(no subject)

[theweaselking]

"Holy drinking water contaminated with arsenic is being sold illegally to Muslims by UK shops, the BBC has found."

Basically, there is a well in Mecca that is sacred. Water from it is sold in Mecca, travellers can bring small amounts out of Saudi Arabia, but it's illegal to export for commercial sale - and yet, there are bottles claiming to be it, tainted with arsenic, being sold all over London.

Holy crap, right?

The punchline: They tested the actual well water and the stuff for sale in Mecca. It's poisonous, too. Which is to say, this is real Holy Well Water, and the Holy Well itself is actually a toxic puddle.

Comments

[bemused-leftist.livejournal.com]

Nobody buys it to drink anyway, do they? Just a small fancy bottle to keep on the mantelpiece. (That's what Avonlea did with the Jordan Water, anyway.)

[winterlime.livejournal.com]

Secret recordings captured the vendors describing customers who drank it daily.

"They depend on it, they don't drink anything else," said the owner of an Islamic bookshop in Upton Park.

[avieyal.livejournal.com]

Its for drinking. The taps in the mosque (the Masjidil Haram surrounding the Kaabah) are all directly from the well. Thousands of people, pilgrims and residents, drink this daily. More so since zamzam is free.

It's considered sacred because of the events surrounding the formation/discovery of the well/water source, not for being clean. I bet they thought miracle=clean forever and never changed the filtration or kept tabs on it -_-

[dreamshade.livejournal.com]

That is terrible irony. Or maybe it's God's wrath for drinking the holy water.

[maelorin]

all together now: ooops!

[ardys-the-ghoul.livejournal.com]

Erm, is there any rule against filtering Holy Well Water? If not, they might like to invest in one.

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

Probably filters out the God. The arsenic poisoning means your prayers are being heard!

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Insert "poisoned well fallacy" joke here.