Get Over the Quran Burning

[roxiejules]

by Asra Q. Nomani @ The Daily Beast

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-09-08/get-over-the-quran-burning/

On the plan to burn Qurans this weekend, I say to Muslims: Let's get over the symbolic insult and deal with the very real issues of literal interpretations of the Quran that are used to sanction domestic violence, terrorism, militancy, and suicide bombings in the name of Islam. I believe the Qurans are being burnt because we, as Muslims, haven't dealt sincerely and intellectually with very serious issues that certain Quranic passages raise, particularly in the West. These include verses—when literally read—that say that disobedient wives can be beaten “lightly,” that Muslims can't be friends with the Jews and the Christians, and that it's OK to kill converts from Islam.

We, as Muslims, need to tear a few pages out of the Quran—symbolically, at least, by rejecting literal adherence to certain problematic verses.

The Christian faith had to deal with problematic verses from the Book of Deuteronomy that sanctioned violence. Jews have had to confront rigid readings of the Old Testament that sanctioned stonings. Muslims, too, must re-interpret verses that aren't compatible with life in the 21st century.

The kidnapping and killing of my friend and colleague Daniel Pearl in 2002 forced me to confront the link between literalist interpretations of the Quran and their role in sanctioning violence in the world. For critics of Islam, these verses are the smoking gun that proves that Islam is intrinsically violent. These are verses such as At-Tauba (“The Repentance”) 9:5, which states that Muslims should “slay the pagans wherever ye find them” or Al-Mâ'idah (“The Table Spread with Food”) 5:51, which reads, “Take not the Jews and Christians as friends.”

[snagglepuss]

1. K&R From her lips to God's ear. nt

[burnsei sensei]

2. Non-Muslims get over things like burning books.

Hitler's henchmen burnt a lot of books and we didn't retaliate until much later.
As for the world's Muslim zealots, the ones who resemble this "Christian" fundamentalist idiot and his armed friends in Florida?
I'm sure they won't wait to hit back.
And they'll strike damn hard when they do.
They brook no insolence from those they deem to be undeserving of heaven.
Fred Phelps burned the Koran in 2008 to no fanfare at all.
The world went on because we all know he's crazy (and gay).
I'm very worried about Americans everywhere-- regardless of their religions.

[roguevalley]

5. one of the problems with doing this is that the Koran is believed

to actually be God and to burn or cause it harm is a terrible, terrible thing. this fucker is asking for a fatwa for himself and all the rest of his crazy crew. our kids overseas are going to pay for this.

[roxiejules]

3. Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan

CNN / May 22, 2009:

Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/index.html

[Zoeisright]

4. Telling someone to 'get over it' is insulting.

This abusive 'pastor' is deliberating inciting violence and is committing a hate crime. THAT is what needs to be addressed here. ALL religious texts have verses and phrases that espouse violence - hell, the Bible has verses that support slavery.

[burnsei sensei]

6. So why, then, did we abandon slavery?

The cultures described in the Bible and in Early Modern times were horribly violent.
We don't tolerate violence as much now.
And I wonder, what happened?

[Igel]

7. Yes, it is.

Some insults are deserved because of what the person's done--they are insulting but true. Some are justified because of the speaker's personal views--they are insulting but "authentic" in some sense, and even that can advance the debate, clear the air, provide an opportunity for the insulted to point out how unjust the insult is.

Everybody self-censors, or should, in order to be civil. At times, however, people decide that civility is less importance than saying what you believe. Look at DU--there's little pretense to civility to many sectors of American society. Some of what's said is ludicrously false.

Violence is a hate crime. Burning a book? Not a hate crime. It's not clearly intended as "fighting words," however it's interpreted. Call it a protest and it seems downright milquetoast.