(comic from XKCD.com)
Book burning has been so common in history that there is even a name for it, it's called Biblioclasm. I think this whole issue has gone so out of hand, its time some non-believers started to open their big mouths and speak up. PZ Myers (the rock star of atheism) has a slightly different angle on this, I've got my own.
I cannot relate to this issue on many levels. I feel that the "moral outrage" is rather disproportionate to the event. It helps to look at the facts first.
Pastor Jones, leader of the 50 strong non-denominational church, Dove World Outreach Centre, decides it would be nice to burn Qu'rans (I'm meticulous with spelling) to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11. Apparently, Pastor Jones thinks Islam is evil (its extra biblical) and the Qur'an incites violent behaviour. This he cites as his motivation. He stood defiant against global criticism of his idea until it seems that the Islamic Centre being built in Manhattan came up as a bargaining chip. Imam Musri, of the Islamic Society of Florida seems to have said that he might be open to negotiating over the proposed location of the Manhattan Islamic Centre if Jones were to refrain.
I got that from a Yahoo News article. Good enough for discussion. I tried putting myself in the shoes of the people whose book is being burnt as a Hindu of course (to piss off an atheist, you need to burn something more, like people) but I could not relate to it. Here's what I imagined.
Jones: "You hindus, you're evil! How can all religions be true? We are going to burn your books because on 11th Sept 1893, your Swami Vivekananda was in Chicago and said blasphemous things." Ok, I'm trying to be funny here, but the point is there.
Burning a Bhagavad Geeta does not matter to me because
a) it's not my copy you're burning (mine was a memorable gift)
b) the knowledge contained there-in is independent of the physical book
c) I have the important bits memorised
d) there are tons of copies around the world
e) I already know you hate me
f) I know you are just trying to piss me off
g) there are greater evils to fight
I was going to write long elaborate arguments but I think those points do the trick.
Going back to the media frenzy, I thought it was funny how if
a) the media did not report this (Singapore media has refined this art)
b) the Army general did not complain about it
c) Obama ignored it
It would just be a bunch of stupid fundies doing what they do best and we could go on an enjoy a nice weekend with our muslim friends (Happy Eid!). One of the ways to dissolve religious misunderstanding and hatred is to start talking about religion to your friends and being cool with disagreement. Any thoughts?
