> This guardian article is demonstrable nonsense. Professor Römer is either ignorant, or is intentionally gaslighting Bush.

Surely you meant gaslighting Chirac ? (which I disagree with, anyway).

> Gog and Magog are well-known figures mentioned in both the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Playing dumb because it's not also in the Old Testament is not a good look for someone who's supposedly an expert.

Good thing he's an old testament expert and not a Hebrew bible or quran one then. You think Bush was referring to the Gog and Magog from the Hebrew bible or from the Quran or from the old testament ? Should have called an Hebrew or an Islam expert instead of an protestand Old Testament expert ?

Here's a different report of how things happened: https://wp.unil.ch/allezsavoir/george-bush-et-le-code-ezechi... and that might shed a light on why you think Gog and Magog is not as well known in France as you seem to think they are.

It's simply not possible to be an expert on the Old Testament and to be that unaware of the context from which it was derived. Especially as they are also mentioned in the parts that made it into the Old Testament.

Imagine claiming to be a LOTR expert and then feigning ignorance as to the events that took place in the Hobbit!

I'm not religious or even particularly interested and even I am aware of this history. Ridiculous.

I don't understand your point. How do you reach the conclusion that Professor Römer doesn't know about Gog and Magog ? Or that he doesn't know about the multiple interpretations of who or what they may have been ?