To want to burn one of each Religious text today?

Not all of the UK is fortunate enough to be free of the vile antiquated blasphemy laws
It's still both a civil and criminal offence in Northern Ireland

Not sure what news you’re referring to today as the only book burning incident I’m aware of is the one that happened in February. Is there another one?

As far as I’m aware, the offence charged is usually something like religiously aggravated public order or harassment, which means that it could be used for the burning of any religious text.

I’m an atheist and think religious extremism of any form is downright dangerous and has a lot to answer for. However, while I reserve the right to think people with faith are deluded, I also recognise that most religious people aren’t extremists and that religion brings a lot of people a lot of comfort and in many cases does a lot of good. So I respectfully tolerate all religions. I would never dream of burning any religious text because there is no way that act is anything other than an attempt to piss people off.

I also think it’s worth considering that burning a bible is less likely to induce genuine fear for life and limb among the Christian community in the uk than burning the Koran would among the Muslim population on the UK because the UK is a Christian culture. Which doesn’t mean it’s ok of course.

I can't think of many poorer uses of ones time than to spend it tracking down paper copies of religious texts, setting fire to them, causing a practical nuisance and unnecessary offence. If you've a point to make, then use your brain, your communication skills and the huge platform available to you to express your thoughts. Write a compelling argument and put it out there.

Baaaaa

Many years ago, when the UK and the rest of the world was caught up in the brouhaha over Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses a certain faction of young men thought they were being clever when they went to a bookshop for a copy of the book and set fire to it at a demo or similar. They handed over about £15, (we had the Net Book Agreement then) not to read the book, but to immolate it. Their silly, performative nonsense was potentially dangerous, wasteful and insulting to those who barely had £15 for food, let alone the destruction of a book. Is that really how you want to be seen?

It's worth bearing in mind the fact that although the affair of the Verses rumbled on for decades, and ultimately to the enormous detriment of the author, it did nothing to help the millions of Muslim people living with discrimination, poverty, loneliness, poor health and everything else that goes with being marginalised. If anything, it made them more vulnerable as they were equated in the minds of the ignorant and unkind with self-absorbed book-burners. Not all books are good or worth keeping around, but before we get the petrol and matches out, we should consider the human cost of book-burning. It's an ugly gesture and ultimately, a pointless one.

There was a group of dudes in the 40s who were pretty keen on burning books…

Maybe just have a nice glass of wine and a sit down eh lovey. Leave the mass book burning to another day.

So which ones are going to be consigned to the flames?

The Bible, The Koran,The Vedas, The Book of Mormon, The Torah, Avesta, Adi Granth, Tao Te Ching, any more?

You'd be hard pushed to get copies of some of those never mind putting a match to them 🙄

I thought you were going to burn an example of each “holy book”, e.g. the Torah, L. Ron Hubbard’s diary or whatever. I didn’t know it was specifically the Koran.

Books are for reading, not burning.

Book burning how very Third Reich.

Wondering too

Surprise surprise one post wonder OP

The Nazis burned books OP. Anything they didn’t agree with, anything by Jewish, communist, socialist authors. Just saying.

Your energies would be better spent campaigning for the government to change their minds about stupid laws

this

if you don’t like a law campaign to get it changed

In general, the sort of people who go in for burning stuff in public (effigies, their captured enemies, photos of people they don't like, flags of countries they don't like, literature that frightens them, piles of tyres) as a way of making their point are usually deranged nutters with backward ideologies or protectionist French farmers who don't understand how the EU works but still want the subsidies so it's not a group I'd be particularly keen to join.

I take your point about the blasphemy and Islamophobia laws, but what good will doing something deliberately inflammatory do? Do you want be the catalyst that incites an ideological lunatic to go and behead someone? Do you want to live your life in hiding like that school teacher in Batley, just to prove a point?

We should really just ignore them, not engage them in pointless conflict with people who can't be reasoned with. Your energies would be better spent campaigning for the government to change their minds about stupid laws that are not compatible with British values, not winding up the idiots who want their own rights to freedom of expression but are fundamentally opposed to everyone else's.

I do kind of agree with the Islamophob8a point. People are already protected against discrimination on the grounds of religious belief by the Equality Act and by incitement laws. We should not have additional specific laws against Islamophobia. It is a backdoor way of bringing in Blasphemy laws. Islamic fundamentalists will absolutely use this to harrass and threaten teachers and anyone else who disagrees with them. They are very good already at influencing and rallying groups of people to cause trouble. Mostly to the detriment of other Muslims who may want to practice their religion more moderately but are harassed by these people, who are then bowed down to by non Muslims who think they are being ' progressive'

Given that all the Abrahamic religions are hostile to every other religion and those of no faith, perhaps we should start with them if we're looking for tolerance.

Religious intolerance is a traditional British value, going back at least as far as slaughtering druids through to the reformation and still celebrated most Saturdays in Glasgow.

Religion isn't the opium of the people, it's the crack cocaine.

See there it is. Someone who doesn't believe in God talking sense and being fair and kind... that's what religion is meant to be (all) but sadly not the case in the real world.

Religion is a curse. If we could embrace rationality and decency instead of, the world would be so much better.

I am an athiest, but don't be ridiculous. What a way to insight violence and upset half the world. People should be free to beleive what they like.

Yeah, this too! ^

I know right! Rock 'n' roll! 😂

@JustMakingAPoint Gonna smash a couple of deckchairs and crush a few grapes too! 🎸🍇🪑🪑

weird, disrespectful, childish and also does not align with the point you’re trying to make - seems like you’re saying religious ideas should not be tolerated and should be destroyed, rather than any stance on blasphemy laws etc. just seems like you’re trying hard to be edgy and cause offence for the sake of it to be deliberately contrary