˹to death˺, or force you back into their faith, and then you will never succeed.”
That is how We caused them to be discovered so that their people might know that Allah’s promise ˹of resurrection˺ is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour. When the people disputed with each other about the case of the youth ˹after their death˺, some proposed, “Build a structure around them. Their Lord knows best about them.” Those who prevailed in the matter said, “We will surely build a place of worship over them.”
Some will say, “They were three, their dog was the fourth,” while others will say, “They were five, their dog was the sixth,” ˹only˺ guessing blindly. And others will say, “They were seven and their dog was the eighth.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “My Lord knows best their ˹exact˺ number. Only a few people know as well.” So do not argue about them except with sure knowledge, nor consult any of those ˹who debate˺ about them.
And never say of anything, “I will definitely do this tomorrow,”
without adding, “if Allah so wills!” But if you forget, then remember your Lord, and say, “I trust my Lord will guide me to what is more right than this.”
They had remained in their cave for three hundred years, adding nine.

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STATUE OF VIRGIN MARY IN AL CHANAL CRIES

According to UNOTV, the Virgin of Sorrows in the Temple of the Resurrection in El Chanal, a small town in Colima, Mexico, started to cry on 14 October.

"The children of El Chanal, in Colima, were taking their catechism classes when, suddenly, a 9-year-old boy discovered that the eyes of the religious image were beginning to crystallize."

He pointed out to his teacher who saw what appeared to be tears flowing from the Virgen de los Dolores.

This is the latest Marian miracle. The phenomenon has yet to be investigated by the Vatican. Meanwhile, the little town is getting lots of visits by believers, skeptics, and curious onlookers from all over.

El Chanal is a small town of 1,200. It is narco-infested with high homicide rate. Locals tend to interpret the miracle as the Holy Mother's sadness for the violence in the town. The ownsfolks' only wish is for the town to return to its earlier tranquil state.

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ONE HUGE UNGRATEFUL VOLCANO THAT WAS THE MIDDLE EAST

No, this image is not Gaza. It is Syria 2016. The bombs were dropped by Russian jets. Russia supported the Assad regime and were supposedly bombing ISIS held areas. Possibly due to poor intelligence and non-precision bombs, the Russians ended up with discriminatory bombing of civilians. Thousands of Syrian non-combatant civilians were killed by these bombs. There was not a squeak about Assad or Russian genocide from the Islamic ummah (Muslim worldwide community), the media, bleeding hearts, neoliberals, or dumb leftist students of US universities .

Pakistan is now kicking out 1.7 million Afghans. Doesn't matter if they are refugees, lived in Pakistan for years, or born in Pakistan. 1.7 million Muslims being uprooted and dispossessed. Where is the outcry?

All the noises and outcry and demonstrations of the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict, and any violent flare-ups in Palestine in the past, aren' t about humanitarian concerns. It is all agitprop. Always is, always has been. The Islamic ummah has always hated Jews for centuries on religious grounds.  The escalation of hate amongst neoliberal left is due to decades of well orchestrated propaganda and a lack of knowledge of history. People forget history very fast, or they reframe it to suit their bias.

The dynamics of the geopolitics of the Middle East in the period roughly between 1850 - 1940 is a tapestry of tumultuous events that shaped the major part of the Arab world. Big picture interests define objectives of main actors and in all these developments it seemed the tiny plot of land the Romans called Palestina was put on the back burner. In the scheme of things at the time, Palestina was not a priority issue. That turned out to be history's biggest mistake as the Israeli-Palestinian issue is now a modern day Gordian Knot.

In this blog, I give an overview of the big events between 1850-1940 for the real history that provide understanding and context to current events in ME.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century the two major powers in the area were the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918) and Ottoman Empire (1300-1918). By the end of 19th century both were weakened and breaking apart. It was a time of nationalist fervour where people chose to group themselves along linguistic and shared cultural heritage.

