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True Bravery: Burning the Qur'an in Iran

Brian C. Ledbetter · Thursday, April 3. 2008 10:41
I'm making this video sticky again just for a certain reader in Austin. Hope you enjoy, Ching!


Considering that the penalty for doing this in Iran is certain death, my hat is genuinely off to these brave souls. I just wish they would get around to setting a higher standard for their demands than some bureaucrat-dictated, largely worthless document.

Watch the video here—or here via YouTube. I'm betting it'll be pulled from the latter by lunch time, of course. Can't have any of that free thought junk over there, you know.



Big h/t to IBA for pointing this out!
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Infidels Are Cool on 2008-04-03 20:04 #4714

Iranian blogger protest: Sets fire to Koran; lashes out at Islamic “moderates”

I think this brave soul just sentenced himself to death. Hopefully they’ll never find him. Here’s why he’s doing it: I have decided to set Quran on fire as long as Islamic dictatorship of Iran: doesn’t commit to Universal Dec...

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Here is what a handful of random people think about this article. But first, the fine print:
The opinions expressed here, even where approved for display, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website, the management, or any other entity or organization, with the exception of the Vast Zionist Conspiracy. Those opinions we represent in style, yo. Please keep the language in these comments clean, as this is intended to be a family-friendly, work-friendly website. Comments not compliant with this policy will be edited for content where necessary. Abusive or otherwise illegal comments will be reported to the proper authorities, up to and including the aforementioned Vast Zionist Conspiracy. The Management cannot and will not be held responsible for commenters making a spectacle of themselves, even if The Management are the said commenters in question. In other words, don't take yourself so seriously, folks. We're all here to discuss the news, and more importantly, to have fun. Now go get yourself into some OCD treatment program—you obviously need it if you actually read all of this mess.

Conservitive American on 2008-04-03 14:08 #1
*Oh Wow!!! You really showed them. What better way to get your point across then to show discontempt for the basic beliefs of the country.

I can tell you that as a Christian, Nothing would show me the error of my was in believing in anything you disagree with by disrespecting my faith.

What are you thinking? Flagrantly destroying a Koran because you somehow equate it with the suppression of human rights because some people use it that way?

In the US some people use the Bible to justify their bigoted beliefs on hating anyone that isn't white. I'm not going to burn the bible until racism ends.
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Fred J. Muggs on 2008-04-03 14:14 #2
*Great... The only problem is that their was not a billion of them burning and their was not a Muslim on top of the fire.
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Takekaze on 2008-04-03 14:14 #3
*Well, ConservAtive American (learn to spell conservAtive right, please), burning a koran is like burning Mein Kampf. They're on the same level, spewing nothing else but hatred. I suggest you read this book first, then comment. It deserves to be burned.
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Brian C. Ledbetter on 2008-04-03 14:16 #4
*What's a conservitive?

For the record, this particular Koran was "flagrantly" destroyed by an Iranian Muslim who is upset at what his nation's truly dictatorial leaders have done to it. They spell it out pretty clearly, if you care to get to the truth of the matter.

But hey, why not just continue inventing your own insane storyline over there? Life's much more amusing if you make it up as you go, right?

;-)

Cordially,
Brian
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Brian C. Ledbetter on 2008-04-03 14:19 #5
*For the record, my policy towards comments like Fred's is over here.

It's a reprehensible thought (and more than slightly illiterate), but not being a direct personal threat, it stays. Y'all are welcome to flame Fred however you'd like.

Regards,
Brian
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Conservative American on 2008-04-03 15:35 #6
*(Now with spell checker)

Here are my points
1) The basic reason for the video was to protest human rights issues. Do I believe Iran has a problem in this area. YES! I fail to see how burning the Koran is going to ignite a movement in Iran to change this. The intended audience, I assume since this was supposedly done in Iran, is Islamic, who holds this book in high regard. My belief is they will see this as the propaganda in Iran tells them. “This is an American movement to destroy Islam.” Does this person have a right to burn the Koran and post it on the net. Absolutely. I just believe this person’s methods will not get his point across.
2) When someone burns the American Flag, I don’t think about what message the person burning the flag is trying to communicate. I just think about the crimes of passion laws of my state are. I would assume this is a universal reaction to something a person holds dear.
3) I will be the person to ask is there any proof that this actually was done in Iran? I personally have a hard time believing this. From the video I can’t see anything that would tell me it was. Other than the website has Persian on it there is no other evidence of that I see of its location. No buildings, other defining terrain feature. In my experience the general Iranian person believes the state is watching their every move. I could be wrong.
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Conservative American on 2008-04-03 18:40 #7
*One other point (Although I admit it’s a moot point). I don’t see anywhere on the site where the author identifies himself as a Muslim.
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John on 2008-04-03 20:15 #8
*Con-American,

I think your missing something here. He's protesting this way because Iran is an ISLAMIC REPUBLIC ruled by Sharia law, and guess where the authority for this type of rule comes from?....you guessed it! THE KORAN.

I'm sick and tired of people thinking Islam is only a religion. It's not just a religion, it's a complete social, religious, governmental, economical, military establishment. When we people understand that Islamic republics are directly related to Islamic Law vis a vis The Koran and Hadiths.
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Skul on 2008-04-03 23:10 #9
*So-called, conservative American. I doubt the truth in your trolling sceen-name. LOOSER!!!1!
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Conservative American on 2008-04-04 09:48 #10
*Thanks John. Now it makes sense why they called it the Islamic revolution. I just thought Shia was Persian for s#%#y, so they called it Shia law because they thought it was a terrible system.

