Gladly Blaspheme

There's a difference between being polite, respecting someone else's beliefs, and subjugating your own beliefs. I find all religions to be ridiculous in practice (in theory, there's some positives, which I might discuss today. Might not. Who knows?!). So, when I'm told I can't show a picture of some dude from 600AD, I laugh. I could retort "THOU SHALL NOT EAT PASTA - THE FSM COMMANDS IT!" and that has equal claim. One is clearly ridiculous, the other only appears not to be because of fear, appeals to authority, and the simple accumulation of time.

But just because something was foolish 1500 years ago does not give it import only because it's survived so long.

Anywho, this is a cool painting, from the 16th century. It depicts Muhammad, in center, re-dedicating the rock which resides at the center of the Kaaba. This stone is actually a meteorite, and was worshiped at Mecca long before Islam. I can get behind meteorite worship, by the way. It also may confer some sort of superpower, as all meteorites are known to do.

Here's a picture of the meteorite as it looks today:

Not phallic!