Beginning the food adventure

Burning of books

The burning of books has always been a controversial act, and yet it is an act that can be interpreted or used in a variety of ways. It is the custom in some parts of the world to burn worn our religious texts as a mark of some form of respect. In other cultures it is seen as a form of censorship or as a snub. Pastor Jones used the threat of making a bonfire of the Q'ran as a means of sticking two fingers towards the mad Mullahs and getting himself on the map at the same time. There is no way that his actions can be justified in the current climate, and had he carried out his threat, goodness knows what may have been preciptated as a result.

The whole series of events raises interesting points though. Burning of the American flag seems to be an almost daily event in places like Kabul or Tripoli and yet such actions are not condemned by the world as being , pardon the pun, inflammatory. Again it seems that the world of Islam is the only sector of the world population that cannot be provoked without fear of some horrific backlash that is likely to result in the deaths of more innocent people.

I for one am tired of hearing that Islam is a religion of tolerance. Pick up a copy of their sacred book and open it almost randomly and you will find passages that suggest otherwise. It would seem that the worst thing that one can be is an unbeliever. Such are condemned throughout, to hellfire and damnation or just death in the short term. That doesn't strike me as being tolerant.

We have the military wing of Islam, refusing to allow elections to take place, threatening to cut off the ears or hands of those who vote. Then we have women sentenced to death for "crimes" such as adultery, or flogged in public for exposing their faces.

What exactly do they tolerate?