Burning the Quran is a stupid, pointless act; let’s start out with that. It’s hard to imagine what good the church in Florida thought would come from burning the Quran. It’s not smart, and from what I read in the Bible, it’s not something Jesus would do.
Even though many the teachings of Islam are violent, hateful and offensive, there are men and women who grew up as Muslims that are not violent people, and those people need to not be lumped in with the Muslims who chop off the heads of non-Muslim schoolgirls.
We need to show our fellow humans who are stuck in Islam a better way, we need to live out a good example of what it means to be a civilized human being (not that there seems to be much chance of them getting it, and learning from positive examples. Not a good track record there for Islam).
And we need to not let them misinterpret our offer of tolerance (if it is treated with the respect it deserves) as a sign of weakness to be exploited.
I understand why followers of Islam would be quite upset by someone burning their book.
I do find it ironic, though, that followers of Islam create such an outcry over “outrageous” acts like burning a book when followers of Islam apparently are quite comfortable with things like cutting off the heads of non-Muslim school girls and hacking up non-Muslims with machetes.
WARNING: graphic image that shows clearly the brutality of Islam:
Somehow we’re supposed to “tolerate” that regular pattern of violence as religious expression?
This story from July (I’m sure you heard about it on CBS, ABC and NBC…no? You didn’t? Huh, I wonder why they didn’t cover this story.)
“Mazah Village is still counting its casualties following an attack in the early hours of 16 July by armed Fulani Muslims that left an estimated ten dead and churches and homes burned to the ground.
While the exact number of casualties is still unclear, children are known to be among those killed and seriously injured. The victims were frightened out of their homes with gun shots, then hacked with machetes by their attackers once they were outside. Similar tactics were used in attacks on the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Ratsat and Zot in March.
The attackers targeted key members of the community, focusing on the homes of the local councillor, the village head and a local church leader. During the attack, Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) Reverend Nuhu Dawat escaped with one of his children, but his wife and two other children were killed.”
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/nigeria-children-amongst-injured-in-village-attack-in-jos/8681.htm
Christian Leaders and thousands of Muslims have spoken up, protesting the burning of books.
“As thousands of Muslims worldwide gathered over the weekend to protest one Florida group’s plans to burn copies of Islam’s sacred text on the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Christian leaders – liberal and conservative – have reaffirmed their opposition to the burnings.”
Where are the thousands of Muslim Leaders speaking up, protesting the burning of homes, churches and children, reaffirming their opposition to killing non-Muslims?
They are not speaking up.
Why not? Because they are doing what their Holy Book tells them to do. Which is why some people are so upset they are burning that book. Again, I am not defending those who would burn the Quran, I think it’s counter-productive and puts lives at risk, but let’s be clear: followers of Islam make this “offense” look almost inconsequential compared to the savage violence they regularly unleash on non-Muslims.
The “poor pitiful me, I am a victim of a hate crime” act is just that: an act to get leverage to further the cause of Islam and silence anyone who objects. Don’t fall for the ploy.