Quote:
Originally Posted by spindles
I've never read it, but I'd suspect that it is not the book itself but the fundamentalists themselves that read the contents in a manner that fits the message they want. This is no better than fundamentalist Christians wanting to burn (and thus censor) the Qu'ran themselves.
I guess we all have to remember that extremists of any (or no) religion have wacky ideas regardless of their background. Does the book(s) cause the extremism, or does the person cause it? I think it is the person, not the book. A 'normal' person isn't suddenly going to become a rabid extremist just from reading a book!
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I agree entirely. It always comes down to the fact that people always have the capacity to choose.
Yeah, in that example I'm coming across pretty hard on the one religion. I don't mean to pick it out explicitly.
What I do find odd, is that the Bible and Torah contain some instructions that, by modern standards, are disturbing and barbaric (Primarily the stoning of adulterers, rebellious children, sanction of slavery ect.) However, there don't seem to be any examples of any religious group which still employ these any longer. That may well be because of the Messianic fulfillment making some of the priestly OT laws redundant, but that doesn't stop some groups frequently citing the OT and declaring that it is still relevant and divine.
Whereas there are examples in the Islamic world obviously of people using every aspect of the Qu'ran, and even going so far as to enforce the contemporary law, which by modern standards, is also unfair and archaic. “Fighting is prescribed upon you, and you dislike it. But it may happen that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. And Allah knows and you know not.” (2:216) is an example of a verse which has been cited as a call to arms for Al Queda and the Taliban.
Essentially a large amount of religious belief seems to come more so from tradition and family than any study of texts, but I do find it disturbing that such an example like this exists, and in a context in which, if I were to become Muslim, it would be my duty and obligation to follow a scripture like this, regardless of what I may feel to be right or wrong.
Food for thought, of course. I in no way think that the answers to the problem of extremism lie in censorship, and I think that after discussing this I am in heavy opposition of the Qu'ran burning, and view it as totally counter-intuitive.