How WWI started:

At the turn of the 19th century,  the Industrial Revolution caused a recalibration of power in Europe. Germany and Austria on one side, and France and Britain on the other, were uncomfortable with each other's growing strength. Germany-Austria-Russia decided to form a Tripartite Alliance. That failed as Russia and Austria could not agree over control of the Balkans. Germany and Austria proceeded to sign a dual defence pact.

In 1908 Austria annexed Bosnia which angered the Serbs who wanted a Serbia-Bosnia union. In 1914 a young Serb assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, an act that started WWI. Russia, which had disagreements with Austria over control of the Balkans, sided with Serbia. Germany, which had a defence pact with Austria, declared war on Russia. France sided with Russia and when it mobilised a million French troops to help Tsar Nicholas II, Germany declared war on France. When Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, Britain, which had an alliance pact with France, declared war on Germany. The Ottomans, fearing Russian interests on their northern lands, entered the war in 1914 on the German side . Italy was in the process of national unification. It joined Central Power of Germany-Austria axis in 1915 as it expected to gain some territories in the Balkans and Ottoman land. However, Italy later switched sides. Japan joined the war on Britain's side. It had no need to send troops. Its purpose was to take advantage to acquire Germany's scattered small holdings in the Pacific and on the coast of China.

This is a map of Ottoman Empire shown with present day boundaries.

Self-interests of Allies:

Russia was driven by its desire to protect Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Slavic peoples, and a port to give them access through the Bosporus to the Mediterranean Seas and beyond. The only port it had that is not frozen during Winter is Korsakov in the Far East island of Sakhalin. Russia thus had a strategic interest in the swath of Ottoman land to its south bordering the Black Sea all the way to the Caucasus.

The 1917 Revolution changed everything for the Russians. The Bolsheviks deposed the imperial regime of Tsar Nicholas II. With mounting losses in the war, economic difficulties, and post revolution reconstruction, the new communist leader Lenin withdrew Russia from the war.

Before WWI, Britain and France had a shared interest to prevent Russia gaining influence southwards towards Persia and present day Iraq where oil wells were. They thus had an earlier interest to support the stability of the Ottoman Empire. Britain's overriding interest was to protect the Suez Canal for the produce and raw materials coming from India and the Orient.

By 1805 Egypt already had autonomy from Ottomans and 50 years later Britain began to maintain a presence to protect its overland trade route to India. In 1869 the French completed construction of the Suez Canal making the strategic importance of Egypt unquestionable. Britain and France co-owned the company that operated the canal. Faced with an unfriendly nationalist government in 1882, Britain colonised Egypt. To appease France, Britain declared international freedom of navigation at Suez Canal. Egypt gained independence in 1922 but British presence remained until after the Suez Canal War 1956.

Some of the key players

Instead of London or British India, Britain created the Arab Bureau based in Cairo, to run the war effort in its sphere of influence in Egypt/Arabia/Mesopotamia region. Gertrude Bell was recruited to run the intelligence gathering and help craft Britain's Grand Strategies for Middle East policies. She was an archaeologist, linguist, writer, extensively travelled in the region, excellent contacts with tribal leaders, can navigate nuances of local politics, and had local credibility. The huge role she played had largely gone under reported in history. Turf war was inevitable as both London aristocrats and British India officials were old school that held the view locals were incapable of governing themselves, while Arab Bureau held a deferential view to the wishes of the locals towards self-governance.

A key local player was Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi. He was Ottoman's appointed Shariff of Mecca. His family had been in charge of Mecca since 1200s. His major contribution was acceding to Arab Bureau's request not to support the Sublime Porte’s call for jihad against British and French forces.  The Sublime Porte was the spiritual leader of the Ottoman, much like Iran's Ayatollahs. With considerable influence as Shariff of Mecca, Hussein's refusal to heed the jihad allowed the Arab Bureau to work with nationalist Arabs and raise millions of Muslim Indians to serve in the British military and continue to fight on behalf of the British Empire.

