Koran burning: six men arrested here in the UK

Whilst travelling back from London to Manchester yesterday I could hear the news on the radio talking about 6 men who have been arrested for "inciting racial hatred" after posting a video to YouTube of themselves burning a Koran... See this news story for details..



Now, as an advocate of free speech I am both angered that we now have the burning of a book comparable with actual racist hatred being spread through fear mongering and hateful lies (things like black people take our women - the stuff that did cause hatred and violence).. Surely, burning a book makes one an idiot but should not be any business of the police unless the burning causes a danger through the spreading of fire or what not.

Yes an argument can be made that burning a Koran does cause such an angry response that it can be considered incitement, though I would like to clarify the different levels of incitement and how I think the law should only apply to one level.

If I were to stand outside a Mosque and burn a Koran, or do whatever I want to defile or destroy it, I would quite likely incite somebody to become angry with me. As I would if I stood outside a Church as Sunday mass ended burning a copy of the Bible. That is one level of incitement that I think should be granted (and protected by law) for any and all.

If I were a Muslim who then could see a man outside my Mosque burning a Koran and I gathered a bunch of fellow Muslims and told them all that the religion of Islam and God himself needed to be protected from this sinner and that it was their duty to enforce Gods law, then I am committing a different type of incitement, I am inciting people to cause another person harm or perhaps death. And this is when the law comes into play (or at least should do).

Now, don't get me wrong. Burning any book is an act of blatant ignorance and stupidity. And I have little to say in favour of people that burn books whether to censor or to upset people, that said it should be a right for anyone to make any statement they wish to make, even if it involves burning a book, a flag or any symbol. So long as that burning is not an attempt to incite violence against a person (and I recall a certain book called the Satanic Verses got burned, except the people burning that book were actually inciting violence.. And the Police did little about it).

So we have one set of thugs who burn a book, and get arrested for it. Whilst another set of thugs can go about burning what they like with the police standing by with folded arms... *sigh*

It goes to show the tribalistic nature of such a backward creed.

It has no room for evolution and none is wanted, as it could free the believers from the shackles and start making them think for themselves, thus losing the deadly grip it has on them.

Well, I personally think that Islam is currently going through a period of enlightenment that Christianity went through back in the time of Voltaire. And despite how Muslims dismiss that as laughable as their religion is perfect, it is clearly quite the opposite. Stoning for adultery IS permissible in Sharia as well as practiced in the Islamic world - as one example.

Also, Muslims regard the Koran as the "literal word of God" and so cannot be questioned or altered. Jews and Christians believe that their holy books are "inspired by God" but ultimately require translation to get to the correct meaning (with a few exceptions). And this is where Islam falls down! It is in the Koran that the Christian notion of the Holy Trinity is God the father, Mary the Mother and Jesus the son.. It says it right there in the Koran!! So, either they say that Christians changed it to discredit Mohammad or they say that some Christians had that view - either way, it sounds dodgy to me. Another example from the Koran is that it states the sun settles in a muddy pool. Great explanation from the days of the flat earth theory but how this is explained today I have no idea (Muslims I have asked shy away from answering)...

Well, we will see but I think it will be a while before we drag Islam - kicking and screaming into modernity.