‘ISMAIL AX’: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Cho Seung-Hui, the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student who murdered 32 of his classmates and professors in yesterday’s bloodbath in Blacksburg, VA, left behind a note signed, “Ismail Ax” and also had the words “Ismail Ax” written on his forearm in red ink, according to the Chicago Tribune (excellent reporting by Aamer Madhani, btw.)

As of a few minutes ago, there were already nearly 200 blog postings about what “Ismail Ax” might mean. Theories I’ve seen range from a connection to a story involving Ibrahim (aka Abraham, father of Ismael/Ismail)in the Quran, to Moby Dick’s opening lines (and their connection to outsiders and/or orphans of all kinds), to various other literary sources, Cho’s online XBox handle, complicated math theorems, and a Turkish singer named Ismail YK.

It’s a puzzle, one to which we may never know the true answer.

If history is any indication, the readers of The Dude Abides are a thinking, educated, not-prone-to-hysteria lot, so we’ll ask you:

What do you think it might mean?

Please send your comments.

GGHQ