and more info here
So this guy, Terry Jones (who happens to bear the same first and last name of a Monty Python cast member) wants to hold a day (I think it's September 11) to burn copies of the Quran (there's more than 1 spelling for this and I'll stick with this one) in return for the World Trade Center which was destroyed by suicide bombers who happen to be Muslims. Basically I see this as one of those "eye for an eye" kind of things.
University is one of those places where you get to see people from all over the world and different religions. I have met people (mainly girls though) who are Muslim and they are nice people. The ones that appear on television/hear in the news tend to be the extremist groups and it is the extremist I find to be vocal about their causes. Also the media will put a spin on things to show what they want their audience to see and hear. If the media is backed by a political organization or someone who supports some political organization the news coming out of the tube or read in the paper will carry their ideas and views as well. So with people over in the countries who have a majority of Muslims hear about something that is offensive, more or less harshly criticizing their beliefs and what is held sacred, it is natural to say "I don't like what you're doing, that's not very nice." Same goes for those living abroad. Doing something radical like this after what that Danish cartoonist did will give the impression that people outside of <insert name of country here> don't have tolerance for Islam.
Here is where I would like to bring in synecdoche and metonymy. Apparently Jones's congregation is very small compared to the rest of the population of the United States. Yes there are people in the there who are anti-Islam but still that doesn't represent the whole of the population. Not entirely sure how large the Taliban is compared to Jones's congregation and any other group that shares similar views but again any small group or one person doesn't necessarily represent the view of everyone (the same goes for a majority as it reflects the views of most but still not all).
I may not be religious but I do believe it is a bad idea to destroy any religious text. I don't really believe that the content in any of the holy books is propaganda (more or less guidelines, following them being an option) but the people who use it as a tool for propaganda make it propaganda. The reaction I see to this seems to me like taking something irreplaceable and destroy it right in their faces. Sure holy books can be produced in mass production but I'm going to take a stand on the golden rule here. Don't mess with them and they in return won't mess with you.
Not sure if I have anything else to say on this topic but I quote Homer Simpson here:
"Because in the end, aren't all religions the same? They tell us what to eat, when to pray, that this lump of clay called Man can somehow shape himself to resemble the divine. But we can't learn to live together if we have hatred in our hearts . . . We all have our differences. Some of us don't eat pork. Some of us don't eat shellfish. But we all eat chicken . . . So spread the word: peace and chicken"
That guy is a complete asshat
ReplyDeletetotally agree
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