Hussein held long cherished desire to return the Islamic Caliphate back to Arabs from Turkish Ottoman. In return for Hussein raising an army to start an Arab Revolt against the Ottoman, Britain will make him king of the lands comprising the Hejaz (strip of land on the west coast of Arabia where Mecca is located) and Mesopotamia area all the way to Syria, under a sort of a protectorate. Hussein had a series of correspondence with Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner to Egypt, on this matter. That came to be called Hussein-McMahon letters.

Meanwhile London and Paris had made a secret deal known as Sykes–Picot Agreement which was ratified on 16 May 1916. This was not revealed even to Arab Bureau.  (This was exposed by Lenin in 1917 when he came across the document in the Kremlin). This agreement was meant to split Russian, British and French areas of influence in the expected victory over Ottoman. UK was to control what is today southern Israel and Palestine, Jordan and Southern Iraq, and an additional small area that included the ports of Haifa and Acre to allow access to the Mediterranean. France was to control southeastern Turkey, the Kurdistan Region, Syria and Lebanon. The Arabs were to later consider this a betrayal of the Hussein-McMahon letters.

On 10 June 1916, Sharif Hussein launched his highly anticipated Arab Revolt in the Hijab. But the British had bought a pig in a poke. Hussein could muster only a few hundred men and the belief that the uprising would draw support throughout the Muslim and Arabic-speaking worlds and a largely Arabic-speaking Ottoman Army, never materialised.

Shortly after, in March 1917, Britain took over Baghdad

On 2 Nov 1917, Britain signed the Balfour Declaration drafted by ex-Prime Minister Lord Arthur Balfour, that sought to create a state on Palestine for the Jewish people. 

Meanwhile, Hussein's elder son Faisal bin Hussein Al-Hashemi, decided to make a move for Syria for himself instead of fighting for his father. In a game of deception and intrigue, Faisal approached the Ottoman that British betrayal with the Sykes–Picot Agreement made him decide to switch sides if he were given Syria. The Ottomans, on the other hand, were trying to use him to divide the Hashemi side.

The British sent Thomas E Lawrence, an archaeologist, commissioned as captain, to assess the viability of an assault on Syria by Faisal. The young captain lionised himself in his autobiography and was iconised as Lawrence of Arabia by Hollywood.

On 3 Oct, 1918, Lawrence and Faisal claimed Damascus for Arab nationalists.

On 4 Oct 1918 the Ottoman Empire capitulated and signed an armistice with the British.

11 November 1918  WWI officially ended.

In January 1919, Allied powers convened the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles. The League of Nations was formed to settle peace terms with the loosing Central Alliance. Russia, Italy and Greece to sought out some northern Ottoman lands. Ottoman Arab lands were split into a French Mandate covering Lebanon, Syria and some Kurdish areas, and a British Mandate covering the Hijab, Palestine,  Transjordan and Mesopotamia. Formal annexation of territories by these powers were prohibited.

Faisal found himself played out as Syria went to the French. To forestall against French designs on Syria, Faisal once again played chess. He betted the powerful Zionist lobby can influence Britain's foreign policy in his favour. On 4 January 1919, Faisal and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the Zionist Organization, signed the Faisal–Weizmann Agreement in which Faisal conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration, promising British support to the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

On 25 April 1920 the League of Nations met again in San Reno, Italy. The San Reno Resolution accepted the Balfour Declaration to create a Jewish state at Palestine. Faisal's younger brother Zeid bin Hussein was made Regent of Mesopotamia. As Faisal could not obtain Arab consensus for the Jewish state, he withdrew his support for the Balfour Declaration. 

Faisal had declared Syria an independent Arab constitutional government on October 5, 1918, a government the French did not recognize but allowed to function. Faisal would go on to declare a kingdom on March 8, 1920. France sent 20,000 troops and Faisal moved back to Mesopotamia. A small group of Arab nationalists put up a token resistance in the Battle of Maysalun which the French quickly squashed by 25 July.

