h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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In olden days it was often referred to in English by the solecism the alcoran.

Quran (or Qur'an, with an apostrophe to denote the glottal stop) is a more accurate transliteration of the Arabic pronunciation than Koran, as q and k represent different sounds in Arabic, the muslim holy book beginning witih a q-sound and not a k-sound, although Koran is an established spelling in Engish.

>I could whip you up a murderous mob in almost any country you like given a couple of weeks to work-out what the right buttons were to press.<

Yes in theory blicky. And I agree with your basic argument, which goes back to what people mentioned earlier about periods of Christian history. A great way to confront this in a visceral way is the opening sequence of the film 'Elizabeth', which shows the burning of Protestants on a big Catholic bonfire.

But I think in reality it might be quite difficult to do it here...in the here and now...in the sense of murdering a lot of innocent people based on a motive so divorced from any sort of rationality. Why haven't we had any insane 7/7 style attacks since 2005? Are MI5 really so amazing?

**

As for Koran. Yep that was the way we were taught at school. I don't see any reason to change, as its an Arabic word..anymore than I start writing Qu'i rather than Chi in place of a Chinese character for life force running through our meridians that acupuncturists pierce.

Can I put a slightly different point of view here, I'm the grand-daughter of a librarian, I'm the daughter of a librarian, I'm the ex-girlfriend of a librarian, and I also happen to love books ... anyone notice a theme here?!

To me anyone burning any book is a heresy, whether that be the Koran/Quran (spelling?!), the Bible, any Discworld book, or our own beloved H2G2!!

Books are the fount of all our knowledge, whether we agree with that knowledge or not, but they should not be destroyed by someone just because he disagrees with the expressed opinions of that book!

All books are sacred, whether religious or not ... I have only ever thrown out about 3 books and that was only because they were falling apart (I think they went in paper recycling!), all others have gone to friends, charity shops or some other such place, hopefully to be enjoyed by others in the future!!

And what is the big deal about burning one single copy of the Koran anyway? There must be millions of copies in the world, so losing one can't be such a big deal, it's not exactly gonna bring down the entire Islamic religion ... and didn't Pastor Whatsisface decide not to burn it after all in the end?

Lx

IMO Post 61 was a worthwhile and thought provoking one to read..but the bbc has decided to hide its visibility.

"inexplicably in thrall to their superstitions"

Who said anything about inexplicable? It's entirely explicable. They're brainwashed from birth to believe this rubbish, and independent thought is punished with sticks and swords.

Yes but there's a difference between just believing something without any proper reasoning to back it up and actually going out and murdering people based on such a belief.

Something goes on to let loose the inner nutjob. blicky was referring to this in his post which the BBC reasoned needed to be censored.

The thing going on can be manipulated by other people who are perfectly rational.

As far as I'm aware God could have prevented this.

But which God is on who's side? Have we the right God?

One of 'em's gonna lose.

There's only one way to find out:

FIIIIIGHT!!

>> But which God <<

One view is the following:

Q1) The God of the Quran allowed the Quran to be burned by an unbeliever of the Quran. Why?
A1) It was a test.

Q2) To whom was this a test for?
A2) To the unbeliever and the believer.

Q3) Did they pass the test?

At which point we need someone knowledgeable of the Quran to answer the supplementary questions:
SQ1) Where the actions of the unbeliever and believer consistent with the Quran?

Then we have:
If the unbeliever was unknowledgeable of the Quran did (s)he pass the test?
If the unbeliever was knowledgeable of the Quran did (s)he pass the test?
If the believer was knowledgeable of the Quran did (s)he pass the test?

At which point the further supplementary question arises:
SSQ1) If the burning of the Quran was meant as a test to the believer could the (un)knowledgable unbeliever be just an unwary instrument through which God implemented the test?
If yes can blame be attributed to the (un)knowledgable unbeliever?

@Lonnwy:

>>To me anyone burning any book is a heresy

What about shredding and pulping? Even libraries do that. I&#39;m not sure we should over-fetishise books. Herein lies the problem, surely?

When I volunteered for Oxfam, I had few qualms about tearing up surplus Dan Browns or Pamela Stephenson&#39;s &#39;Billy&#39;. Although I did slightly shock a coworker when I tore up a Bible. If nobody wants to read them - hell - in they go to The Well of Lost Plots.



(btw...Oxfam are *extremely* picky about books nowadays. They are going head to head with Waterstones and want books that will sell, are reasonably upmarket and in good condition. Anything else goes on the skip, having first been torn to deter dumpster diving. If you have any slightly roughed-up potboilers...take them to one of their competitors.)

Incidentally, in the spirit of freeing myself from material attachment, I&#39;ve adjusted my attitude to book accumulation. Most of my books get recycled through the charidee shops from whence they came. If I lend one, I usually specifically say that I don&#39;t expect it back.

Ah - but what if you want to read one again? So I&#39;ll buy it again.

But I still can&#39;t get rid of all the buggers and have minor avalanches all over the house. And, yes, I do have a couple of Bibles and a Qu&#39;ran.

Oh...and I memorised Fahrenheit 451 before the firemen came for it.

""Most of my books get recycled through the charidee shops from whence they came.""

what about the library, paperback swap cart??

Yes, sometimes...but library books often turn out more expensive than from charidee shops. They get lost in the avalanches.

>>I'm not sure we should over-fetishise books.

I agree; to me, it's the information contained in the book that's important. The paper and ink part is just hardware.

And even then - let&#39;s be honest - the software is often pretty dispensible. Sometimes one copy in the British Library is more than enough.

I dont think I defamed any of the nations I talked about its well documented how beer-up English folk can behave.

The violent homophobia of the Carribean is also well known.

Anyone who has seen Yanks whooping and hollering as millitary jet planes unload their deadly cargoes wont be questioning what I said.

I think that the BBC might be more comcerned about legal actions from certain book burners who I described as cowardly self publicists and whom I suggested should be feeling like Lady McBeth over the carnage they indirectly but knowingly inspired.





I think its wrong to whip up anger that someone else has to deal with. I think its wrong too to destroy something just to annoy someone else because its so petty and childish and just a waste of effort. f you really want to show how good your faith is do like the early christians and live by the book and turn the other cheek.

>>do like the early christians and live by the book and turn the other cheek<<

The early Christians only did that because they were being oppressed by a superpower. If they'd have fought back, they'd have been massacred. As soon as Christianity became dominant, they settled their accounts with interest.

The pacifist demeanour was a tactical decision, not a moral one.