Thursday, August 06, 2015

ISIS Compared with Historical Order of Assassins




ـ"الحشاشون" و"داعش": انتحار واغتيال وإن اختلفت المذاهب!ـ

"The Assasins" and "ISIS": Suicide and Assassination despite Ideological Differences !


ـ"الحشاشون" اتخذوا "ألموت" مكمناً حصيناً لهم

The "Assassins" [i.e. the medieval Nizari Ismailis' secret Islamic sect of assassins] brought with them a sociological monoculture of "Death".

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on 6th August 2015]


Editor's Note:

The origins of the Assassins can be traced back to the time preceding the First Crusade, around 1080. Early sources about the Assassins are either written by enemies of that Islamic sect, or are based on legends. Most sources dealing with the order's inner structure were destroyed with the capture of Alamut, the Assassins' headquarters, by the Mongols in 1256. However, it is possible to trace the beginnings of the cult back to its first Grandmaster Hassan-i Sabbah (1050s–1124).



Old Persian style painting: The Assassins' stronghold of Alamut.


A passionate devotee of Isma'ili beliefs, Hassan-i Sabbah was well-liked throughout Cairo, Syria and most of the Middle East by other Isma'ili, which led to a number of people becoming his followers. Using his fame and popularity, Sabbah founded the Order of the Assassins. While his motives for founding this order remain unknown, it was said to be all for his own political and personal gain and to excert vengeance on his enemies. Because of the unrest in the Holy Land caused by the Crusades, Hassan-i Sabbah found himself not only fighting for power with other Muslims, but also with the invading Christian forces.

Hassan-i-Sabbah founded the Nizari Ismaili State (1090-1256) which comprised a group of unconnected strategic strongholds throughout Persia (Iran), Iraq and Syria. Those strongholds were surrounded by huge swathes of hostile territory. The Nizari Ismaili state managed a unified power structure that proved more effective than the Ismaili Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt, or the Sunni Seljuq Empire, both of which suffered political instability.

Long after their near-eradication at the hands of the Mongol Empire, reminders of the Assassins were preserved within European sources such as the writings of Marco Polo who depicted them as trained killers, responsible for the systematic elimination of opposing figures.




يا اهلينا انضمو لينا في حزب الحشيش

Be welcome joining us in the Party of Assassins !
Be welcome joining us in the Hashish Movement !
Image from an Egyptian journal in spring 2014,
referring to the connection between the Arabic
words describing the "Assassins" and the drug
"Hashish" which had been reportedly applied to
make novices of the Assassins believe in the
existence of Allah's Paradise.



News of the Day:



On the same day, 6th August 2015, the Arabic world discussed the suicide bombing targeting a mosque in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the Yemenite border, and which killed at least 15 Muslims. According to a Saudi TV station, the Islamic State (ISIS) declared itself responsible for that bombing which has been staged far away from the organization's usual area of operations.

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيرة on 6th August 2015]




داعش يخطف 230 مدنياً بعد استيلائه على "القريتين" بحمص

ISIS abducted 230 citizens after taking over some village in Homs [province].


There are 60 Christians among those 230 hostages abducted in the rural area of Homs, Syria.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on 7th August 2015]

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