Today, Dec 30 is the beginning of the Hajj.

To a Westerner this means little more than a 4 day festival where Moslems flock to Mecca to dance around a shrine to an ancient meteorite before trampling hundreds of themselves to death in some ancient misbegotten orgy of fanaticism.

To a Moslem, today is the beginning day of one of Islam's most sacred celebrations - Abraham's obedient preparation to sacrifice his son. Saddam Hussein was not just hanged on this day, he was hanged specifically during the morning prayers beginning the series of rituals leading to the Eid ul-Adha commemoration of the Prophet Abraham's supreme act of submission to the will of Allah.

Through out the next 4 days Moslems the world over renew their most basic tenant of faith, that their submission to the will of Allah is the only path to salvation. To a Moslem the hajj is equivalent to a Christian's Easter as the bearer of the faith's most central tenant.

Was the execution done on this day purposefully, or with full ignorance of it's context? In years not yet come, when Allied Forces capture the American President, try him for war crimes, and hang him on Easter Sunday, will we think it was perversely appropriate, or a calculated insult, or just more of the stupidity we've come to expect from the conquistadores?