I was talking to my colleagues in Kabul the other day. They are in effect ‘confined to barracks’, unable to travel around town right now. Why? Because some idiot – the word is used advisedly, but I can’t think of another one right now – decided to get rid of some copies of the Holy Koran by burning them.
In Afghanistan. You have to shake your head.
I am sure that there was a perceived reason for removing the literature from the library. Perhaps the texts had been altered and were being used as a means of sending messages. Perhaps any number of things were suspected. But that’s not the point.
In all societies which follow an organized religion, there is a Holy Book. This may be a Bible, a Torah, a Koran. No matter which path you might follow as an individual, surely respect for ‘other’ is a key component.
J. Tim Goddard, PhD 