People, this person’s protest is not going to change anything in side of Iran (Where the change for human rights has to come from, or from the US military. It’s the only way it gets done). How many people have fallen on their knees and prayed to god to kill “Da GAYZ” after watching Fred Phelps protests a soldier’s funeral? How many have completely changed their mind on the Iraq war after seeing a bitter, old, lesbian dressed in pink protesting the Marines in Berkley.

These kinds of protests have been around for centuries. But I can’t think of a single example were something cherished was destroyed by a protester and it enacted the change they desired. If anything it only becomes worse.
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John on 2008-04-04 13:43 #11
*Con-American,

Of course nobody thinks by burning a Koran will suddenly make Iran change their minds about how they treat their people...OBVIOUSLY.

That's not the point here at all. The point is understanding the direct relation of the Koran with Islamic Law that rules over the Iranian people. The Koran sanctions every evil act committed by the Iranian government.

Your foreign policy viewpoint is way out in left field for a so-called "conservative American" I think you need to re-think that...

Let me guess, removing saddam was a bad idea too? Oh and maybe the palestinians need more sympathy? Or maybe we should have negotiations with the Taliban to reach "true peace"? Or maybe we should just "talk" to the mullahs in Iran and maybe, just maybe, they'll stop calling us the "great Satan" and stop chanting "Death to America".

If you truly are a conservative, then you need to quit arguing nuance about whether or not a protest will change a government. We're talking about how Islamic Law and the Koran directly relate to how the Iranian government operates in the oppression against their own people. That's the real issue here.
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Scion9 on 2008-04-06 07:03 #12
*What you are missing is, in Iran this isn't a simple protest. In Iran, burning a Qur'an, is potentially a crime that carries a penalty of death, or maiming, and certainly carries one of imprisonment.

While you are correct, when someone burns an American flag, or a dozen people carry pickets that say "God hates fags" and it winds up tape I don't really care all that much in what they have to say, or at least go into the situation already skeptical.

If Phelps and his ilk were making videos of them capturing a funeral goer and burning them alive, a sentence carrying death or imprisonment, and taping it while chanting 'God hates fags', I would certainly take their rhetoric a lot more seriously. As it is though, they really aren't willing to even break the law to send their message. There is no real civil disobedience in a legal assembly no matter how repugnant it is.

This person is making more than a symbolic statement. Accepting the UDHR means abandoning Shari'a (not Shia). The two are mutually exclusive. You can't have human rights, or civil rights and have Shari'a. This person does in fact want to burn the Qur'an, and his actions seem literal.

This isn't the same kind of statement as burning a flag. A flag is just a symbol, which can and does represent a great many nebulous and subjective qualities, and in this country burning that symbol is legal. The Qur'an is the actual text that makes up the law of Iran. He isn't just burning a symbol, he is burning the contract that all Iranians are forced into, that are not in accord with human rights. He doesn't want Iran to pass a bill that accept human rights, he wants Shari'a gone. He wants at least the human right to freedom of speech and expression; to not be subjugated under a legal system that warrants his death for the expression that we see in the video.

While you might not take the statement seriously, I'm sure it was very alarmist to the Shari'a hardliners in Iran. It was literally a statement that carries a worse penalty than if he had murdered a female member of his family that was soiling familial honor by talking to a boy. Murder, not worthy of capital punishment. Burning the Qur'an, certainly is.
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chingatumadre on 2008-05-07 22:50 #13
*May God burn the man in hell just like he burned the Quran.

your useless gestures will not stop Islam or the Muslims from rightfully taking their place in the world. Europe was in the dark ages and living like animals when Muslims where advancing in every technological field. now the West is on top but the sun will set on the West and the East will rise again as the beacon of knowledge and leadership of the world.
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forest on 2008-05-08 16:03 #14
*"...the sun will set on the West and the East will rise again as the beacon of knowledge and leadership of the world." - chingatumadre

Some of the Asian nations that are not under the yoke of Islam have been moving up in the world, so you have a point there.
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Mohammed the Pedophile on 2008-05-08 19:34 #15
*Our "useless gestures" may not stop it, but our guns and atomic weapons will. :-)
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captainfish on 2008-05-08 21:59 #16
*Conservative(?).... you said, "These kinds of protests have been around for centuries. But I can’t think of a single example were something cherished was destroyed by a protester and it enacted the change they desired. If anything it only becomes worse."

So, you are saying that the Boston Tea Party here in the USA was nothing. That it lead to nothing. That the "shot heard round the world" was nothing? That Paul Revere's ride was nothing? These events happened because people wanted change and they put their lives on the line for that change. They wanted the weight of oppression taken off and they were willing to die for their freedom. Just as the person in this video is doing.

Yes, of course we are assuming that he is in Iran and is really burning a quran. But, I think it is the point of the whole thing. Are you willing to die for something? Is there something you want changed that you are willing to die for? It does not matter if it will happen or not. You just know that it needs to happen and you are willing to die for it.
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Surviver on 2008-05-10 03:00 #17
*Life is too short to waste on nonsense and personal opinions, what benefit do you get from saluting people for their “bravery”. Actually what benefit did the man who burned the Quran get? There is no point in offending someone. If you want to change things you should be civil , respect other people’s religious and cultural believes , establish yourself and become an important part of the society, whose voice counts in major decisions in the country, YES this could take so long , but it is better than dying and doing nothing but burring the Quran and offending Muslims. He only added wood on a burning fire of anger; he did not change a thing. Except the fact that you lot find his action bravery and interesting. I think he is a useless coward who couldn’t deal with his problems and decided that the best way to unleash his anger is by burning the Quran. Yet AGAIN this is my personal opinion that will not change anything; it is nonsense what we are doing here!!!! A Total Waste of time
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