To Muslims, it's sacred. To anyone else in the world, it's just a damn book.

1. Don’t spread rumours. Whenever you hear something which concerns your collective life, communicate it to the appropriate authorities so as to make them reach a correct conclusion after proper investigation:

(4:83) “When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear, they divulge it, although their attachment and obedience to the (Divine) System requires that they had only referred it to the Rasool (central authority) or those charged with authority amongst them (officers of the lower ranks); in case they refer it to them, the specialists could verify and ascertain the truth.”

Afghanistan, 21 February 2012

Afghans are rioting in Kabul and Bagram AGAIN.  Blocking streets.  Attacking innocent civilians and Westerners.  Why?  Another violent reaction to a perceived slight.  US Soldiers inadvertently including Qu’rans in a pile of files and documents that were being burned.

Some lower Enlisted guys were told to take some old files out to the burn pit. Apparently, it was a lot of stuff. Most of it in Dari. Included in the piles of stuff were copies of the Qu’ran. These kids had no clue as to what the stuff was. They only knew that they were told to burn it.

While they were burning these materials, some local nationals were in the area. These local nationals (AFGHANS) noticed that there were Qu’rans and other religious materials being burned.  Instead of asking why the soldiers were burning the material, the Afghans jumped to the worst possible conclusion.  They stormed off the base and riled up the masses outside of Bagram and spread vicious rumors about the Soldiers of Bagram.  By morning, the rioting had spread to Kabul.

The locals didn’t stop and ask the guys who were burning the stuff if they indeed knew what they were burning. They offered no advice or warning. They simply became enraged and started riots and protests.  Typical Muslim behavior the world over.  See something happening, become enraged and jump to conclusions.

AFTER the Qu’rans had been burned, the Afghans walked off the job and proceeded to spread the news that US Soldiers at Bagram were burning Qu’rans.

My question is this:

Why did the local nationals (AFGHANS) not stop the guys and tell them that they were about to burn Qu’rans?  Why did they not inquire as to the nature of the Soldiers’ reasoning in burning the materials that included Qu’rans?

I’ve read the book and, therefore, I know what a Qu’ran looks like. A guy who has never seen a Qu’ran isn’t going to know that it’s a Qu’ran. It’s going to look like some book with squiggly ass writing on it in the middle of a bunch of other old papers, files and books with squiggly ass writing on it. If there are boxes of books and files and a few lower Enlisted guys are told to take the shit out to the burn pit and burn it, they’re going to take the shit out to the burn pit and burn it. I’ve thrown tons of old stuff into the fire pits in Bagram, Camp Stone and other places. If it’s old shit, I rarely look through it. I just start ripping, wadding and burning and throwing.

So Afghans watched a group of Soldiers burn some Qu’rans along with a bunch of other stuff.  Having simply watched the Qu’rans burning and not offering any warning to anyone involved that they were about to burn the Holy Qu’ran, the Afghans spread the news that US Soldiers are burning Qu’rans. Kabulis and other Afghans are now out in force blocking roads, burning tires and rioting in general.  As a result of this, one or two of Afghans and possibly, but doubtfully, a Coalition member or two will wind up dead or injured due to the stupidity of a couple of Afghans who could have forestalled all of this by simply saying; “Hey, do you know that those are Qu’rans that you are about to burn?”

Had an Afghan told the Soldiers this, not one Qu’ran would have been burned.  Another thing that could have forestalled this would have been a little situational awareness on the part of the NCO or Officer who ordered the files to be burned.  Having said this, the US Army should not be in the business of handing out religious books.  If that is done at all, it should be in the hands of the various Chaplains in country.

My opinion. The Afghans should grab the guys who watched the Soldiers burn the Qu’rans and spread fallacious stories and hang their asses. They allowed this to happen and then spread the news so that idiots could have an excuse to act like idiots.

Bottom line, though.  It’s a fuckin’ book. If God had touched it or they were copies carried back from the Kaba’a or they were ancient manuscripts that were carried by Abu Bakr or Hussein and Ali, I could understand. But these were US mass produced copies of the Qu’ran.   Not every copy of the Qu’ran is sacred.  Some of them are just books that were mass produced.  The Mullahs need to stop acting like and telling the Umma that all copies of the Qu’ran are sacred.  Nothing that is massed produced is sacred.  I don’t give a fuck if God himself hands each one out himself.  If it’s massed produced, it’s about as sacred as a Happy Meal.

