I don't agree with the burning of any religious text but why should the Koran be given special protection? I suppose it was okay for the military to burn the Holy Bible in Afghanistan but not, of course, the Koran. If we burn the Koran the Muslims go on a killing spree and if we had not burned those Bibles in Afghanistan they would have done likewise. It is still protected expression under the First Amendment unless you want to be ruled by Sharia Law. I think it is better to understand this so-called holy book to reveal its errors and it has plenty. Over the centuries I wonder how many churches and Bibles the tolerant Muslims have burnt? A lot!! See what is happening to non-Muslims around the world such as the Coptic Christians in Egypt, Buddhist in Thailand, Palestinian Christans and the list can go on and on. This does not make all Muslims evil of course and many are tolerant but their intolerance begs such reaction fron the Infidels.

The minute i see you've a new post i typically rush over here, despite the fact that i haven't posted a comment to say thanks til now, i adore your posts. Thanks!

@Julia: OK you would burn it. But what happens if it is Dan on that island with no kindling. Will it be OK for him to burn it?

Petey,

"Take a step back, Dan".

From far right extremists?

No thanks.

I'll confront them if it's all the same to you.

Why imprison people for childish attention seeking/provocative gestures?

Have a word with them, and enlighten/preach (ooooh maybe not) people to believe what they want, and to remember that no silly childish burning symbolic gestures will dent their faith- if they're a rational human being obviously.

@mitchy -Think so yeah, the alternatives look indoctrinating :(

Dan - when it comes to Islam, I back the right to burn the Koran AS LONG AS Islamic majority countries routinely:
-oppress, forcibly convert or murder Christians and other religious or secular minorities (which they do)
-deny any human rights at all to most women, disabled people, lesbians and gays (which they do)
-implement the extremes of sharia law, including jihad, beheadings, apostasy laws and blasphemy laws (which they do!)

Dan - you are a dusgrace, getting so worked up about a "holy" book being burned whilst in 2011 the lives of literally millions of people across the world are daily made a living nightmare by the followers of that book!

Grow up! Or join Hezbollah?

Burning, say, "The Turner Diaries", or "Watership Down"for that matter will neither make the world safer from fascism, nor would it advance the cause of human liberty one inch.
i doubt very much that burning fascist books would have stopped say, Timothy McVeigh or the bomber of The Admiral Duncan.

Mr. Divine-
the point is we are not stranded on a desert- we live in society were we have repsonibility, so i dont we have to speculate about what might need to be done in an 1 in a million chance situation- rather we are talking about the norm, the real world!

mitchy: burn after three-four days of drying.

It might be a one in a million but some people do win lottery.

OK lets say you're smoking a joint. It is badly rolled so that bits keep coming off the end. That can happen, yes? One of these bits drop and lands on an open page of the Koran, and burns a big hole. You could say it is an accident but you are partly neligent because you're the one who has rolled it badly and left your stuff untidy.

What do you think should be the punishment PG? You've got to admit it happens so it is quite realistic.

Legal prohibition of Koran-burning on the grounds that some Muslims are violent loons who will take offence and kill people? No thanks - I can imagine how the BNP would campaign on that one.

Besides, if offending murderers is now to be illegal, shouldn't we start by prosecuting the "dancing slags" whose reckless pursuit of a night out put so many Londoners' lives in danger a few years ago?

The receipt is unimportant Dan, the book is only paper. It's when you start burning people, and that's actually why we should always confront medievalist barbarism, never pamper to it!!

Mr. Divine: Some Muslims find homosexuality "just offensive". Some are offended by education for girls. Are you going to ban those too?

There's a plaque in the square in Berlin where they burnt the books, written in the 1820s.

'Those who burn books will one day burn people'.

I think it's quite an important statement.

Great article.

Which is worse -- destroying one Qur'an, or destroying many Christians?

The now infamous Koran burning by Florida pastor Terry Jones has created hysteria in the Muslim world. In Afghanistan alone, some twenty people, including U.N. workers, have been killed and beheaded to screams of "Allahu Akbar!" Western leaders around the globe—including Obama and members of Congress—have unequivocally condemned Jones' actions (without bothering to point out that freedom of expression is a prized American liberty). Many are even blaming the deaths in Afghanistan directly on Jones; Bill O'Reilley says he has "blood on his hands."

Yet, as Western leaders rush to profess their abhorrence at what one American did to one inanimate book, let's take a quick look at what many Muslims are doing to many living and breathing Christians around the Islamic world—to virtually no media coverage or Western condemnation:

Afghanistan: A Muslim convert to Christianity was seized and, according to sharia's apostasy laws, awaits execution.
Bangladesh: A Christian man was arrested for distributing Bibles near Muslims. Since Wednesday, thousands of Muslims have been rioting, injuring dozens—not because of Jones, but in protestation of women's rights.

Egypt: A Muslim mob burned down another Coptic church and dozens of Christian homes; when Christians protested, the military opened fire on them while crying "Allahu Akbar," killing nine. Another mob cut a Christian man's ear off "according to sharia."

Ethiopia: Muslims went on a rampage burning down nearly 70 churches, killing at least one Christian, and dislocating as many as 10,000. Christians living in Muslim majority regions are being warned to either convert to Islam, abandon their homes, or die.

Malaysia: Authorities detained and desecrated thousands of Bibles.
Pakistan: Two Christians were shot to death as they exited church; a Christian serving life in prison for "blasphemy" died in his cell under suspicions of murder.

Saudi Arabia: An Eritrean Christian has been arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims and is facing the death penalty; other missionaries continue to languish in Saudi prisons.
Somalia and Sudan: Christian girls—including a mother of four—were recently abducted, raped, and killed for embracing Christianity.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/9394/koran-christian-persecution

Interesting in the coverage of this it appears that the British Koran burners may face legal action, whilst in the USA - even though everyone from the President down condemns their actions - it is clear they have the right to do this.

The First Ammendment guarantees freedom of speech and - yes - this includes burning the American flag.

to everybody in England: you are all racists

Patrick Hayes,

"It is an updated, perhaps slightly more PC version of the same patronising assumptions that were exposed in the Lady Chatterley Trial".

So Sion Owens is the new DH Lawrence?

You're having a laugh, right?

we can see there are a lot of people they are trying to disturb the peace of the world, but they cant do this, because every one is mature perfectly .....Alhamduliallah, Muslim are managed, and no one can destrory the Quran Nauzbillah,, because Allah have taken its responsibility on his own to reserve it... and more ,, there a lot of Muslims MashALLH THEY HAVE saved Quran in their chest, than how can one person do this???never possible.. it is just they are trying to disturb the peace in the world..

@Lobotomy: No I wont ban education for girls and homosexuality ..why do you ask?

My thoughts are here

http://patosgood.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/legitimating-terror/

gerry I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. Islamic society isn't as bad as you make out.

I'm not a great fan of Koran burning. If you want to show what a vile and stupid book the Koran is, you don't set fire to it. You open it.

But the argument set out above for banning Koran burning is ridiculous. If a group of Nazis pledged to go on a murderous rampage should anyone dare to burn a copy of Mein Kampf, should we then outlaw the burning of Mein Kampf?

According to Hodges logic, yes we should.

Eh? Wheres my post gone?

All I wanted to ask Dan, was whether its ok to use a page of the Koran to skin up with, as the New Testament's good for this. Would this be a punishable offence in the eyes of Muslims?

Dan Hodges supports the Grassers at the Observer and the prosecution of a private act,which only became public when the grassers grassed him up.
Dan Hodges friend of grassers and the wet fart left.Hasen and his trendy 'no beard' Islamism is working