Architecture: It's All the Rage!

In the Moslem world where, as I think Isaac Schrodinger might put it, "Everything good is haraam", whatever serves as the latest excuse for barbarism would be the nearest equivalent to the Western concept of "fashion".

The Kaaba, Mecca	"Apple Mecca", New York

And so it is that alert reader Janet Busch -- doing her best imitation of Faith Popcorn -- emails me this morning with what looks to be the latest rage, so to speak: A cube-shaped building being constructed in New York City.

On October 10, 2006, an Islamic website posted a message alerting Muslims to what it claims is a new insult to Islam. According to the message, the cube-shaped building which is being constructed in New York City, on Fifth Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets in midtown Manhattan, is clearly meant to provoke Muslims. The fact that the building resembles the Ka'ba (see picture below), is called "Apple Mecca," is intended to be open 24 hours a day like the Ka'ba, and moreover, contains bars selling alcoholic beverages, constitutes a blatant insult to Islam. The message urges Muslims to spread this alert, in hope that "Muslims will be able to stop the project."

Janet writes, "It's a building (in NYC) shaped like the Ka'ba: big, black and square. There may be bars selling alcohol. Oh the humanity! Next we'll hear that they're allowing seeing-eye dogs in the door."

Indeed. And the next thing you know, one of them will get wind of Star Trek and demand that all images of Borg Cubes (e.g., at right above) be redacted.

But then again, we are talking about the same people who lap up conspiracy theories to the effect that "Pepsi" is an acronym for "Pinch Every Penny to Save Israel", even though the name was invented in 1898, about half a century before the "Zionist Entity" came into existence.

On second thought, maybe they'll leave Star Trek well enough alone. If we assume that they think everyone else's tempers and appreciation for chronology are as bad as theirs, they might be afraid of provoking hordes of rabid Star Trek fans by drawing attention to their own religion as the "Insult to the Borg" that it is.

-- CAV