Popehat has the story of a free speech case involving a Christian group that was preaching anti-Islamic messages at an Arab festival. I don't have much sympathy for them, but I also don't like the use of violence to silence speech. And the truth is that freedom of speech has to mean freedom of offensive speech, or it doesn't mean anything.
But that's not what I'm hear to talk about - you can read a more thorough analysis of the issues at Popehat than I could give you. What I noticed was this:
One of the few positive things I saw in the Koran when I read it was a note of reasonability about the enforcement of some of the laws, and that was one of them. Google was quickly able to direct me to the relevant passage, Sura 5:3:
"Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah , and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
Pork is not some kind of kryptonite for Muslims. It's something they are not supposed to eat, along with meat improperly killed or that wild animals have eaten part of. And if the choice is pork or starvation, then they are allowed to eat it.
The only reason a pig's head on a spike would repel Muslims particularly is if the protesters were planning on force feeding it to passers by. There are laws against that. One of the Popehat commentators suggested that they may have fallen foul of food handling laws; that would have been an amusing prosecution, since their own stated objective would be evidence that they intended it as food. Personally I would not be interested in eating part of a pig's head that some religious nut had been waving around on a stick.
And even if they did force-feed it to a Muslim, that would be their crime against their victim, not some terrible sin on the Muslim's part.
There's plenty to criticize in Islam; adding the pig's head just makes them look aggressive and ignorant. I hope the next time they go to this festival the locals just video them and put it on Youtube; that's a much better response than the heckler's veto.
But that's not what I'm hear to talk about - you can read a more thorough analysis of the issues at Popehat than I could give you. What I noticed was this:
They were carrying a severed pigs head "to keep Muslims at bay"...since "unfortunately, they are kind of petrified of that animal."
One of the few positive things I saw in the Koran when I read it was a note of reasonability about the enforcement of some of the laws, and that was one of them. Google was quickly able to direct me to the relevant passage, Sura 5:3:
"Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah , and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
Pork is not some kind of kryptonite for Muslims. It's something they are not supposed to eat, along with meat improperly killed or that wild animals have eaten part of. And if the choice is pork or starvation, then they are allowed to eat it.
The only reason a pig's head on a spike would repel Muslims particularly is if the protesters were planning on force feeding it to passers by. There are laws against that. One of the Popehat commentators suggested that they may have fallen foul of food handling laws; that would have been an amusing prosecution, since their own stated objective would be evidence that they intended it as food. Personally I would not be interested in eating part of a pig's head that some religious nut had been waving around on a stick.
And even if they did force-feed it to a Muslim, that would be their crime against their victim, not some terrible sin on the Muslim's part.
There's plenty to criticize in Islam; adding the pig's head just makes them look aggressive and ignorant. I hope the next time they go to this festival the locals just video them and put it on Youtube; that's a much better response than the heckler's veto.
No comments:
Post a Comment