By Chuck Hustmyre
Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
(Continued)
The phrase found written on Cho's arm, "Ismail Ax" obviously meant something significant to Cho. What it meant to him remains a mystery.
Ismail is the traditional English language spelling for the man Muslims consider the forefather of the Arabs. He is the son of Ibrahim—known as Abraham in the Old Testament—whom Muslims refer to as the father of the prophets.
In the version of the story documented in the Quran, God told Ibrahim to kill Ismail to prove his loyalty to God. In some interpretations, Ibrahim intended to kill his son with a knife, but when he discovered the knife wasn't sharp enough, Ibrahim chose an ax.
 |
| Cho Seung-Hui (High School Yearbook) |
In the story, just as Ibrahim was about to deliver the death blow to his son, God ordered him to spare Ismail's life and to slaughter a sheep instead.
The story of Ibrahim's near-killing of his son, Ismail, is the origin of the annual Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, the most important feast on the Islamic calendar.
In the Quran, Ismail's father, Ibrahim, also used an ax to chop to pieces the statutes of false gods.
Other than the cryptic reference on Cho's arm, the mass killer does not appear to have any connection to Islam.
Previous Page
VA Tech Massacre Full Coverage & Breaking News
Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
For more daily crime news
default
increase
decrease
email
print
