Respecting Violence Because It's a Religion

This kinda drives me crazy. I'm not understanding why I can't just see it as simply and as starkly as everybody else. I feel like others would look at my role in this conversation and say, "the mistake Casey makes is to worry about what others are doing that is evil." But the fact is, the people in Florida are just as "other" to me as the supposed Jihadist Muslims are. I'm judging both.

And am I really supposed to "respect" some other religion if that religion condones violence against infidels--and I'm considered an infidel? How long do I respect it? How close to my doorstep do I let it get?

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Sarah White What an incredibly unchristian and repugnant thing to do. Stupidity has to be the deadliest sin of all...

Florida Sept. 11 Koran-Burning Spurs Debate

news.yahoo.com

A Florida church led by pastor Terry Jones has spent weeks publicizing its plan to burn Korans on September 11. But now that hundreds of people in Afghanistan and Indonesia are protesting the planned event and General David Petraeus has condemned it, saying it will endanger his troops, the U.S. i...

Yesterday at 9:36am · Comment · · Share · Report

• Nancy Fahy likes this.
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    Dan Coffey Free speech protects their right to do this, but hopefully there will be enough counter-speech to reach the humanity of this congregation and get them to do the right thing. I wonder if the damage is already done, though. The actual burning may just be symbolic; what's already discovered (in the mideast) is that there are kooks in America who want to burn their sacred texts.

    Yesterday at 10:03am ·
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    Blaise Allen such hypocrits!

    Yesterday at 10:42am ·
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    Molly Whitmer I hate how some Americans take rights that are given to all and only apply those rights to themselves. Christians are not the only ones allowed to worship as they see fit, so are Muslims. Such ignorance!

    Yesterday at 11:07am · · 1 person
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    Marylene LeFurgy To do something like this is against Gods teaching of love our neighbor as our self. This is against our neighbor and God.

    Yesterday at 12:30pm · · 1 person
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    Casey Pratt Actually, murder is the deadliest sin of all, and we should at least make passing mention of the fact that, however crazy it is to burn someone else's holy text, it's WAY crazier to be so offended by someone burning your holy text that you decide to violently retaliate. I mean I agree: burning the Koran is mean. But reacting as these offended people (assuming they exist?) supposedly might is so insane as to preclude any impulse to respect their preferences about our own behavior.

    Yesterday at 12:54pm · ·
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    Dan Coffey Casey, you're fine up to your second comma. Direct violent retaliation is not the chief concern. Building a positive relationship between two nations (well, one nation and one region of the world), is what's at stake here. What I'm reading is that you're assuming the worst is going to happen ahead of time, judge them on that basis, and then in using reverse-causality logic, justify the burning of the Korans because their reaction makes them deserving?

    Yesterday at 1:15pm ·
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    Ryan Ernst I hate to think how many of my fellow servicemen may be harmed by this fanatic act. Living in the Middle East, I hope rationale minds will prevail or the public outcry from my fellow Americans will deafen the hypocrisy of this ignorant pastor. Truly extremists exist in every religion.

    Yesterday at 2:16pm · · 1 person
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    Casey Pratt

    Dan: I'm not assuming the worst is going to happen: Petraeus is. My students trash my favorite books all the time, and I don't get violent with them. -- and if I did, would that be a reason for them to stop trashing Moby-Dick? Because I'l...See More

    Yesterday at 2:47pm · ·
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    Sarah White Of course, I would also say that "favorite book" is a quite bit different than "sacred text." I still think stupidity is the deadliest sin of all...

    Yesterday at 3:51pm ·
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    Stacey Timmons Higgins I agree with your post completely!

    Yesterday at 5:50pm ·
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    Julie Sugg Peebles Whole heartedly agree with you!

    8 hours ago ·
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    Turgay Bayindir

    Casey, even though I am not a practicing muslim, I come from that culture and I am really baffled by your comparison of your favorite books to what a large part of world population consider sacred.
    
    The point is, 'sin' is defined by differen...See More

    7 hours ago · · 1 person
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    Casey Pratt

    Turgs, I hear you. But just as we can't define "sin" for anyone but ourselves, we can't well define their religion either -- apparently *this* bunch of Christians in Florida doesn't find it to be against the principles of their religion to...See More

    7 hours ago · ·
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    Sarah White Dr. Pratt, I think you're wrong :) A "sacred text" is what I said--not a '"holy text." That is different than "favorite book." I believe academic and scholarly perspectives would allow that there is a major difference when discussing a text that members of a particular society hold "sacred" and Moby Dick...Also, it may not go against the "principles" of that Florida church to burn Korans in vengeance, but it is against the religion they claim to practice...

    6 hours ago ·
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    Casey Pratt Okay, I'll concede the point about holy texts and favorite books if you address a question: isn't killing infidels for burning Korans against the religion that the Muslim extremists claim to practice? Or not? Who is to say? Certainly a moderate/mainstream Muslim would claim that killing infidels IS against that religion, just as you claim that burning Korans is against the Christian religion. All I'm looking for is a moral equivalence, I guess?

    6 hours ago · ·
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    Sarah White Why do you look for moral equivalence in two different cultures and two different religions? It's not against the Christian religion to burn Korans. It's the motive behind the act that is...Bottom line: both religions have extremists who are looking for an excuse like this to do more stupid things to each other and the rest of us...

    6 hours ago ·
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    Turgay Bayindir

    Casey, as you all know, there is something called 'jihad' in Islam, which means fighting to protect and preserve the religion against attacks from infidels. Now this 'fighting against infidels' is interpreted differently by different groups...See More

    5 hours ago ·
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    Casey Pratt

    What I'm getting at is that on one hand, Turgay, you're saying that there is cause for Jihad in the text. If that's true, then we must conclude that Islam is a violent religion. If that's true, then we *can* blame the Koran and its religi...See More

    5 hours ago · · 1 person ·
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    Turgay Bayindir

    I won't go on any more Casey. The one thing I would warn against, though, is not discuss this issue vis-a-vis 'first amendment' because that is a legal issue that is only binding to American citizens within the borders of the US. The action...See More

    5 hours ago · · 1 person