Photos of stained glass from St. Patrick’s (Catholic) Cathedral, Armagh, N. Ireland

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamblinofjerusalem/sets/72157630659713484/detail/

Turkestan Sufi Saint Shrine

My photos of a Sufi saint shrine in Turkestan.

(Unfortunately I did not write down the name of the saint!)

The shrine is visited by pilgrims to receive baraka (blessings) from the saint, and to make sacrificial offerings (hudaiyoli). An animal is brought (or purchased there), sacrificed and slaughtered, then cooked, eaten by the family in a festive setting, and often shared with strangers or the poor.

This practice broadly parallels pagan Turkish shamanistic (and Israelite) pilgrimage and high place sacrifices.

Happy Fourth of July!

Despite its many flaws and problems, the United States of America has consistently been the greatest force for good in the world during the past century. God bless America! Happy Fourth of July!

Struggle for the Temple Mount

“Messianic sect allows peek into battle to build third Temple”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/messianic-sect-allows-peek-into-battle-to-build-third-temple.premium-1.448410

The Temple in the Qur’an

Attached is my paper, “The Temple in the Qur’ān,” which I presented in Dublin on May 27, 2012.  It examines how the Jerusalem temple is depicted in the Qur’ān.

HAMBLIN Temple in Qur’an

More on 1st century Mark fragment +

I’m still skeptical, but here’s what’s being claimed:

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37273

More tension on Temple Mount

http://www.france24.com/en/20120227-modern-day-zealots-envision-new-jewish-temple-jerusalem