Poll: International Burn a Koran Day

[Calatar]

While I find book burning obnoxious, I find the Muslim backlash far more appalling. The fact that there was violence and MANY threats of violence over this belies the constant claim that "Islam is a religion of peace."
Why the FUCK isn't there more outcry over the appalling backlash than the actual announcement?
I think people somehow think that "oh it's okay, its justified because burning their holy book is a dick move."
Yeah, it is a dick move. Get the fuck over what one random guy does. If he were the ruler of a nation, then maybe you should care. But he's not, therefore the reaction was entirely inappropriate, and proves that many religious leaders of Islam are entirely irrational.

 

[Malyc]

On one hand there's book burning, and on the other there's sensibility and reason.

Guess which won out in the end.

Book Burning?

 

[Malyc]

On one hand there's book burning, and on the other there's sensibility and reason.

Guess which won out in the end.

Burning other people's books is bad. The government burning books is bad. Burning books just because you disagree with what's inside is bad. Burning books to poke at crazy and dangerous barbarian rat bastards? Fucking awesome.

Burning a book is symbolic of the destruction of an idea - no matter the idea, book burning is barbaric, ignorant, and unacceptable in a modern society. Besides, if your enemy jumped off a cliff would you?

No... because if my enemy jumped off a cliff, that would mean that he was dead, and therefore no longer my enemy.

 

[Iron Mal]

At the end of the day it's just a book to me (just as I would have no qualms or issues with defacing or destroying a copy of the Bible or a statue of Buddha, on their own they have little value or meaning, it's when we place importance upon them that they become valuable), however, I can see why 'burn a Quaran day' would cause an offense.

Yes, certain people in Muslim countries have burned bibles and other pieces of Christian iconography in the past but how exactly does copying them change anything or make up for past conflicts?

In the end this boils down to both sides having a 'but we're in the right' attitude and, as a result, being just as bad as each other (9/11 was bad, don't get me wrong, but was the carpet bombing done by us in the Gulf war really much better?).

 

[Fetzenfisch]

On one hand there's book burning, and on the other there's sensibility and reason.

Guess which won out in the end.

Burning other people's books is bad. The government burning books is bad. Burning books just because you disagree with what's inside is bad. Burning books to poke at crazy and dangerous barbarian rat bastards? Fucking awesome.

Burning a book is symbolic of the destruction of an idea - no matter the idea, book burning is barbaric, ignorant, and unacceptable in a modern society. Besides, if your enemy jumped off a cliff would you?

No... because if my enemy jumped off a cliff, that would mean that he was dead, and therefore no longer my enemy.

a few years ago i would have said, "well go on burn the koran, at least that means a few hundred dead soldiers more , yay!"
While the general idea of dead soldiers still is a nice thing, we dont have to pour gasoline in a bushfire thats already out of control.
Plus burning books is wrong and and will be wrong in any occasion.

 

[Calatar]

So yeah, the backlash was deserved and thank god it happened. Last thing the world needs is escalation based on idiotic religious prejudice.

The backlash involved the deaths of several people. The backlash on the Muslim side of things was completely insane. Complete overreaction to the actions of a random racist.

Why on earth are you glad it happened? If there was no backlash at all, it would have just been some dude in Florida burning a book in front of a couple dozen people, and everybody else could have gone about their day, completely unaffected by it.

 

[Max_imus]

however, muslims frequently burn american flags, american effigies (it was almost ironic to see arabs burning effigies of Obama to protest the burning of a symbol of import) and all sorts of things, is it that much of a outrage for a christian to want to do the same?

now its a simple question, is it wrong to ostracise a christian for burning a important symbol of a religion who routinely burn important symbols of his?

even simpler: did this priest deserve such a backlash? he was doing what muslims have been doing to his flag for the past 20 years.

Um, I don't know, last time I checked, American flags and effigies were NOT elemental parts of (or symbols for) Christianity as a whole.
And even if fundamentalist Muslims went to burn Bibles in public, how would that justify the burning of a bunch of Korans? Ok, I guess in the Christian fundamentalist's way of thinking it would make sense. An eye for an eye and all that...

Heinrich Heine once said: "Where they burn books, they will soon burn people."

 

[HK_01]

Sure it's just fine! Why should we have higher moral standards than extremist religious nuts?!

 

[BrionJames]

I guess I agree with Luftwaffles. Something to think about though, is the american flag is not a religous symbol to us. The koran to Muslims is. Burning it, is kinda sort of like burning the bible...or a crucifix.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

reminds me of "everyone draw Muhammad day" lol

 

[Kortney]

While the general idea of dead soldiers still is a nice thing,

Excuse me? What do you mean by that?

 

[Fetzenfisch]

While the general idea of dead soldiers still is a nice thing,

Excuse me? What do you mean by that?

exactky what i wrote, buts not the topic here.

