Are you serious? This is stupid, come on, I thought you had a little bit more knowledge of Islam than this. I realize it's a joke but come on.
Those are the aspects that lead to
some Christians burning the Qur'an.
OK, Ja'far, you tell me.
Objectively, explain why these
Christians came to the conclusion they needed to burn a Qur'an. COULD they be the very same underlying meme's that led the Taliban to destroy those 2500 year old Buddhas (and let's not forget this wasn't the first time Muslims had tried to smash those monuments to Buddha).
It is my opinion that the following three memes encourage intolerance towards other people's faith often leading to acts of aggression, disrespect and violence:
- There is only One God and it ('He') is ours.
- There is only One Perfect infallible Revelation and it is ours.
- This Revelation is Final (ending with 'our' Messiah/Last Prophet)
Of course there are differences in theology. Christianity seemingly revolves around asking for forgiveness while Islam around submission. But, it are these memes (list above) are the similarities that I believe lead to very similar intolerant behaviors.
There's an interesting bit of historical trivia about a Japanese Buddhist monk who, coincidentally, came to the exact same meme conclusions. He thought 'He' was given the Perfect Buddhist Revelation. He was the Last. He convinced both himself and his followers that he was the 'True' Buddha. They went around burning down Temples and destroying Shinto Shrines.
- After 3 years, the local Lord decided there was nothing else he could do and so had them all rounded up and executed.
- In this case, these types of memes lost.
But, if you're keen to really think about this stuff, you might want to research such incidents. The seem to show up and again and again.
It's my position that we (society) don't need One God, One Book, One Prophet/Messiah. These are not required for a perfectly healthy superstition. They're kind of like baggage that it's time to drop off at the docks.
4 of the 5 major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) believe in the unity of God. Infact a lot of religions believe in the one God however all of this irrelevant. I don't have to accept any prophets after Muhammad (saw) to be able to show respect and tolerance towards non-Muslims which this is what this is really about, a lack of respect and tolerance. If Christians do not accept the prophethood of Muhammad (saw) fine, this doesn't bother me, it's when you do things like this, burning al-Qur'an and other such things that I have a problem with, it's purely a lack of respect and tolerance. I can be a devout Muslim convinced in my belief of Islam and still live side by side with Jews, Christians, Baha'is, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. and show them respect and tolerance towards their respective faiths.
Yes, I totally understand where you are coming from. The difference is I'm willing to face up to the
underlying issues.
OK, let me ask you your opinion on another historical scenario. In the ancient Chinese capitol of Chang'an, in the year 750, there lived about 1 million people. It was the largest city in the world. Chinese did trade all over the known world. The Buddhist Chinese paid for and build Mosques for visiting Muslims - and a recent discovery showed even Nestorian Christians lived in the city. Of course the city was brimming with Buddhist and Taoist Temples as well, but, they made their trading partners feel welcome. In the same way YOUR paragraph suggests people should behave. With tolerance and respect.
My Question to you:
What about Baghdad? Muslims did a lot of trade with Chinese and Hindus.
How many Hindu and Buddhist Temples did Muslims build for their Chinese and Indian guests? Why?
As usual, I don't think you get 'it'.
How many Hindu and Buddhist Temples did Muslims build for their Chinese and Indian guests? Why?
Do you think that Hindu Temples should be allowed to be built in Media and Mecca for the visiting Hindu that live and work there (as well as those Muslims that have converted to that faith)?