Burning Korans is never out of the news for very long. Most recently, rioters in Afghanistan killed 12 people after four Korans were burned by the U.S. military because imprisoned terrorists were using them to exchange clandestine messages. That’s three people per Koran. Before that, Pastor Terry Jones decided to burn a Koran for reasons never satisfactorily explained and we have enjoyed a few Burn the Koran days since then.

The Koran is Islam’s “holy book”. What does that mean? Islam’s claim is that the words of the Koran are Allah’s words: it is holy – sublime and pure – because it contains God’s words. Of course, if it doesn’t contain God’s words, it isn’t holy at all: it is a vile deception which contrives to lead those who read it into confusion and perdition – burning is too good for it. As a Christian, I am inclined to the latter view. There may be a middle ground between these extremes, but I suspect not.

We are frequently enjoined to respect Islam; as a Christian, I feel beholden to respect Muslims since they, like everyone else, are made in God’s image. I can’t see much reason to respect the transparently arrant nonsense that is Islam, though.

So, if Islam is not true and the Koran is not holy, there is no more reason to avoid burning it than to avoid burning the Tropic of Cancer and Muslims really should grow up and stop being so over-sensitive. Many won’t, though and that’s why most people would prefer to stick a firecracker up a bull’s nose than burn a Koran.

Nevertheless, occasionally Korans are burned; why?

Sometimes it is accidental; that was probably the case for the latest conflagration in Afghanistan. Its being an accident didn’t lessen the fury of those who were waiting patiently for an excuse – any excuse – to riot, shoot guns in the air, scream, burn flags and murder people.

Sometimes it is an expression of contempt for Islam. That appears to be the case for both Terry Jones and the Burn the Koran crowd. Since Christians are supposed to draw people to Christ through their words and example, it’s difficult to see why a Christian would view burning the Koran as anything but counter-productive to his primary calling. Even burning the Origin of Species to irritate an atheist, although tempting, is something Christians should avoid. Especially during Lent.

A secularist burning a Koran to demonstrate his contempt for all it represents doesn’t seem to me to be such a bad way to exercise freedom of expression, especially since the pyromaniac would be demonstrating the virtue of bravery (or possibly the vice of stupidity) by doing it in the full knowledge that his days of incendiary exploits were likely to be summarily curtailed by those he seeks to enlighten.

To come back to Afghanistan: the latest incidents have persuaded me that, worthy though the attempt to introduce civilisation to barbarism may be, the West no longer has the stomach to exert the force necessary to bring the effort to fruition. Without that, it’s all a tragic waste.