Thursday, August 20, 2015

Armstrongism Influenced Man Nearly Provoked a Palestinian Intifada in 1969

In 1969 Denis Michael Rohan, a Australian man partly influenced by Herbert W. Armstrong, lit a fire in al Aqsa Mosque. It was a terrible act that made a tense situation even worse and destroyed priceless historical artifacts. As terrible as the situation was it could so easily escalated in a more severe way.

The widespread horror about it led to the establishment of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1969. (In 2011 it was renamed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.)


One piece of evidence of just how much trouble and pain this burning did may be seen in how Israel Shahak, the noted Israeli peace activist, described the reaction to this infamous arson among the Palestinians in a 1993 article. 
Before the Intifada the single instance of resistance which swept through all Palestinian society in the Territories occurred in 1969 in protest of the arson of al-Aqsa mosque. All other protests were either geographically or socially limited. Many of them were limited only to the Gaza Strip refugee camps. Calls for strikes or other forms of protest were not widely observed. Many villages, which Israeli authorities described as 'loyal', never participated in protests before the inception of the Intifada. (Israel Shahak, "The Real Significance of the Oslo Accords," September 10, 1993, Open Secrets: Israeli Nuclear and Foreign Policies, 1997, Chapter 13.)
Imagine that: a man partly influenced by HWA's ravings nearly provoked a Palestinian intifada in 1969.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 20, 2015 at 10:23 AM

    It never ceases to amaze me how attractive Armstrongism is to the marginal. Denis Michael Rohan was only one of many. David Ben Arial (Chuck Hoover) springs to mind: Apparently he didn't cause the same damage as Rohan, but he was ejected from Israel and permanently banned.

    It should give people pause to realize that by making the utterly ridiculous seem plausible, the stage is set to attract all sorts of darkly insane people.

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    1. Redfox712August 21, 2015 at 12:52 AM

      >>It should give people pause to realize that by making the utterly ridiculous seem plausible, the stage is set to attract all sorts of darkly insane people.<<

      What a chilling observation. So true.

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  2. Byker BobAugust 20, 2015 at 10:20 PM

    These unstable zealots probably believe they will enjoy a certain status within Armstrongism (and to be fair, other cults), by attempting to "fulfill" the prophecies taught by them. But, the fact is, when the news of their activities gets out, the cults turn "chicken" and distance themselves from their own teachings that influenced the behavior. So the zealots don't even get to become iconic zombies. They get banned, suffer psych evaluations, and don't even get the approval they sought.

    I would be willing to bet that a number of WCG members back in 1969 were saying, "Aw crap, he had a PT in his back pocket! We're probably going to be persecuted for this!" While others were thinking, "Too bad the damned thing didn't burn to the ground!"

    Many WCG members admired Moshe Dayan, right up until the point when he turned the keys to the Dome of the Rock mosque over to the Arabs.

    BB

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    1. Redfox712August 21, 2015 at 12:56 AM

      >>But, the fact is, when the news of their activities gets out, the cults turn "chicken" and distance themselves from their own teachings that influenced the behavior.<<

      I never looked at it that way before. What a way to deny responsibility.

      I completely believe that some WCG members would have such a hostile attitude in regards to the Al Aqsa mosque. It would not surprise me one little bit.

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