Palmyra Falls: ISIS Reportedly Blows Up Ancient Temple of Baalshamin

220px-Temple_of_Baal-Shamin,_Palmyra We have been following the disgusting acts of the Islamic State in wiping out any culture, art, or education not directly advancing Islam. The Muslim extremists have bulldozed or dynamited ancient church and temples as well as museums under its twisted view of Islam. Now one of the greatest jewels of ancient Syria reportedly has called, at least in part. Reports state that ISIS has blown up the famed Baalshamin Temple at Syria’s ancient ruins of Palmyra. The 2,000-year-old Roman-era city was also the site of the beheading of one of the world’s leading archeologists.

ISIS has been successful in luring volunteers to its blood-soaked Sunni-based ideology from around the world with images of sex slaves, beheadings, and wanton destruction. It has created zones where people are left in ignorance and fed only their extreme interpretation the Koran. Only such people could rape, murder, and commit such wanton destruction while believing that it is not just pleasing to God but a step toward paradise.

imagesIt appears that the temple was destroyed a month ago and the fear is that the same fate may be in store for the nearby Temple of Bel, dedicated to the Semitic god Bel. Indeed, it is not clear that the temple still stands.

The image of these savages beheading archeologists and taking sledgehammers to ancient art has shaken a faith of many in the nature progression of humanity from ignorance and hate.

These acts join a long list of war crimes by Islamic State and reaffirm that this is a war against not Syria but civilization itself.

19 thoughts on “Palmyra Falls: ISIS Reportedly Blows Up Ancient Temple of Baalshamin”

  1. The group has also published photos of what they said was the destruction of two Islamic shrines near Palmyra, which they described as “manifestations of polytheism”. The modern city of Palmyra – known locally as Tadmur – is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.

  2. Are we modern Westerners any better? No. Heraklion, Lidice, Oradour, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Dresden. Do I need to go on?

  3. This is such a terrible tragedy. The world is for the most part standing idly by while ISIS rapes, murders, sells little girls into slavery, and destroys our global cultural heritage. All of this is irreplaceable – the lives and innocence lost, as well as the priceless artifacts.

    Why do we permit ISIS to gain ground? They would have been so much easier to stamp out decidedly if we’d acted before. We’re just letting them grown and grow and get better armed, becoming a stronger enemy which will be a bigger threat to our men and women in uniform. Our inaction will cost us American lives in the future that could have been prevented. Heck, why not patrol with armed drones and defend the sites that are left, as well as monitor and address any ISIS activity. What a fantastic opportunity for a training exercise.

  4. Thinking that ISIS atrocities have nothing to do with Islam contradicts just about everything members of ISIS say about their own motives. They claim to be the real Muslims and think the rest of us are either apostates or infidels. Their claims are backed by Islamic law. I think this is why civilized Muslims are uneasy and fearful, but generally quiet on the subject.

    We can pretend that Islamic law is equivalent to Western legal systems and therefore mutable, but such a pretense is like pretending that a bush-button lock on the front door is secure. It’s quite risky.

  5. I have yet to hear a better solution. Hone our skills on ISIS. This is a job for the Islamist countries that consider themselves advanced but as they are so disgustingly vacuous and spineless, not to mention hypocritical, then perhaps this is an opportunity for a sort of Special Forces Olympics.

    Tens of thousands of Americans, British, French, and other nationalities don’t join the militaries of their countries to ‘protect and serve’. It is in the blood. They join to satisfy something inside themselves, the ultimate hunt.

    Here is a valid, righteous, and obviously necessary disease that needs to be wiped out. This is the perfect opportunity to satisfy the urges of the good guys by surgically wiping out the bad guys. The world needs a Foreign Legion of sorts or one for each country. It doesn’t matter, just get on with it. How much more of this before the obvious becomes more clear. Wipe them off the face of the earth. This has absolutely nothing to do with religion or Islam. This is thuggery pure and simple. The world has rallied before.

    When a dog is rabid, you shoot it.

  6. “Priests in their churches, unlike recluse worshiping monks, should, of course, be killed without any exception. Malik in the Utbiyya included nuns along with monks, and said that they deserved killing even more.” – Sheikh Abdabqadic ad Murabit in The Sign of the Sword (1984). (Via Coughlin’s book Catastrophic Failure)

    Apropos reality of mainstream Islam.

  7. Let’s go with Nick’s idea and nuke the place… this way ISIS will be spared having to bulldoze anymore artifacts as our nukes will do that for them. Bright ideas at work people, very bright, indeed! For 2 watts.

  8. Bill, so right. Think of the carnage and destruction. One can only wonder why someone would advocate using nuclear weapons or carpet bombing. If our concern is over loss of ancient treasures and innocent lives one wouldn’t rationally advocate for such a thing.

  9. BillH sounds like the person advising Obama on ISIS. We can defeat ANY foe. We simply need a leader w/ the will to win.

  10. How many ancient temples would be destroyed by our use of nuclear weapons? How many non-extremists would die in the process? Is “non-extremist” even a concept that makes any sense?

    ISIS is doing this for the purpose of inflaming us. They have no way to come here and kill us, so they want us to go there so that they can kill us there. We are not yet fighting them on the ground where they can do battle with us in person, and that is what they want. The media supports them in this, reporting and dwelling on their atrocities so that our public will support “troops on the ground” when the time comes.

    We claim our troops will overcome them, and perhaps so. But many will die in the process. For our side that is a bad thing, but for them it is a win. If they kill us it is a win for them, and if we kill them in battle it is also a win for them. We are fighting a foe who cannot be beaten.

  11. I agree w/ our Canadian friend. We have tactical nuclear weapons. To employ tactical nuclear would show these cretins that we are the most powerful. The Muslim culture, more than any, worships power. These idiots that are being recruited have been led to believe, mostly because of our appeasement, that they are most powerful. A couple tactical deployments would “get their minds right.”

  12. Amalekites? Are you saying they were genocided? Gosh, whomever did that? And according to what sources?

    Don’t all peoples have a right to exist or only some?

    ISIS are stinkers but CUI BONO?

  13. Utter destruction of an opposing culture is nothing new. Just ask the Amalekites. (never mind, they were utterly destroyed).

  14. “ISIS has been successful in luring volunteers to its blood-soaked Sunni-based ideology from around the world with images of sex slaves, beheadings, and wanton destruction.”

    There is an opportunity here. Get them all in one place and then wax em.

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