American and other Coalition soldiers have shed their blood in defense of Afghanistan.  Shoulder to Shoulder or  Shona ba Shona and Ooga pa ooga as the Afghans say.   Coalition Forces have died defending the Afghans right to worship as they see fit.  Americans, Canadians, British, Romanians, French and soldiers of other Nations have given their lives for the people of Afghanistan.  The Afghans overwhelmingly express a desire for America and the Coalition to stay on past 2014.  Afghans are fearful of a resurgent Taliban.  Yet, the moment an American or a Coalition Soldier makes a mistake concerning their fuckin’ book, the Afghans go insane and jump to the worst possible conclusion.

The actions by these protesting Afghans dishonors every Soldier who has given his life for the cause of Afghan independence and security.

I have news for Afghans and Muslims world wide.  The overwhelming majority of non-Muslims could give a fuck less about Islam or the Qu’ran.  That includes the majority of the International Force fighting for your right to act like complete idiots each time someone pisses on or burns a Qu’ran.   If it weren’t for the Coalition of Nations and their Soldiers including those who inadvertently burned the Qu’ran last night, Afghans would still be under the oppressive reign of the Taliban.  Most of us in the West don’t care enough about Islam to burn a book which is essentially meaningless to us.  However, the more ignorant that the more idiotic of the Muslim Faith act in “defense” of their religion, the more people dislike the Faith of Islam and the more likely people are to see Islam as an enemy of peace.  The more Muslims react with this seemingly instinctively visceral insanity after any instance of supposed disrespect to the religion of Islam, the more likely folks are to see Islam as an exercise in intellectual and spiritual fallacy.  The more likely regular folks are to see it as an enemy.

Muslims, grow the fuck up.  Neither you nor your religion is entitled to respect.  Respect is earned.  If you’ll note, the Islamic world is the poorest region of the world.  The Islamic world is one of the most illiterate regions on the planet.  The world of Islam is one of the most violent regions in the world.  The Nations of Islam are the most oppressive on the planet.  Again, grow the fuck up.

Most people in the West know next to nothing about Islam.  The one thing that nearly all people who have any awareness of Islam know is that many of it’s adherents are petty lunatics and are prone to riots and violence over any perceived insult to Islam, Mohommad or the Qu’ran.  We don’t care about your religion.  Keep it to yourself.  As a non-Muslim, I am not obligated to show respect for your Faith.  If I do show it respect, it is not because I am obliged to do so.  That respect is due to the Muslims whom I have known over the years for whom I have respect.  These folks earned my respect.  The morons out there rioting over inadvertently burned Qu’rans burn away the respect that those folks earned from me.  The majority of Muslims whom I have met are excellent people.  I don’t see them doing this incessant rioting and whining over smallish slights to their religion.  They realize that not everyone believes as they do.  They realize that some folks out there make their religion look bad.  The folks out there rioting over cartoons, inadvertently or purposefully burned Qu’rans and Fitna videos make all Muslims look foolish.  These are the Muslims who make it possible for the World to look at the Muslim world as an illiterate, insane backwater that is not worthy or ready for self-determination or self leadership.  These fools make the World of Islam ripe for exploitation.  These fools make it possible for the Islamic world to be dehumanized on a grand scale.  These fools make possible the Saddam Husseins, Hosni Mubaraks, Khomeinis, Ahmadinejads and Bashar al-Assads.  These fools make it possible for the West to maintain relations with the House of Saud.  The West would rather deal with these mad men than the mass of lunatics represented by the rioters of the Muslim World.

It’s extremely hard to defend Islam or Muslims when they act like fucking morons.  Please stop acting like complete and utter morons!

Get a grip.  It would help if Muslims actually read the Qu’ran which they hold so sacred:

(24:15-16) “When you received it on your tongues and spoke with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge, and you deemed it a trifle, while with Allah Almighty it was serious. And why did you not, when you heard it, say: It beseems us not to talk of it. Glory be to Thee! This is a great calumny”