 

[magicmonkeybars]

People should be allowed to burn their property whatever it is, as long as it isn't living people or animals I'm fine with it.

 

[Keava]

So yeah, the backlash was deserved and thank god it happened. Last thing the world needs is escalation based on idiotic religious prejudice.

The backlash involved the deaths of several people. The backlash on the Muslim side of things was completely insane. Complete overreaction to the actions of a random racist.

Why on earth are you glad it happened? If there was no backlash at all, it would have just been some dude in Florida burning a book in front of a couple dozen people, and everybody else could have gone about their day, completely unaffected by it.

If you haven't been living under the rock in a forest on a desert, there is no such thing as 'nobody notices'. You think if no one reacted, the whole world would just ignore it? I'm pretty sure it would one way or another get out and then things would be much much worse. We don't live in 17th century, the information flow is fast and widespread enough to not allow such things to be just local incidents.

Going about your way, unaffected equals giving consent to such actions. All extremism starts small, today it can be 50 people burning Koran, tomorrow it could 5 million burning anyone who disagrees. If not for the backlash who knows, maybe more idiots would support the idea, maybe it would spread. Ignorance is best thwarted when it starts, not when it's too late to react.

 

[Jaythulhu]

Kind of off-topic... But building a freaking mosque on groundzero is a freaking horrible idea. and dont come here and tell me they didnt know it would make a scene...
Why not build a monument to Hitler in Auschwitz while we´re at it?

(I do realize that the mosque - hitler isnt the best comparison, since not all muslims are terrorists, but really...)

Every single bit of information out there not provided by the fox news network says that it is NOT a mosque, but a cultural and inter-faith religious center. however, if that's still too much for you, what should they put there? A starbucks? A strip joint?

This is a damn good chance for you americans to stand up and say "Hey world, you're all fucking wrong about us, check this shit we built! Hey you religious whackos who pervert the qu`ran and bible to justify your bullshit, top this! We built a place for ALL faiths! Nyah nyah, we're above your nonsense!"

Instead of carrying on the same old rubbish and using the same old nonsense arguments, why not embrace the idea and try to make some good come out of the attacks?

NB: Oh, for the record, no Muslims are terrorists. Some terrorists claim to be Muslim, but they're no more genuine Muslims than the people from westboro baptist church are real christians.

 

[Calatar]

So yeah, the backlash was deserved and thank god it happened. Last thing the world needs is escalation based on idiotic religious prejudice.

The backlash involved the deaths of several people. The backlash on the Muslim side of things was completely insane. Complete overreaction to the actions of a random racist.

Why on earth are you glad it happened? If there was no backlash at all, it would have just been some dude in Florida burning a book in front of a couple dozen people, and everybody else could have gone about their day, completely unaffected by it.

If you haven't been living under the rock in a forest on a desert, there is no such thing as 'nobody notices'. You think if no one reacted, the whole world would just ignore it? I'm pretty sure it would one way or another get out and then things would be much much worse. We don't live in 17th century, the information flow is fast and widespread enough to not allow such things to be just local incidents.

Going about your way, unaffected equals giving consent to such actions. All extremism starts small, today it can be 50 people burning Koran, tomorrow it could 5 million burning anyone who disagrees. If not for the backlash who knows, maybe more idiots would support the idea, maybe it would spread. Ignorance is best thwarted when it starts, not when it's too late to react.

Ignoring stupidity=agreeing with stupidity. And the slippery slope fallacy. Great arguments, both of them.

By not reacting, you ARE ignoring it. If nobody reacted, that would be the exact definition of the world ignoring it.

As they should have. It's legal, it should be legal, I don't like it, but he has the right. It's a book, not a person. This whole controversy didn't reduce ignorance. The deaths that resulted are the only concrete result of the "backlash."

It was a massive overreaction, and nothing should have been said or done about it in the first place. I'm much more okay with apparently giving my consent to book burning by ignoring the dumbass than I am with ignoring the deaths like you are.

 

[evilartist]

This priest is clearly an idiot, but that shouldn't stop him from expressing his freedom of speech.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

I completely understand them burning the flag of a country that condones burning their holy book to the extent America apparently does now.

Burning a flag: Spitting on a country as a whole.
Burning a holy book: Spitting on peoples beliefs as a whole.
The former is disrespectful in many peoples eyes, the latter is evil in many peoples eyes. I don't see how you can compare them.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Any other holybook and textbook is burned frequently so I don't see why the Koran should be an exception.

In fact if there are fags in the muslim world who thinks otherwise then I think it is best to push hard on this issue to desensitize them to the other ridicule.

 

[DSK-]

This is like saying that the entirety of those that share the muslim faith are guilty for 9/11.

And this talk of flag burning - who really cares? it's a flag. An inanimate object. Sure, it is a symbol of a nation, but so what? Sticks and stones, people.


Maybe I'm talking out of my ass, I dunno.