In February the burning of Korans by US military sparked nationwide rioting in Afghanistan during which over three dozen people were killed. On March 11, a US soldier walked into a sleeping Afghan village and murdered 16 people in their homes before setting fire to the bodies. Many of the victims were women and children. The US braced for more rioting, but nothing happened.
what eye thynk: The burning of the Korans was an incredibly stupid, costly and completely avoidable mistake; but, in the end, it was only paper that was burned. Outrage over our lack of respect I could understand, but not the killing of some thirty of their own over books that could be easily duplicated and replaced. We didn’t destroy God, we destroyed pressed wood pulp decorated with ink.
Yet, when sixteen lives were taken, there was no rioting, no call for reprisals. There was sadness and outrage but even that seemed muted. Abdul Rahim Shah Ghaa, a religious leader in Afghanistan, explained it this way: “But it was only sixteen people. Even if it were one thousand people, it wouldn’t compare to harming one word of the Koran”.
I will never understand a culture that values paper over human life. I find it hard to even respect it.
allow me to be the devil's advocate (an irony not lost on many I'm sure) but I doubt there are an equal number of people in the Muslem faith who can not understand, or respect, your thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteThe best we can hope for in such matters is to know and accept that we are different peoples.
Like you, I find it impossible to take in their concept of what is vaulable (life) and what isn't. But we are who we are.
An intersting point. In the 60s and 70s, young people in this country burned the American flag in protest. As outrageous as this act may seem, it is protected under freedome of expression. I first thought that it is a flag. It is colored material sewn together to form a specific pattern. Then I thought of this material as something that is representative of my country. Having just been discharged from the service, I took great offense at this act. But was offended further when the supreme court ruled is as freedom of speech. I am still offended at the burning of our flag, considering the number of people who died for it to allow us the freedom to fly it, but when it comes down to it, it is a piece of colored material. I would not engage in a riot to protest burning the glas, but would protest the murder of innocent people, no matter how many people there are. In 1968, William Calley and his men killed between 60 and 70 civilians. As I stated in an earlier blog, this army sgt was in his fourth tour between Iraq and Afghanistan. Its hard enough to do one year let alone four. Something inside him just snapped and soon, 16 civilians were dead. In 1968, it was right after the TET offensive and soldiers, mostly kids, were experiencing tension like they had never seen in their lives. They were way too edgy to be around an enemy, or any person who was not american. It was up to Calley to restrain and control his men. Rather that do that, he ordered civilians to be murdered. If there were any protests when that happened, I would have joined. But there were none. This act was too unbelievable. As Americans, we valued life too much to do something like that. We were the good guys. And in the case of 16 Afghan civilians, apparently we are not.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that our culture seems to put more value upon the symbols of our country than on the physical environment, infrastructure, life support systems the and actual live individuals that our country is really composed of. I have repeatedly observed politicians and religious "leaders" wrapping themselves in the flag and holding up their books while declaring the righteousness of war and condemning innocent people to death and dismemberment and madness, and our world to ruin. I don't understand the fixation on symbols, but it seems to be a strange and self destructive factor of humankind, not just that of any one culture or religion.
ReplyDeleteRemember too, that this is a country that's been occupied and under siege by one super power or another for 30 years, and have been embroiled in internal tribal conflict since well before America was founded. They're a bit desensitized to physical violence to say the least. They look to the Koran for the only peace they've ever known.
ReplyDeleteCut em' a break.