Posts tagged society

I found something today which makes me angry. This website: http://www.doveworld.org/blog/ten-reasons-to-burn-a-koran is that of the Dove World Outreach Center. This organization, which hypocritically and, I believe, cynically uses the symbol of a dove to portray itself as a peaceful and tolerant group is planning to burn Korans on 9/11.

Now, there are a number of reasons I am angry at this. On a moral and ideological level, desecrating someone’s sacred objects is wrong. It is an underhanded, bigoted and ineffectual action which will only anger the people you are acting against, fanning the flames and prolonging struggles.

On a more personal level, the fact that they are doing this on 9/11, purportedly to raise awareness of the evils of Islam in relation to the attacks, is infuriating. This is a slap in the face to the memories of those who died on 9/11, which I will remind you INCLUDED MUSLIM VICTIMS. 9/11 was not an attack by Islam on Western civilization. It was an attack by extremists on Western Civ and America specifically. And don’t you ever forget that America includes Muslims just as it includes everyone else.

On a practical level, this isn’t going to benefit anyone. Muslims the world over will be angered. At home, prejudice will rise. Violence is very likely to increase in Afghanistan and Iraq as a direct result of these burnings and that means American and NATO soldiers will die. This Dove World Outreach Center says that “To warn of danger and harm is a loving act” yet they ignore the fact that they themselves are causing danger and harm - not only to Muslims but to the Christian Americans they are so clearly trying to appeal to.

Below I’ve copied some of the text from their website, which I will comment on.

On 9/11/10 we are burning Korans to raise awareness and warn. In a sense it is neither an act of love nor of hate. We see, as we state in the Ten Reasons below, that Islam is a danger. We are using this act to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful. We do not hate any people, however. We love, as God loves, all the people in the world and we want them to come to a knowledge of the truth. To warn of danger and harm is a loving act. God is love and truth. If you know the truth it can set you free. The world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam. These are:

First off, they say both that burning Korans “…is neither an act of love nor of hate.” and “…we do hate [the teaching and ideology of Islam]”. So burning the Korans isn’t hateful, but you hate Islam? They say they don’t hate people, just the religion, but what does that mean?

One
The Koran teaches that Jesus Christ, the Crucified, Risen Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords was NOT the Son of God, nor was he crucified (a well documented historical fact that ONLY Islam denies). This teaching removes the possibility of salvation and eternal life in heaven for all Islam’s believers. They face eternal damnation in hell if they do not repent.

So you hate Islam because it disagrees with your religion. I don’t remember if the Koran says one way or another about the crucifixion, and I can’t vouch for historical sources on the act either way (though, note that it was a common punishment in Roman times). You say that Islam’s believers are doomed to eternal damnation if they do not repent. Leaving the larger religious questions out of this (how are they supposed to know the truth? Is it not the same God Muslims and Christians worship? What happens to people living in a cave in Afghanistan who have never seen a bible or spoken to a christian -why should they be damned?) what is the point of burning Korans in the first place? Is it supposed to convince people to convert? I’m not sure you understand how to motivate people.

Two
The Koran does not have an eternal origin. It is not recorded in heaven. The Almighty God, Creator of the World, is NOT it’s source. It is not holy. It’s writings are human in origin, a concoction of old and new teachings. This has been stated and restated for centuries by scholars since Islam’s beginnings, both Moslem and non-Moslem.

Because you can somehow show that the Bible is divine in origin but the Koran isn’t. What makes this so, other than that you claim it to be? Your claims are innately human, and therefore flawed. Also, the Bible was not “recorded in heaven”. It is written by man, from the words of God. Its authors are all mortal humans - Jesus never sat down and wrote the new testament - a good chunk of it was written long after he died. Also, the Bible is a concoction of old and new teachings as well - if for no other reason than that it is a translation of original texts which have by and large been lost and destroyed. English is not the language of God or Jesus, and neither was Latin for that matter.

Three
The Koran’s teaching includes Arabian idolatry, paganism, rites and rituals. These are demonic, an ongoing satanic stronghold under which Moslems and the world suffer.

Ah, racism - I knew you were hiding in here somewhere. So you don’t hate Muslims, but Arab culture is demonic? Also, do you realize that Christians incorporate many pagan holidays and rituals? Jesus wasn’t actually born on Christmas you know - we picked the date because it was already another holiday.

Four
The earliest writings that are known to exist about the Prophet Mohammad were recorded 120 years after his death. All of the Islamic writings (the Koran and the Hadith, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe Mohammad never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet Moslems follow the destructive teachings of Islam without question.

First of all, the 120 years thing is false. There are contemporary writings about Mohammad, as there would be for anyone who conquered a large area and founded a new religion as he did. This was the 1st millenium AD, people - there are freaking receipts from back then. Also, calling the Islamic writings contradictory is the pot calling the kettle demonic. Ever heard of the Council of Nicaea? Christians had to get together in a huge conference just to figure out the clusterf*ck that was the various writings about Jesus. As far as Mohammad never existing, that is an erroneous claim - there is more direct evidence of Mohammad than of Jesus - family records, writings, conversations, etc. He had dealings with several other groups (including two tribes of Jews) and they have recordings of him as well.

Five
Mohammad’s life and message cannot be respected. The first Meccan period of his leadership seems to have been religiously motivated and a search for the truth. But in the second Medina period he was “corrupted by power and worldly ambitions.” (Ibn Warraq) These are characteristics that God hates. They also led to political assassinations and massacres which continue to be carried out on a regular basis by his followers today.

A group burning Korans wants to talk about respect? By the way, are we really any people to judge others based on power and worldly ambition? Oh, and judge not, lest ye be judged.

