Day of the Great Feast: Thanksgiving or End of Ramadan?

November 15, 2002 6:19 PM
Subject:

Dear Steve,

Enoyed your show last night with George Noory. During the interview you queried whether the phrase "Day of the Great Feast" (apparently part of an intercepted communication between suspected members of Al-Qaeda) referred to Thanksgiving. Perhaps, but here's another possibility. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Id-al-Fitr, the "Feast of Fast Breaking." This year, the three-day celebration begins on December 1.

If an attack is planned for "The Day of the Great Feast," it's difficult to judge whether it will be Thanksgiving or Id-al-Fitr. Thanksgiving is an American holiday and as such it might be considered a good time to inflict pain upon us. Of course, it also falls within Ramadan which I believe is a time of decreased probability of Islamic terrorism. The question is whether Rmadan takes priority over Jihad. If so -- no attack; if not -- be alert. My intuition is that just as we are more likely to invade Iraq after Christmas, terrorist attacks are more likely after their month of fasting.

Keep up the good work,
Mark