Liam redux

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Where they burn books, they will also burn people

A bunch of demented far right Islamophobes calling themselves the “Dove World Outreach Center” have taken the rampant anti-Muslim rhetoric so prevalent now in the United States and Europe to a Hitleresque extreme. They plan to mark the anniversary of September 11th by having a bonfire of Korans. Even the notably illiberal NATO has come…

Liam
1–2 minutes

image A bunch of demented far right Islamophobes calling themselves the “Dove World Outreach Center” have taken the rampant anti-Muslim rhetoric so prevalent now in the United States and Europe to a Hitleresque extreme. They plan to mark the anniversary of September 11th by having a bonfire of Korans.

Even the notably illiberal NATO has come out against the idea even though not so long ago American troops provoked prisoners by desecrating the book.

Any buffoon, except for those involved in this wacky cult, can work out that the reaction to this provocation will result in some people getting killed, most likely a few Belgian tourists in Egypt who had never heard of the Dove World Outreach Center and probably despise everything it stands for.

As some of the less welcome visitors to this site have demonstrated aggressive Islamophobia is not solely the prerogative of extreme Christian fundamentalist right-wingers. However it is the hard right from the English Defence League to Sarah Palin who are exploiting this issue and have made big gains from it in terms of support and profile. The ambivalence of much liberal and leftish opinion on the subject has helped them.

It’s only a matter of time before some boneheads on this side of the Atlantic try and organise a similar outrageous stunt under the pretext of defending “English values” or some such nonsense. We might not like everything in it or some conclusions it’s used to justify but when that moment comes we have to defend the Koran.

18 responses to “Where they burn books, they will also burn people”

  1. Phil Avatar
    Phil

    This chimes with something I wrote somewhere else –

    I’m coming to the conclusion that you can formulate a general rule about left oppositionalism. Let X stand for an ideology or social movement which is consistently denounced by the Right. If you’re on the Left and oppose X, you will sooner or later end up lining up with either (a) defenders of X or (b) the Right. Works for Communism (I was a big anti-Communist way back when, until I realised I was an even bigger anti-anti-Communist); works for Leninism; seems to work for Islamism.

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  2. daveinstokenewington Avatar
    daveinstokenewington

    So what are you advocating, Liam? State ban?

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  3. skidmarx Avatar
    skidmarx

    Sarah Palin seems to be keeping her gob shut on this one.

    Not impressed with his claim to be only concerned with radical Islam when he has this sign on his lawn, and dresses his 10-year old daughter in a T-Shirt with the same message.

    So far from his work on The Barbarians.

    Phil – it is tempting when the Right ague by false counterposition to say “Yeah, I’ll defend whatever you don’t like as you’re such shits”, but going too far that way did leave a lot of the left defending Stalinism.

    dave – how about cooking the Pastor until he’s al dente?{yes I know, where people are burned later books will be, so maybe not].

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  4. bristolred Avatar
    bristolred

    “Defend the Koran” eh? That strikes me as rather bizarre Liam.

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  5. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Bristol – let’s try this for an analogy.

    In 1970 a loyalist mob tried to launch a pogrom against a small Catholic area in Belfast. The focus of their attack was St Matthew’s Church which was defended by a unit of the IRA. They were right to do so and you don’t have to be sympathetic to the teachings of the Catholic church to endorse that view.

    I think a similar situation applies here. If a group of militant right wingers tries to burn the Koran as a racist provocation it’s right to stop them with large counter mobilisations (not state bans).

    Palin hasn’t said anything about this. That rather suggests tacit support or at least a concern about alienating some of her base.

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  6. bristolred Avatar
    bristolred

    It’s a strange analogy. Burning a book isn’t the same as launching a pogrom.

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  7. Jason Avatar
    Jason

    I think Liam’s right. We should oppose racist hate mongers by large militant demonstrations prepared to defend Muslims or any other oppressed group against racist attack.

    It’s nothing to do with supporting religious ideas but to do with opposing racism.

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  8. alf Avatar
    alf

    When the far right, Geerrt Wilder etc are using this to stir up racism and deliberatly initiate Islamaphobic provocations, anti-racists must be clear in defending democratic rights, including religious rights.

