Just Ink and Paper

On May 9th a sniper in the US Military in Iraq took a few practice shots at a book he claims he did not know was the Quran, a claim the brass immediately rejected. On May 18th we went hat-in-hand back to the villagers and tribal leaders and basically begged forgiveness. Suddenly, an international incident is born.

According to CNN's online edition, tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony where our military leader kissed the Quran, apologized, and handed it back to Tribal leaders. Meanwhile, and this is a quote, "residents carried banners and chanted slogans, including 'Yes, yes to the Quran' and 'America out, out.' Sheikh Hamadi al-Qirtani, in a speech on behalf of all tribal sheiks of Radhwaniya, called the incident 'aggression against the entire Islamic world.'"

The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq jumped in by saying, "As the Association of Muslim Scholars condemns this heinous crime against God's holy book, the Constitution of this nation, a source of pride and dignity," the groups statement said. They condemned the silence by all those who are part of the occupation's agenda and hold the occupation and the current government fully responsible for this violation and remind everyone that God preserves his book and he [God] is a great avenger.

So, yes to the Quran, get out infidels, we're aggressors to the entire Islamic world and God will seek revenge against us, is that about right? Well, I'm sold, time to go home.

That being said, IT'S A BOOK. And how many did we blow up in Operation Shock and Awe? How many of these sacred and holy books were blown in to paper particles and dust by 500 pound bombs? And if the book had been in the hands of an Iraqi instead of alone, would the world even be noticing? As for God's revenge, fools, a God, no God, any God would not care about a human creation of paper and ink. That's all it is, you know, a Bible, a Quran, a Torah in its purest written form, paper and ink. It's the words that have the meaning not the paper on which they are printed. To hold a book sacred is to have a graven image, an icon, a false God. And if God were so upset, and all powerful, then why not leave it to his, hers or its judgment?

And to feign all this outrage over a book, and then to bow down and kiss so much ass over a book is beyond me. We have not saved a sacred book we have decimated a culture and a country. We have no more respect for their religious doctrine than they ours. Admit it. Most Americans would not treat a Quran as "sacredly" as they do a good old Gideon offering nor would most Muslims honor an Evangelical Bible or Catholic Bible. Also, I value my flag, and I've watched many a person in a Muslim nation burn it away.

The officer was a jerk, but his crime is minuscule in Iraq. We would be hypocrites to punish him when we have done more to harm that nation, to rip it apart, to tear at its core, to displace its people and galvanize public opinion against us and along the way, more than a few sacred books, shrines, mosques and even people have died, been destroyed, not to mention the art and history. A printed copy of a Quran is far easier to replace than a holy mosque or antiquity.

It's a book. It's not holy. It was printed on a printing press somewhere. I've worked in print shops, they're not holy places, they're dirty, messy unholy places. The book has been printed, packaged, shipped, etc, treated like a product and not a sacred doctrine. Because God doesn't need us to protect his or her words. And holding an officer responsible for shooting one while we've destroyed countless is like punishing someone for crushing one potato chip after someone else crushing the entire bag in to bids without one repercussion.

Comments

[Sumocat]

All things being equal, I'm inclined to agree with the ink and paper perspective. The problem is, things aren't equal. We're trying to "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people, which is tough to do considering all the bombs we dropped on their country. It's an uphill battle and a single slip can undermine a lot of hard-earned progress. Forget the international view, what about the soldiers on the ground trying to earn trust in a neighborhood who now have to explain why a soldier shot a Quran? Those guys, our troops, just got screwed, and I don't think the "ink and paper" explanation is going to work for them.

[jimmytripps]

I think it is a small thing unless you view it through the larger context. I mean, if I were a filmmaker trying to capture the American occupation of Iraq, I could think of worse symbols than a soldier using the Quran as target practice. The chaos and destruction our arrogance has rained down upon Iraq is so massive, it becomes backround noise. In the end, it is the small things that destroy us. It is not the act that is raising such ire; nor is it the act that requires punishment. It is the mindset that results in the act.

[unitron]

Imagine trying to explain to the average conservative voter here in the states that the American flag that some Arabic Muslim used for target practice or something else that would be considered disrespectful was only "a bunch of different colored threads of fabric".

(and imagine trying to convince them that said gentleman was unaware that the object had any special or specific signifigance to anyone)

When people worship "things", they aren't very susceptible to logic and reason.

[Anonymiss]

Exactly. There are people in this country that go ape over the American flag. There are idiots in this country that will see the flag in a position of distress and they'd take that as being disrespectful cuz they don't understand how a distressed flag is supposed to look. Idiiots.

[unitron]

Imagine trying to explain to the average conservative voter here in the states that the American flag that some Arabic Muslim used for target practice or something else that would be considered disrespectful was only "a bunch of different colored threads of fabric".