TWO Muslim students have been expelled from an Islamic school in Melbourne for urinating and spitting on a Bible and setting it on fire.
The explosive incident has forced the East Preston Islamic College to call in a senior imam to tell its 650 Muslim students that the Bible and Christianity must be respected.
"Explosive"? What had those boys been drinking?!
And why is this front page news? Why "must" the Bible and Christianity (or any religion/religious book for that matter) be particularly "respected"?
I have respect for many people of faith - I have at least a basic level of respect for pretty much everyone - but I don't see why I "must" respect someone's religion (what, no matter how bizarre?) or a person just because they're a person of faith, any more than I "must" respect people who are obsessed with steam engines.
And what the hell is this - ?
The Bible desecration comes at a time of heightened tension...
"Desecration"? The writer, Cameron Stewart, is referring to the words of the head of the school, but here he isn't using quote marks. It's gone from being the quoted person's expression to being an editorial line. Apparently burning a bible is blasphemy to News Ltd. (But imagine them using the word "desecration" - without quotation marks - regarding the destruction of, say, a copy of the koran.)
Frankly, I couldn't care less if someone wants to burn or urinate on their own copy of the bible, in exactly the same was as I couldn't care less if they wanted to do the same to their copy of the koran, or a national flag, or the Lord of the Rings. I hate to point out the obvious, but it's just a thing. I could understand if it were a unique object (it'd be a bit rough if I were wealthy enough to purchase the Shroud of Turin and then proceeded to blow my nose on it, for example), but if it's just something mass-produced, then why should someone else's religion dictate what I can do with my own property?
If I go out and buy a bible in order to take it home and wipe my backside on it tonight, should I let The Australian know? Would that be front page news? If I were a Muslim, would it be front page news?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a copy of yesterday's Australian to take with me to the bathroom...
