If religious tensions got to the point where the Vatican was bombed then you already have reached ASBland. I don't think that Al-Qaeda would want to bomb the Vatican. Doing so anyways would contravene the teachings of Islam. But it's an interesting possibility - albeit a depressing one. The Catholic Church in the aftermath of such a bombing would be in sorrow and so would every decent Jew, Christian, and Muslim in the world. They would also have to rebuild the Chapella Sistana - which took hundreds of years to build. The restoration project would get donations from Catholics all around the world. At the end of the day the Catholic Church may yet emerge stronger. I see Francis as a saint and someone in line with him theologically taking his place. I can see Al-Qaeda being more hated than ever before, even if it was done by a rogue branch of their organization.
WI: Al-Queda bombs Vatican
- Thread starter ThatOneGuy
- Start date
There is a difference, because the Vatican is the base of a religion of the People of the Book, Al-Qeada won't target that.
They're also not supposed to use suicide as a weapon or intentionally target civilians either, but doesn't stop them from doing it anyway....
AQ and IS(IS) are doing lots of things that contravene the rules laid down in the Quran. A non-argument if I ever saw one.
because of the sheer funding coming out of Saudi arabia, plus the fact that is mostly the wahabites who started (and are most vocal) all the religious islamic violence
I will not engage on this position any more at the moment but I still reassert what I have been saying. Okay, why not we focus on what would likely happen here? I brought up some interesting possibilities here.
It would be horrible, and would face worldwide condemnation, but ultimately it will amount to very little. An attack against the Vatican, especially this Pope, would very clearly highlight that the ongoing ISIS war is a religious war, and for understandable reasons the leadership of the West does not want to encourage that narrative. After the initial shock has worn away the narrative will be that the attacks on the Vatican were political in nature, and that Islam is a religion of peace etc etc. It is likely the next Pope will also urge forgiveness and the continuing of ecumenical dialogue between the major faiths.
Meanwhile those unfortunate people on the ground who get pulled over by masked men with AK47s know what the answer is when they're asked "Sunni or Shia?"
Meanwhile those unfortunate people on the ground who get pulled over by masked men with AK47s know what the answer is when they're asked "Sunni or Shia?"
But the Saudi government was against the attackers. It'd be like attacking Spain because Catalan Separatists living in Italy blew up the Eiffel Tower.
While I don't see Catholismn going into full crusade mode it could be a changing point where the more revengeful fractions are gaining to get influence.
For sure a lot of new saints and martyrs will be frabricated from this events. Which again is a good thing for the hatefull parts as martyrs are good for advertising and calls for revenge.
So I would say the full impact of an successful attack on the Vatican would be seen a few decades down the road.
For sure a lot of new saints and martyrs will be frabricated from this events. Which again is a good thing for the hatefull parts as martyrs are good for advertising and calls for revenge.
So I would say the full impact of an successful attack on the Vatican would be seen a few decades down the road.
Penny for The Guy
Banned
Another TL?
Not with anything less than a mini-nuke, mate. Perhaps crashing a 747 into it?
They call themselves "The George Orwell Brigade"
Not with anything less than a mini-nuke, mate. Perhaps crashing a 747 into it?
They call themselves "The George Orwell Brigade"
Penny for The Guy
Banned
And if it happened before?
In WW2, there are all sort of possibilities, requiring very few butterflies, for either the Nazis or the US Air Force to bomb the Vatican, either on purpose or by horrific mistake. It would be accepted as "collateral damage" from the war, I think.
Assuming the AQ actually were able to get enough boom-boom to take out the entire Vatican (mini-nuke?), I think even the (vile, Wahabiist) Saudis would decide it was in their immediate interests to hunt down and destroy every AQ cell they could find. Since a lot of funding comes from SA already, it would turn AQ into more of a criminal thug band that it is already. OTOH, it could team up with the IRA to create "Terrorist International -- Will Bomb For Cash".
In WW2, there are all sort of possibilities, requiring very few butterflies, for either the Nazis or the US Air Force to bomb the Vatican, either on purpose or by horrific mistake. It would be accepted as "collateral damage" from the war, I think.
Assuming the AQ actually were able to get enough boom-boom to take out the entire Vatican (mini-nuke?), I think even the (vile, Wahabiist) Saudis would decide it was in their immediate interests to hunt down and destroy every AQ cell they could find. Since a lot of funding comes from SA already, it would turn AQ into more of a criminal thug band that it is already. OTOH, it could team up with the IRA to create "Terrorist International -- Will Bomb For Cash".