Obama's Secret Password
Well, my blog was barely a half-day old when my prediction of a communistic council in Egypt came true. I said the military can enforce order, but it can’t really rule politically; not in a democracy. I made up my mind to make a second posting today - once I got home from work, because this just couldn’t wait until tomorrow. But something told me to hold on, that all was not over yet – indeed, trouble hadn’t even begun. Reports, I presume from the White House, stated Mubarak was going to announce his immediate resignation. Crowds began building in Tahrir Square in anticipation of a celebration.
“Yeah, but what if he doesn’t announce his resignation?” I wondered. What then? Was Obama building up the mobs for a let-down he knew perfectly well was coming? It seemed to me the ever-truculent and very proud Mubarak would never consent to bow down before such throngs. That was before noon. It was mere minutes between seeing the password and reading the latest news.
Meanwhile, I was in the midst of some good-deed doing. I wanted to leave a message on the White House website. I was attempting to do a good deed for a community-minded colleague who bet us that she would never get to meet this president whom she admires, even though I don’t particularly. I highly recommend letting this particular president know what you think. But no threats or violence. Threats and violence are unworthy of us. In any case, the violence will come soon enough, or rather, too soon. Just be patient.
I filled in all the information and my comments. At the bottom, as with all websites, you have to type in a password so their site knows you’re a human being, not spam. Fine, fine, fine. The password was: al-Kufah. There was a second word (there are always two words) which I think was noorsq (Queen Noor of Jordan, perhaps?). But the name al-Kufah intrigued me. It was so unusual that it could have been a random password. I was so intrigued that I forgot all about the second password. I wrote the name down, finished the message I wanted to send, and then went to Google (and Wikipedia) to find out where Kufah is (what little I know of Arabic is that it means “of someplace” or “from”).
Kufah is a city in Iraq, about 110 miles south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf, on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufah is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shia Muslims. The city contains the Great Mosque of Kufah, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built in the 7th century. Kufah began as a city in the Sassanid Empire (224 to 651), the last pre-Islamic empire in Mesopotamia. Prior to that, it was part of the Parthian Empire, one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe (the Roman Empire was the other, which was succeeded by the Byzantine Empire).
The Sassanid Empire encompassed all of modern Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan), southwestern Central Asia, part of Turkey, certain coastal parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf area, and areas of southwestern Pakistan, even stretching into India. The name for the Sassanid Empire in Middle Persian is Eran Shahr which means Aryan Empire.
The Sassanians were conquered by Caliph Umar, also known as Omar, a great admirer and friend of the Muhammad, secondly only to his greatest companion, Sadiq-e-Akbar. Umar became the second Muslim ruler after Muhammad’s death and ruled for 10 years.
Under Umar, the Islamic caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-pronged attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the conquest of the Persian Empire in less than two years. His reputation was then made as a great political and military leader. He was killed by a Persian captive.
Is there still anyone out there who thinks the Muslims couldn’t possibly reinstate their caliphate? If Umar could do it in the 7th Century in less than two years on horse and camelback with only primitive weapons, with modern, more sophisticated weapons, technology, and plenty of help from the Communists, it wouldn’t be hard at all. Anybody still want to underestimate them?
I sent the White House a message, and the White House certainly sent me one, on the very day Egypt’s downfall began. I now pass the message on to you, my readers.
The password is: Yikes.
Yikes, indeed. Now I’m home and I discover Mubarak did, indeed, refuse to step down although he says he’s transferred power to his Vice President, and there’s a throng of 100,000 angry Egyptians in the square. Is this Obama’s storm-the-Bastille moment? He certainly will deserve the blame for violence, if that’s what happens. He owns this moment.
Further speculation is useless. For now, we can only wait and see what happens next.
“Yeah, but what if he doesn’t announce his resignation?” I wondered. What then? Was Obama building up the mobs for a let-down he knew perfectly well was coming? It seemed to me the ever-truculent and very proud Mubarak would never consent to bow down before such throngs. That was before noon. It was mere minutes between seeing the password and reading the latest news.
Meanwhile, I was in the midst of some good-deed doing. I wanted to leave a message on the White House website. I was attempting to do a good deed for a community-minded colleague who bet us that she would never get to meet this president whom she admires, even though I don’t particularly. I highly recommend letting this particular president know what you think. But no threats or violence. Threats and violence are unworthy of us. In any case, the violence will come soon enough, or rather, too soon. Just be patient.
I filled in all the information and my comments. At the bottom, as with all websites, you have to type in a password so their site knows you’re a human being, not spam. Fine, fine, fine. The password was: al-Kufah. There was a second word (there are always two words) which I think was noorsq (Queen Noor of Jordan, perhaps?). But the name al-Kufah intrigued me. It was so unusual that it could have been a random password. I was so intrigued that I forgot all about the second password. I wrote the name down, finished the message I wanted to send, and then went to Google (and Wikipedia) to find out where Kufah is (what little I know of Arabic is that it means “of someplace” or “from”).
Kufah is a city in Iraq, about 110 miles south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf, on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufah is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shia Muslims. The city contains the Great Mosque of Kufah, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built in the 7th century. Kufah began as a city in the Sassanid Empire (224 to 651), the last pre-Islamic empire in Mesopotamia. Prior to that, it was part of the Parthian Empire, one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe (the Roman Empire was the other, which was succeeded by the Byzantine Empire).
The Sassanid Empire encompassed all of modern Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan), southwestern Central Asia, part of Turkey, certain coastal parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf area, and areas of southwestern Pakistan, even stretching into India. The name for the Sassanid Empire in Middle Persian is Eran Shahr which means Aryan Empire.
The Sassanians were conquered by Caliph Umar, also known as Omar, a great admirer and friend of the Muhammad, secondly only to his greatest companion, Sadiq-e-Akbar. Umar became the second Muslim ruler after Muhammad’s death and ruled for 10 years.
Under Umar, the Islamic caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-pronged attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the conquest of the Persian Empire in less than two years. His reputation was then made as a great political and military leader. He was killed by a Persian captive.
Is there still anyone out there who thinks the Muslims couldn’t possibly reinstate their caliphate? If Umar could do it in the 7th Century in less than two years on horse and camelback with only primitive weapons, with modern, more sophisticated weapons, technology, and plenty of help from the Communists, it wouldn’t be hard at all. Anybody still want to underestimate them?
I sent the White House a message, and the White House certainly sent me one, on the very day Egypt’s downfall began. I now pass the message on to you, my readers.
The password is: Yikes.
Yikes, indeed. Now I’m home and I discover Mubarak did, indeed, refuse to step down although he says he’s transferred power to his Vice President, and there’s a throng of 100,000 angry Egyptians in the square. Is this Obama’s storm-the-Bastille moment? He certainly will deserve the blame for violence, if that’s what happens. He owns this moment.
Further speculation is useless. For now, we can only wait and see what happens next.
posted by Belle | 4:49 PM
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