Burning 'Holy Books'

Last month I blogged about the different ways that burning a Koran is treated when compared with burning Bibles. Here's a reminder of part of that piece: 'I was intrigued to read on the BBC that:

'Six Tyneside men have been arrested after filming themselves apparently burning copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.'

I didn't know that burning a Koran was a crime in the UK, but the article continues:

'They were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and released on bail pending further inquiries... In a joint statement, Northumbria Police and Gateshead Council said: "The kind of behaviour displayed in this video is not representative of our community as a whole.

"Our community is one of mutual respect and we continue to work together with community leaders, residents and people of all faiths and beliefs to maintain good community relations."'

Does that mean that the Police will arrest any Muslims found to have burnt a Bible? How about Muslims who have carried placards calling for the slaying of those who insult Islam or to "Butcher those who mock Islam" or who threaten "Europe you will pay, extermination is on its way"...

How about those Muslims who call for the "Pope to go to hell"?

Are those slogans indicative of mutual respect and designed to maintain good community relations? I don't recall the Muslims who carry such placards and/or chant their support for the killing of all Israelis being arrested, why not?


Meanwhile in Iran I read that:

'The Farsi Christian News Network (www.fcnn.com) is reporting that Iranian Government Security Forces have burned hundreds of Bibles.

A spokesperson for FCNN told the ASSIST News Service (ANS), "This action [of burning the Bibles], which has been confirmed by informed sources, was aired on a site belonging to the Pasdaran paramilitary organization, is nothing less than shameful and the persons responsible must be identified and exposed to the whole world."

The report said that on Saturday, May 29, 2010, Ati News, a site belonging to Morteza Talaee, the previous head of the security forces and the current member of the Tehran's city council, "in its usual anti-Christian propaganda" reported that their social-life reporter had disclosed that shipments of so called, "Perverted Torah and Gospels" had entered Iran through its Western borders.

Two days later, on Monday, May 31, 2010, the same report was reiterated by the official anti-crime website of the Pasdaran Army called "Gerdaub" which said that a large shipment of Jewish and Christian Scriptures had entered Iran through the Western Azerbaijan province and, according to security officials of that province, the "occupier forces" that operate in the Western regions of Iraq were responsible for such activities.

FCCN stated that Gerdaub, the official website of the Pasdaran Army [also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG] continued its report by quoting the security official who had stated: "Some of these books are distributed locally, but most of the books are smuggled and distributed all over the country. In just the last few months, hundreds of such 'perverted Bibles' have been seized and burned in the border town of Sardasht."...'

Once again an Islamic country displays complete intolerance of another religion but not a word of protest is heard from the UNHRC or the western media. Yet it is Israel that is regularly described as 'an apartheid state', despite it having freedom of religion for all.

Why does the West make every effort to accommodate the demands and sensitivities of Islam when so much of the Islamic world makes no such effort in return? Why should the West protest the feelings of Muslims in the West when so much of the Islamic world clearly cares so little about the feelings of their Christian, Hindi, Buddhist or Jewish minorities?

I was reminded of this piece by the BBC 'helpfully' explaining who Geert Wilders is with the line that he compared the Koran to Hitler's 'Mein Kampf'.

Have you ever heard the BBC report the burning of Bibles in Iran and the banning of any religious books other than those of Islam from Saudi Arabia?