Virgin Shortage Hampers Volcano God Appeasement

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country. And they also still hold lots of pagan beliefs too, such as virgin sacrifice to appease volcano gods.

And as a new volcano threatens to reduce villages and their people to ash, I have a feeling that many Muslims that still hold “traditional” Indonesian beliefs and just a bit bitter that suicide bombers get so many damned virgins for martyring themselves to Allah.

From the AFP here:

Some 8,500 people have fled the slopes of an Indonesian volcano after it spewed ash, smoke and debris, as the volcanology office raised its warning to the highest level.

The office said volcanic activity at Mount Gamkonora prompted it to raise its warning level to “alert” which means an eruption is imminent.

Spot fires were visible and the crater spewed burning material up to 15 metres (yards) from the crater, the office said. People nearby heard two thunderous booms and the column of smoke rising from the crater reached up to 2,500 metres, the office said on its website.

Gamkonora has erupted 12 times since records have been kept.

Indonesia, a Muslim country that still holds to many pagan beliefs, blames suicide bombers and other Muslim Martyrs for their current predicament. Since each martyr for Allah gets 72 virgins, there just aren’t enough to appease the volcano gods.

“We are doomed,” responded one Indonesian vulcanologist.

The volcano typically spews heat clouds, or pyroclastic flows, along with lava streams toward villages in the west and northwest of Halmahera island, rather than exploding, the volcanology website said.