Ishmael's Axe

http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/articles/suny/2001suny-pikus.html ^

[VRWCTexan]

See post 16 - Moby Dick (Chapter 17) ties is to Ramadan

[aCDNinUSA]

Is this him????

http://flickr.com/photos/eldarossell/203788467/

[clilly54]

Shah Ismail made shia the official religion if Iran in 1502. Could be Iran, not Al-Qaeda that may have poisoned his mind..

Or he could have just been nuts...

[chaos_5]

Nice find.

[HawaiianGecko]

If he was an English major, why would he spell Ishmael as Ismail?

Well, it doesn't mean his tattoo artist majored in English.

[alnick]

Ah, so it’s Bush’s fault?

Yes. You see, ABC just reported that the killer's long suicide noted included the phrase, "You caused this." Clearly the "you" refers to George W. Bush. He should step down immediately.

/s

[areafiftyone]

I’m just shaking my head at the unbelievable speculation going on .. It’s hard enough to grasp the enormity of what happened yesterday. I’m not above falling into the trap of looking for an evil islamic extremist behind every awful event, yet this seems to be a helluva stretch.

Neither am I. I think this kid had major problems - stalking the girl etc. Planning this for about a month, Long note left behind. Seriously planned to kill that girl for quite a while and blamed the whole thing on her.

[twigs]

I've read The Prairie and remember the character Ishmael, but don't remember the part about the axe. I'm probably also the only student in my English department who has read this book. At one time, Cooper's books would probably have been recommended reading, but they aren't anymore. Especially if the program is at all PC. If I thought it was a literary reference, I would think it more likely to be Moby Dick. But personally, I think it's too early to tell.

[johnny7]

That the gunman used the arabic spelling must mean something...

Yup...

[VRWCTexan]

Looks like the other photos of the perp

[ScreamingFist]

Nice FIND!!!!

[alnick]

Cheat notes written on his arm for an upcoming test?

He also signed his suicide note with the phrase.

[aCDNinUSA]

The photo was taken by “Eldarossell” who appears to be Indonesian? I think this is the killer?

“He’s a South Korean. Ismail is not his real name. He use it because his name is very hard to pronounce, especially for Indonesian people. His real name is Cho Seung Hoo ....... or is it Jo Sung Ho?”

Link:
http://flickr.com/photos/eldarossell/203788467/

[NoBullZone]

A play he wrote is posted at the Smoking Gun - the description was sick enough; I didn’t want to see any more.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Ishmael (Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Arabic: إسماعيل, Ismā'īl; translates as "God will hear" (Strong's Dictionary)) was Abraham's eldest son, born by his wife's handmaiden Hagar. Though being born of Hagar, according to the Mesopotamian law, he was credited to Sarah (Gn. 16:2)[1] According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Gn. 25:17).

Judaism has generally viewed Ishmael as wicked though repentant.[1] Islamic tradition, however, has a very positive view of Ishmael, ascribing a larger role to Ishmael in comparison to the Bible and viewing him as a prophet and the son of sacrifice (according to certain early theologians whose ideas prevailed later).[1][2] The Bahá'í writings consider him a lesser prophet.

Both Jewish and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael as the ancestor of Arab people.[1]

[null and void]

Yep. We sorta knew that...

[mnehring]

From what I’ve heard recently, that was misreported. Comments on what was on his arm and the note got bungled together..

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Credit: Wikipedia

[Red Badger]

We’ll have to “ax” him in the future........

[MeanWestTexan]

“If he was an English major, why would he spell Ishmael as Ismail?”

Because that is the muslim spelling?