After the World Trade Center attack, there was an email forward that, if it did not hit your inbox, it probably means you had no friends. (Which explains why Chad is going to be completely confused by this next couple of paragraphs.) It was a quoted bit of scripture from the Islamic Holy Qur'an's ninth chapter, eleventh verse that almost certainly foretold the Osama bin Laden ordered terrorist plot and what would happen next:
For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome eagle. The wrath of the eagle would be felt through the land of Allah, and lo while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the eagle cleansed the land of Allah; and there was peace.
Pretty shocking stuff...and how coincidental that this verse corresponded to the recognized label of the event: 9:11. Unless you were not gullible enough to consume internet folklore as truth. Like me, for instance. Not having any firsthand knowledge of the Islamic faith, I actually took the time to look up the citation. It reads:
But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith; and We make the communications clear for a people who know.
The point is not that email forwards are garbage--you probably didn't need me to point that out. The point is that just about every person who read this hoax was so illiterate about the Qur'an that most didn't even know to be skeptical. And I include myself despite the fact that I consider myself pretty educated.