During his short stay at Syria 1918-1920, Faisal had impressed Gertrude Bell of his ability to govern. Municipal services had functioned well. Bell argued for Iraq be handed over to Faisal to govern. She was able to convince the new Secretary of State for War back in London, a young vociferous newbie by the name of Winston Churchill. Actually it was easy to convince Churchill who had come at a time when London was concerned at the Crown's fiscal position after WWI and wanted a reduction of expenses in the colonies. Churchill had famously said of Iraq as "Living on an ungrateful volcano". He had concluded Iraq was a waste of time, effort and money and unmanageable. A sentiment the Americans would face some 100 years later.

So in 1920 Faisal became Emir of Iraq under British protection, making it the second Hashemite kingdom after the failed Syrian kingdom. In 1932 the Mandate of Britain ended and Iraq became an independent nation.

Faisal had understood the precarious situation of a minority Sunni government with a large ignorant Kurdish population who rejected the Ottomans (Turkish) simply on grounds of ethnicity, will certainly resent Arab rule, and a majority Shiite Arabs who had been discriminated and persecuted by Sunni Ottomans for 600 years. The big problem of victimisation mindset of Shiite Iraqis persists to this day.

The Transjordan region was under British Mandate and administered by OETA (Occupied Enemy Territory Administration) a joint British, French and Arab military administration. It briefly fell under Hashemite Syrian rule of Faisal in 1918-1920. When France took back Syria, Transjordan became technically a no man's land. Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Hashimi, a brother of Faisal, moved into Transjordan in 1920. Britain agreed to let Abdullah have autonomous governance under the auspices of the British Mandate for Palestine. In 1946 under the Treaty of London. Britain granted full independence to Jordan and the emirate became a Hashemite Kingdom. Abdullah is the grandfather of present day King Abdullah II.

Meanwhile, old man Hussein ruled the other Hashemite region in the Hejaz. But Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Ibn Saud) has other plans. The House of Saud had been a powerful clan that controlled much of Central regions of Arabia, known as Nejd, for over 100 years. It was called Emirate of Diriyah. The dynasty rode on the back of tribal leaders that practice Wahhabism which is a form of Islamic fundamentalism, some wrongly call it  “extremism.”. Wahhabism advocates a purification of Islam, rejects Islamic theology and philosophy developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and calls for strict adherence to the letter of the Koran and hadith (sayings and practices of the Prophet). Kind of like "sola scriptura".

In 1818 the Ottoman's Egyptian forces destroyed Diriyah and the House of Saud was exiled to Riyadh. The Al-Rashids, long time regional rivals with backing from Ottoman, captured Riyadh in 1891 and the Al Sauds took refuge in Qatar/Kuwait/Bahrain regions. In 1902, with a small force of 40 men, Ibn Saud retook Riyadh. That success glorified his reputation and old Wahhabi tribal leaders returned to his fold. He then set out to take back the Nejd which was accomplished by 1912. He then formed the Ikhwan, a military-religious brotherhood, kind of like the Knights Templar.

To prevent Ibn Saud from seeking legitimacy with the Ottomans, Britain made an agreement to fund and supply weapons to Ibn Saud. The condition was bullets and British protection for a thin Blue Line up north to Palestine, Transjordan and Mesopotamia regions. that Ibn Saud must not cross. That way Britain protected its interest in Suez Canal and overland trade routes to India, 

Ibn Saud next moved into the Hijab and  by 1925, had captured the holy city of Mecca from Sharif Hussein, ending 700 years of Hashemite rule. By 1927 Ibn Saud won all the land as in today's Saudi Arabia. Thankfully the euphoria did not cloud Ibn Saud's judgement. He did not cross British Blue Line and left all those coastal countries under British protection alone, namely Yemen, Kuwai, Qatar and Bahrain.

In 1927 Britain signed Treaty of Jeddah that recognised Hejaz and Nejd as 2 separate independent states. In 1932, Ibn Saud formally united his realm into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with himself as its king. Oil was discovered in 1938 and the rest is history.