Six
Islamic Law is totalitarian in nature. There is no separation of church and state. It is irrational. It is supposedly immutable and cannot be changed. It must be accepted without criticism. It has many similarities to Nazism, Communism and Fascism. It is not compatible with Western Civilization.

I don’t entirely disagree with this - Sharia is indeed an rejection of separation of church and state. Of course, so is Catholicism. And Episcopalianism. Oh, and most of the rest of Christian history. My favorite part is next though - Islam is like Nazism, Communism and Fascism and is not compatible with Western Civilization. Except wait, where did Nazism, Communism and Fascism come from? Oh, right - Western Civ. What you really mean is that Islam is not compatible with the kind of Western Civilization you personally advocate…

Seven
Islam is not compatible with democracy and human rights. The notion of a moral individual capable of making decisions and taking responsibility for them does not exist in Islam. The attitude towards women in Islam as inferior possessions of men has led to countless cases of mistreatment and abuse for which Moslem men receive little or no punishment, and in many cases are encouraged to commit such acts, and are even praised for them. This is a direct fruit of the teachings of the Koran.

The first two sentences are outright lies. The word “Islam” itself means ‘submission to God’. In order to submit, there must be an actor - and one who understands his place in the universe and to whom he is responsible. Islam does not necessarily view women as inferior - it may not have them as imams but much of Christianity doesn’t allow female priests either. Now, I’m not saying all Muslims treat women equally - the human rights situations of women in several Islamic countries is appalling - but it is not an issue unique to Islam. Just look at the most “devout” Christian continent in the world: Africa. Africa has more active practitioners and of Christianity than North America or Europe, yet the human rights situation in many parts of it - some of them being the most Christian parts - is even worse than in the middle east.

Eight
A Muslim does not have the right to change his religion. Apostasy is punishable by death.

This is a partial but very misleading truth. No major religion gives the right to change to another faith - nation states do. You are not “allowed” to convert away from many denominations of Christianity, Catholicism included, but the church can’t actually do anything about it. In many countries with large muslim populations, for example Turkey, changing your religion is certainly allowed and is definitely not punishable by death. As far as the death penalty for apostasy, it is again not unique to muslim countries. and Indeed many more people have been killed for not believing in Christianity than Islam.

Nine
Deep in the Islamic teaching and culture is the irrational fear and loathing of the West.

If there is a deep fear and loathing of the West I assure you it is not irrational. Less than 100 years ago the territory of nearly every Islamic state today was occupied or controlled by a Western power. Their resources were taken, their people oppressed. The West has repeatedly expressed a deep seated fear and racism toward Islam (before it was the “Sick man of Europe” the Ottoman Empire was seen as an existential threat to Western Civilization). Beyond that, many Muslims are part of Western civiliation - in America, in France, in Germany, in Britain and everywhere else.

Ten
Islam is a weapon of Arab imperialism and Islamic colonialism. Wherever Islam has or gains political power, Christians, Jews and all non-Moslems receive persecution, discrimination, are forced to convert. There are massacres and churches, synagogues, temples and other places of worship are destroyed.

Arab imperialism and Islamic colonialism are pretty much oxymorons, as are the people behind this list. The Arabian peninsula was the subject of colonialism, not the subjector. Also, Arab=/=Musim. Islam is the second largest religion in the world and is present on every continent Christianity is - it is not limited to one desert peninsula! And seriously, Islamic colonialism? Where in Sam Hill did you pull that phrase out of?! Colonialism is a Western action conducted on others! Muslims as a group have never colonized other people - conquered, converted, taken land from… sure, but not colonized. Also, Muslims do not force others to convert - it is forbidden in the Koran for them to force Christians or Jews. Instead, they are allowed to levy a moderate tax on them - but that is all! They didn’t convert Spain in the years they controlled it - nor did they convert the Balkans. Churches and Synagogues and Temples are often converted, and occasionally destroyed, but this is not widespread - nor is it as common as it has been for Christian invaders.

GGRRRAAAAARRRGHHH!!!

Seriously, this stuff pisses me off - mostly because some people out there, who are not violent and hateful in their hearts, will believe it. This group will masquerade as an organization of enlighteners and peace advocates, motivated by a loving God as they spread lies, bigotry and violence. They are hypocrites and deceivers and prey on people’s good nature - their desire to be devout, to save others from danger. They are usurping 9/11 and using the pain felt by friends and families for their own racist and ethnocentric purposes. If I saw one of the people in charge of this, I promise you I would punch him/her in the face - and I am not a violent person.

The reality of the matter is this - Christianity is the world’s largest religion. Hand-in-hand with that, it has also committed the most atrocities. Islam is the worlds second largest and has its own share. But not all Christians are killers and neither are all Muslims. And not all Muslims are Arabs just as all Christians aren’t Italian, or Greek, or from the Levant. The truth is we live in an imperfect world, with imperfect people and imperfect religion. The Bible may be a holy text, and just as well might be the Koran, but no matter the divinity of their words (and ignoring the flaws of translation) they are read by flawed people with their own interpretations. If the Bible wasn’t contradictory or had a divine clarity, wouldn’t we have only one interpretation of it? But we don’t - there are hundreds of different beliefs on even small parts of it.

As an American, I am embarrassed and infuriated by a group which claims to uphold my ideals while working against them. As a people, we are some of the most industrious, idealistic and beneficent to ever walk this planet, but we are not perfect. We can be misled, and have been in the past. We can make mistakes. But the important thing is that when the truth faces us in the eye we don’t ignore it - even if it would be easier to dismiss the “others” as evil and dangerous. We have to face the hard truths that sometimes a small group of people - extremists, terrorists - can do a lot of harm. That sometimes they have reasons which aren’t entirely irrational. That we can’t just point a finger - that we have to look long and hard at ourselves and actually figure out what went wrong - so we can do better next time.