Burn the Qur’an, burn the Bible and Dr Who

The (Reverend) Terry Jones [surely no relation to the Python below who is clearly a nicer bloke] relented and the Holy Qur’an remains un-cindered. A victory for public opinion? A direct result of national and international anger and political and military pressure? Happy with his 10-minutes of airtime? Thanks to Mr Jones we peered over a very steep cliff down which protrude many jagged rocks upon which we could crash (and probably no bottom either). There are but a few activities that whip up the passions more than book burning. Extremists know this and have used it in the past to rouse the great and generally unmoveable populace.

Book burning for religious and political reasons (and for sheer vandalism) is nothing new. In 2008 in Or Yehuda, Israel (and in 1984 in Jerusalem) Orthodox Jews burned any copy of the New Testament that came into their hands. Only 77 years ago, the Nazis proudly built bonfires containing all works connected in any way to Jews, such was their racial hatred. In 1204, the Crusaders barbarically destroyed the amazing library in Constantinople. In 48 BCE, troops under orders from none other that Julius Caesar burned the great and historic library at Alexandria, a loss that amounts to the most severe broken link between the ancient works of the classical and our modern worlds. Sadly, there are hundreds more examples of such literary abuses.

In the long and bloody history of book burning, or libricide, no religion or nation seems to been spared. It is, of course, a form of censorship, the banning not so much of the books, but of the ideas within. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence will know that the world changes when minds change and for that many books have been responsible. Books are, therefore, dangerous things. History, it is said, is written by the winners, but the losers often lose not just their place in the world but also their thoughts. The Inquisition of the middle ages waged a crusade against the Cathars in the Southern Europe and burned not only their heretic bodies, but also nearly all of their heretical Gnostic literature. They were successful. There are no more Cathars.

So, what would have changed had the Qur’an been burned on 9/11? Well, everything and nothing.

The everything is simple –the sight of the holiest aspect of Islam going up in flames would further arouse anti-American sentiment across the Muslim world. By further, I mean that where that is already demonstrable it would be seen even more. Even the moderate masses with TV images of a burned Qur’an fresh in their minds would take to the streets of the capital cities. Some with violent intentions would target anything overtly Christian or Jewish and the police would directly receive their anger. Undoubtedly people would be killed, further exacerbating the situation for many governments who would then be seen as siding with the offence. Crackdowns would ensue and thousands jailed. There’s nothing like a dose of prison to set minds rock-hard and for such to readily accept the black and white fundamentalist religio-political thoughts of those such as Sayyid Qutb or Abul Ala Maududi: our way or the highway! The world would be even-more rent by religious extremists. Actions of the Defenders of the Faith against soft targets, such as tourists, would be justified, celebrated and imitated… and so-on.

The nothing is also quite clear. For some, a clearly defined external hate-figure is more important than internal reflection or, God-forbid, intellectual development. Thus, those that despise the Great Satan and all of his works are already out there hating, conspiring, demonstrating and propagating their polemics and invectives. Yet one more example of rampant anti-Islamism in the West further confirms their self-righteous zeal. Yes, there would be demonstrations and killings, but there already are. Do the extremists need another excuse? Nope. Do the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan need more hostility? Nope. Are they expecting it? Of course.

Religious and political books are not the only things burned. The infamous Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 saw wonderful medieval works of art perish in the flames because of the priest Savanarola’s firebrand preaching. The straight-laced New York Society for the Suppression of Vice sought an end to pornographic publications and saw itself as a guardian of public morality. It took to smashing plates and presses that produced ‘objectionable’ books long before anyone thought of using the First Amendment. Quite clearly it failed. In the United Kingdom Mary Whitehouse of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association similarly disapproved of increasing public lewdness on TV not only of such comedic luminaries as Benny Hill and Dave Allen, but also Dr Who! Dr Who? Not quite on the order of burning a Qur’an, I know, but perhaps the thin end of the wedge…

Whatever you think, the threat to burn a book says more about the burner than the book. If your world is spiralling out of control and the enemy is at the gates, perhaps a symbolic pyre of pages is a cathartic act or a sanctimonious offering. Do folks really feel better after the immolation of ideas? If so, perhaps we should all do it. First choose your opponent (preferably a dead author or one who belongs to a minority), gather all their works and torch away. You could even sing a little song to celebrate your virtuous position in trampling their nefarious outrages. But be careful: as Ray Bradbury described in Fahrenheit 451, books can also be remembered. Now that’s downright dangerous!