    TheRussian pogroms were initiated using the scare of anti-semitic tracts perpetuating racist myths that resulted in deaths and destruction. It was turned on and off like a tap, to suit the needs of the ruling class in offsetting opposition to the Czar and ruling class.

    We have a duty to support and mobilise to defend the Muslim community when under attack, just as we would with any group or we fail to meet our responsabilities as Socialists. Liam and Jason are absolutely correct on this.

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  9. shug Avatar
    shug

    Seen this fundamentalist header on the tv the other night.In his office is a pile of Korans, that he is intending to burn,on his desk were papers and a pistol,didin!t see a bible though.
    When told that the President and the General in control of Iraq, had said that he should not do this that the result would be world wide condemnation and possible harm,he commented that Islam is evil.

    Should have been looking in the mirror on that reply.What a ideological blinded fuck wit.

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  10. prianikoff Avatar
    prianikoff

    The notion that burning books is anything to do with “freedom of expression” is bizarre.
    No it’s not! It’s an expression of bigotry, intolerance and hatred.
    In this case, by a dufus preacher who doesn’t deserve the world-wide publicity he’s been given.
    35 years ago he would have been wearing a hood and burning crosses on the lawn.

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  11. ID Avatar
    ID

    Yes, socialists should defend the Qur’an against this kind of provocative stunt that is aimed at deepening religious and racist antagonism.

    Its completely obvious – just as if someone was burning the Talmud to demonstrate their hatred for Jews.

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  12. bristolred Avatar
    bristolred

    I was simply commenting on the notion of a ‘Defend the Koran’ slogan, which I find bizarre. As for organising to oppose anti-Islamic bigotry – no disagreement (how could there be?). Still, if people want to set up straw men to tilt at, far be it from me to impugn a popular and time-honoured pastime…

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  13. Mark Victorystooge Avatar
    Mark Victorystooge

    Sometimes, esp. in occupied Poland, the Nazis would line Jews up and compel them at gunpoint to spit on the Torah or other holy books. In that case, yes, socialists would have “defended the Torah”.

    It was something of a fascist ritual – KPD detainees in 1933 would be made to spit on red flags, pictures of Lenin or other Communist symbols, and beaten or killed if they didn’t.

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  14. daveinstokenewington Avatar
    daveinstokenewington

    What concrete step do commenters think should be taken?

    Should the Gainesville, Fla, comrades organise physically to prevent the incineration?

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  15. Jason Avatar
    Jason

    The premise of the article, as I read it at least, is that it is far from impossible that such actions might take place here and if they did as part of a larger racist provocation then I think it is right to have a counter-demonstration at the very least especially if the event is used by fascists.

    If fascists are involved then it would be absolutely right to not only counter-demonstrate but to use the mass demonstration to stop them precisely because we know that fascists don’t limit themselves to flag-waving, slogans or symbolic actions but use their events to launch or try to launch attacks on Black and immigrant workers and others.

    If it’s a fringe racist group not associated with fascism then that may well be a different proposition. It wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to hold a counter-demonstration but it would be a tactical question to be decided by Asian communities, labour movement etc.

    I wouldn’t put forward or support ‘Defend the Koran’ or ‘Defend the Torah’ as a slogan to my union or local anti-fascist group (though of course would take united front action with groups who do so .e.g. local Muslims) but more general slogans such as no to bigotry, against racism, fascism etc.

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  16. shug Avatar
    shug

    Im a Muslim,and i am european.

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  17. prianikoff Avatar
    prianikoff

    “We might not like everything in it or some conclusions it’s used to justify but when that moment comes we have to defend the Koran.”

    Against being desecrated by racist bigots, absolutely.

    But we’d also want to defend the right to subject any religious text to rational criticism. There can be no blurring of lines on that question.

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  18. prianikoff Avatar
    prianikoff

    “Germany’s leading Jewish group, the Central Council of Jews, has condemned Terry Jones’ plans to burn the Koran. In a statement issued Wednesday, the organization’s president, Charlotte Knobloch, said the idea was “terrible and repulsive” and that it reminded her of the Nazis’ infamous book-burning in 1933. “Where they burn books, they will end up burning people,” she said, quoting the 19th-century German author Heinrich Heine.”
    for Jones previous history in Germany see:-
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,716409,00.html

    Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign minister scents yet another “Zionist plot”:-

    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-09/09/c_13487539.htm

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