Hajj Pilgrims Stone "Devil" Bu$h

[onager]

From the Egyptian Gazette today:

From today's Egyptian Gazette, an English-language newspaper in Cairo:

MENA--Hajj pilgrims have pelted stones at symbols of the devil, with many saying they were targeting US President George W. Bush and his allies.

Muslims throw pebbles at stone walls representing the devil--an act aimed at purifying the soul and rejecting temptation--before heading to Mecca for a final circling of the Kaaba...

Many pilgrims said they were thinking of Bush and his allies while they were hurling pebbles at the site where the devil is said to have appeared to Abraham.

"Yes, the devil is Bush and that other one from Israel--(Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon. And there's (British Prime Minister) Blair, too." said one pilgrim. "We throw the stones so we can vent our anger at them..."

You can read more--if you read Arabic, this is, here:

http://www.eltahrir.net

[fshrink]

1. I'm sure Scalia would agree. When

I think that a US justice feels safe enough to open his dirty mouth to praise fundamentalism... Ah well.. Here I go again. I'm gonna go out and look at the moon with my 12.3 eyepiece.

[PassingFair]

2. I did business last year with a highly educated expat Palestinian

who had made the hadj the year before. He said that they are not just "thinking of Bush and his allies" they are sounding off while they throw! All of them!

[onager]

3. Oh, I bet! But I'm happy to report...

...that after 3 weeks in Egypt, I haven't seen one bit of anti-American feeling directed at me personally. Or any of the Americans working with me. The local folks have been universally polite, friendly, and go out of their way to help us.

I had a really nice impromptu chat with an Egyptian woman in the middle of downtown Cairo the other day. She heard me asking directions and came over to help, since she spoke excellent English.

She was obviously Muslim, by her dress, and we ended up talking for 10 or 15 minutes. She said Egyptians (like much of the world right now) distinguish between the American people, who they like a lot, and our current government, who they definitely DON'T like.

[PassingFair]

4. SO glad to hear it, onager!

The Europeans and Middle Eastern people I meet are always a little off-putting until they figure out by my verbal cues that I DON'T support the little dictator.