“Ismael Ax” Theories
You have to wonder if this is what Cho Seung-Hui was wanting to happen: write some cryptic phrase on his arm and have the whole country obsessing over him and his actions and thoughts for weeks (or longer) after his rampage. So I kind of feel guilty for looking into this, like I’m only doing what he was hoping I would do.
Some collected Ismael Ax theories from the farthest reaches of the Internet:
I just learned that the “Ismail Ax” mystery may only be a reference to the Turkish rapper “Ismail YK” and that folks misread the scribble on Cho’s arm.
Cho was known to downloads of music - maybe he listened to Turkish rap…
It’s almost like a viral marketing campaign for Turkish rappers.
As for the term’s meaning, one popular theory comes from a story in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, about Ibrahim and his son, Ismail. This theory picked up speed because many bloggers wondered if the shootings could be related to terrorism.
In Islam, Ibrahim is known as the father of the prophets and, upset that people in his hometown still worshiped idols and not Allah, he smashed all but one statue in a local temple with an ax. Ibrahim’s son is Ismail, who also became a prophet. Ibrahim is Arabic for Abraham, who plays a significant role in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Two theories come from literature, where Ismail is spelled Ishmael.
Oh no, terrorists again! Alert level red! Go go go!
Cho Seung Hui wrote “Ishmael Ax” on his arm, signed his package to NBC “A. Ishmael,” and criticized Christianity in his video message. Do these things make him a jihadist? No. There is plenty of evidence that he was a deeply disturbed young man, full of rage and murderous fantasies, but none at this point to indicate that he had any actual connection to or interest in Islam or jihad.
However, that did not stop some jihadists on Islamic forums from celebrating his deed as if he were one of their own, and even dubbing him “Abu Mus’Ab Al-Virgini,” after the late Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi. The blogger Basharee Murtadd caught posts on two Arabic-language Islamic forums; one has been taken down, but the other is still there. Some excerpts:
Al-Jazeera reported 20 dead and 29 injured. Praise be to Allah.
Praise be to Allah for these calamities hitting America. By the will of Allah, more of this [will happen], following their defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As Muslims, our real condolences to you is to help you absolutely destroy your criminal democracy. By the vulnerable people in the Earth.
Oh good, crazy people approve of what a crazy person did. Can’t we exile all religious fanatics to some other planet where we don’t have to look at them or be killed by them, and let them fight the My God Is Better Than Your God wars amongst themselves?
One “Nightline” viewer recognized “Ismail-Ax” from a poem he had read by Drum Hadley, the 1960s beat poet. The poem is called the “The Goat Ranchers” and in it Hadley, under the pseudonym Yonder Ridgeline, writes about “Ishmael’s Ax.” Here’s the excerpt:
Went where they’d herded goats when they were kids,
Went where they were lovers,
Went where they were married here, those fifty years ago.
Traces of Ishmael’s ax on the scarred trunks of the cedar trees,
Crossing the canyons and winding arroyos.
Don’t bring the beat poets in, they were the original terrorists, trying to take down wholesome American society.
Sorry to say Virginia Tech Killer Cho Seung-hui was a terrorist and a christian.
His family back in South Korea attended Church on Sundays and he was brought up in Christian Fundamental Society
That’s makes him a Christian Terrorist. A Christianist, Fundamentalist Christian. His hatred for the Free world, higher education is obvious, He wanted to send a message to the world that Christian Terrorists Sleeper Cells are here and will attack America’s higher education institute, He Killed a Jewish Teacher and a Muslim Student. What Does Isamil Ax Mean? “Ishmael”, is what was written in the package he mailed to NBC. Ishmael is The Child of Abraham, Child of Israel and Ax means to cut, Chop, kill, = Kill the Children of Israel. Issac is the father of Jews and Ismael is the Father of Arabs.
I think all the Christian terrorist sleeper cells in America have already woken up and are actively plotting to take over the country. They don’t even try to hide it any more.
In James Fennimore Cooper’s story “The Prairie,” the settler Ishmael Bush, who is attempting to escape from civilization, sets out across the prairie with two key tools, a gun and an axe. Each has a symbolic meaning. The axe — which can either kill or provide shelter — stands for both creation and destruction.
This is actually the most reasonable explanation I’ve heard so far. I could completely see this being the reason. Cho was an English major, after all, no matter what you might think from reading his mind-bogglingly terribly written plays Richard McBeef and Mr. Brownstone.
It appears to be a reference to Abraham/Ibrahim, in which Ismail and Abraham take an axe to the idols of a temple as part of his conversion to monotheism.”
Maybe he was angry at the Greeks with their polytheism? Greeks = frats = college. There you have it.