That basically sums up the run of play of the ME countries sans Palestine. But I can't sign off without mention of this trivia of history. Ibn Saud's Treaty of Jeddah earned the displeasure of the Ikhwan. Remember the religious extremist soldiers of Ibn Saud. Wahhabists resented appeasement with the infidel British and the modernisation and progressive reforms of Ibn Saud. They basically prefer Medieval Islam, much like ISIS. A Ikhwan Revolt broke out which the Saudi Army finally put down in the Battle of Sabilla (29 March, 1929). This was a battle of old Bedouin tribes with their scimitars versus machine guns and planes. That was the last battle in history where one side rode camels.

Conclusion:

All's fair in love and war. Each party looked after their own interest. Some Arabs consider the Sykes-Pigot Agreement as a betrayal by the British. This is in so much as Hussein bin Ali is concerned. However, Hussein never delivered on his part of the Hussein-McMahon Letters. There was no Arab revolt against the Ottomans. At least the British allowed two Hashemite Kingdoms in Iraq and Jordan for his children.

The Mandate system worked to return Ottoman lands to Arab self-rule. The fractionalised local setting made it extremely difficult. The great divides were along racial and religious lines of Arabs-Kurds- Jews, Muslims-Christians-Yazidis, Sunnis-Shiites. The British sought to align with strong and capable groups that can provide stability to the region and at the same time protect its own interest.

Hundreds of thousands fought in wars that freed the Arabs from 600 years under Ottoman Turks. One of the most horrible battles was the Gallipoli Campaign where Kiwis, Aussies, Indians, British, French, and Russians perished. Hundreds of thousands of Indians died from malaria in the swamps of Basra. On the other hand, Arab soldiers in the Ottoman Army fought against the Allied Forces. The Arab world does not commemorate the sacrifices at Gallipoli.

Through it all, there were no Arab concerns for Palestinians. In fact, as long as it suited his purpose, Faisal accepted the Balfour Declaration for a Jewish state in Palestine in 1919 although he rescinded it the following year as he was unable to obtain Arab consensus, and perhaps more likely because he gained nothing from the San Reno Agreement. In subsequent years, Faisal's solution for Palestine was a " Jewish nation" where Jews can return to Palestine but cannot create a state.

And when all the dust had settled after WWI and Ottomans were out of Arab lands, and the Arabs had gotten  all those vast tracks of land and regained sovereignty of the Hijab, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, fought and died for by infidels, and some other Arab lands that lived under British protection during those uncertain times, the Arabs will not allow a tiny Jewish state in Palestine.

Churchill got it right. It was all one huge "ungrateful volcano".

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WHERE REFUGEE AID MONEY USED TO TEACH KIDS TO HATE AND KILL

This image has been shared online by many with Arabic and Islamic names. Sure tugs at heartstrings, does it not?

I remember one morning back in 1967, on my way to school in a Tay Koh Yat bus crowded with a mass of adults going to work, an elderly woman was pestering passengers for cash. None obliged. Soon she reached where I was standing. She held my arm with one hand and the other thrusted in my face pleading for alms. She must have seen my eyes in a split second, and experienced to the ways of icy cold stares from whom she will get nothing, and those who were struggling with their conscience, she dropped to her knees. Somewhere between embarrassment and pity I dug into my pockets and handed her fifty cents. There goes my lunch for the day. She alighted at the next stop when the conductor told me “Young man, this old lady is a regular hustler”. I felt sheepish and wanted off the bus ASAP.

Did you know when it comes to international humanitarian aid, Palestinians are a pampered lot. The United Nations has two divisions to handle humanitarian aid for refugees. The UNRWA (UN Relief Works Agency) deals solely with relief aid for Palestinian refugees, and another arm for humanitarian aid to all other refugees all over the world. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently about 26 million refugees in the world, of which Palestinians make up about 6 million. Palestinians are provided royal treatment but they accord Western countries who are the biggest funders, with abject disrespect and hate.

UNRWA was created to aid the Palestinian refugees in the 1948 war launched by 5 Arab states against Israel. The agency is now a permanent fixture. Here we go again, another round of mendicant solicitation for yet another war against Israel caused by Arabs.

UNRWA pumps US$2B a year into Palestine, the biggest contribution coming from US, the country Muslims refer to as The Great Satan, alongside the slogan “Death to America”. Has the money been well spent? Supposedly 58% of funds were spent on education, the rest on everything else including greasing the hands of Palestinian officials and arms smuggling.

Hamas bosses Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh are worth an estimated $4 billion each, and political bureau leader Mousa Abu Marzouk is worth $3 billion, all living in luxury in Qatar. They are proud other Palestinians’ sons are martyrs and happy if you can chip in more aid money.

The only sane world leader is Donald Trump who pulled out funding of UNRWA in 2018 for misuse of aid money. The immediate consequence is financial difficulties for the aid agency. The Biden admin has resumed funding UNRWA and up to July 2023 US has thrown in a life line of US$618 million.

Are aid money well spent? Well big chunk of aid money went to education, but that depends on the curriculum. And that’s where the problem lies.

UNRWA operates 183 schools in the Gaza Strip with a cohort of 286,000 students. The schools use the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum throughout Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. For years, these schools have been teaching a curriculum that incites extreme anti-Semitism and glorifies violence. Curriculums do not conform with international standards derived from UNESCO’s declarations and resolutions, with the aim of preventing the radicalization of children and encouraging tolerance, pluralism, and peaceful conflict resolution.

The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, known as IMPACT-SE, an Israeli NGO that analyses school textbooks and teaching curriculums, says :

“Extreme nationalism and Islamist ideologies proliferate throughout the curriculum, including in science and math textbooks.”

“We have been warning for years that Palestinian schools in Gaza and the West Bank have indoctrinated to extreme Jew hate and incited students to murder. What we saw (Oct 7) was the result of the years and years and years of indoctrination.”

David Bedein, who heads the Center for Near East Policy Research and Israel Resource News Agency, has analysed hundreds of Palestinian Authority's text books said in 2016 they all showed a central theme: “the preparation of the children for war.” This was brought up to Obama’s administration who made a study and concluded there was no radicalisation and politicisation of the education system.

When math word problems ask students to use variables like the number of Jews killed during the first and second intifadas;

When poems go like this:

"Hearing [weapons] clash is pleasant to my ear
And the flow of blood gladdens my soul
As well as a body thrown upon the ground
Skirmished over by the desert predator
By your life! This is the death of men
And whoever asks for a noble death – this is it!”

When teachers recite and popularise dead jihadists, and make references to the terrors of burning, rapes, etc;

Kids' minds get twisted and Oct. 7 massacres were an outcome of the content taught to Palestinian children at the UNRWA schools.

This is a 45 seconds video. Watch it. You can see where else all the hate is coming from.  Make sure to catch the final second.

Under secretly pro-Palestinian policies of Obama and Biden, and UN agencies captured by Islamic and dictatorial regimes, the children of Palestine are a lost cause. 

So yes be mindless bleeding hearts if you so wish. Me, I’m thinking of the 50 cents I gave away a long long time ago.

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SPECTACLE OF BLOOD RED SKIES OVER TROUBLED LANDS

On the nights of November 5 and 6, residents of the hyperborean areas of Europe and America were given a rare treat of spectacular Northern Lights in the night sky.  This was caused by a recent solar storm. Huge explosions on the sun's surface eject coronal particles into space. When these particles reach Earth, the magnetic fields pull them towards the North and South poles. These particles hit gaseous molecules in the air and we see the reflection in the form of lightwaves. Oxygen molecules throw up green light waves while Nitrogen reflects red lightwaves. The spectacular colours seen in the sky are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights in the Northern Hemisphere and australis in the Southern Hemisphere.

It is common to see a mix and interplay of colours and rare to see a single colour. On nights of Nov 5 and 6, the skies were blood or crimson red over Crimean and the Ukranian regions. Here are some images of blood skies over these troubled regions. The more religious folks may feel perhaps God is sending a message.

Elsewhere, the usual varied colours of aurora borealis can also be seen. Here is an image of an unusual night sky over Stone Henge in Souhern part of England.