# Shooting a Quran - Is it a crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697 "2008-05-17T23:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/61 "2008-05-19T18:58:09Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Supposedly, we are guests in their country. Would you go the home of Jewish family and burn a Torah in their living room? Why not? It’s just a book. [/QUOTE] I would not do any of that behavior. But when it was revealed that a Quran was shot, it was not anyone personal property. If it were I would suggest an apology and a new Quran. But if I buy it i can do what I want with it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/62 "2008-05-19T19:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] I would not do any of that behavior. But when it was revealed that a Quran was shot, it was not anyone personal property. If it were I would suggest an apology and a new Quran. But if I buy it i can do what I want with it. [/QUOTE] If you burn a Bible in your Christian hosts’ living room does it make it less rude if you own the Bible? I think you’re missing that the “crime” is probably not the destruction of a book, _per se_, but the likely disobedience of standing orders not to do things like that. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/63 "2008-05-19T19:31:22Z")
It is nobodies living room. We are not guests. We are occupiers. They have lots of reasons to hate us. Shooting a book is a little one. Some people run around looking for affronts. This is an example. We have made many attempts to keep our soldiers under control. It wont happen. As the film showed ,we shot up mosques and blown up schools. If all we did was shoot a Quran ,they could forgive us for what we have done. We should not be there at all. That is our affront. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/64 "2008-05-19T19:38:32Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] It is nobodies living room. We are not guests. We are occupiers. They have lots of reasons to hate us. Shooting a book is a little one. Some people run around looking for affronts. This is an example. We have made many attempts to keep our soldiers under control. It wont happen. As the film showed ,we shot up mosques and blown up schools. If all we did was shoot a Quran ,they could forgive us for what we have done. We should not be there at all. That is our affront. [/QUOTE] All that is true, more or less, but _officially_, we are not “occupiers,” and the state of Iraq is our ally and our host. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/65 "2008-05-19T20:54:52Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] All that is true, more or less, but _officially_, we are not “occupiers,” and the state of Iraq is our ally and our host. [/QUOTE] Well, that is a foolish statement. Occupying conquerers are almost never ‘officially’ occupiers in modern times. Even the Nazi occupation of France & Norway was not an ‘officially’ occupation – they were there with approval of the Vichy & Quisling governments, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/66 "2008-05-19T22:06:17Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Well, that is a foolish statement. Occupying conquerers are almost never ‘officially’ occupiers in modern times. Even the Nazi occupation of France & Norway was not an ‘officially’ occupation – they were there with approval of the Vichy & Quisling governments, respectively. [/QUOTE] Which does nothing to undermine my point, that point being that we are not _admitting_ we are occupiers but operating under a mutual pretense that we are invited guests. Not shooting the local holy books is a necessary part of maintaining that pretense. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/67 "2008-05-19T22:14:25Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] They crank out millions of Qurans every year. Printing presses are very busy making them. They are like the bible, just a book. This is way overblown. We have blown up Mosques . We have used their spires for target practice. If someone used a bible for target practice would it be that big a deal? I say apologize for the affront and move on. [/QUOTE] Not at all analogous from their POV. According to a religious briefing I had a couple weeks ago, the Muslims consider the Quran to be Divine (as opposed to the Bible, which Christians merely considered to be divinely inspired). That’s where a big part of this comes in, it’s considered a completely different degree of blasphemy for them than it would be for us. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/68 "2008-05-19T22:29:09Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] All that is true, more or less, but _officially_, we are not “occupiers,” and the state of Iraq is our ally and our host. [/QUOTE] Does any body believe THAT.? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/69 "2008-05-19T23:03:40Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SDfG0WQyqg&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SDfG0WQyqg&feature=related) This is an affront. Not shooting a book. [/QUOTE] I doubt they blew up a mosque just for kicks. I suspect there is a background to the event that isn’t being told. Muslim insurgents have a long history of using mosques as ammo dumps and military installations. If a band of insurgents is using a mosque for military purposes, it should be destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697/70 "2008-05-20T02:48:39Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Years ago, i saw my late uncle’s US Army handbook (on muslims), which he received as part of the WWII 8th Army. The book went into great detail, about the muslim culture and customs of Nort Africa. It told you exactly how to behave,and told you thr likely results of doing the wrong things. Why can’t the US Army do the same for iraq?. I remember that the book told US soldiers about the king of Morocco-"don’t make jokes about, or insulting remarks of any kind.. I guess the Army prepared its soldiers better back then! [/QUOTE] Though I don’t have any direct knowledge of the cultural training of the 1940s I do know what kind of training is going on now. If I had to guess I would say we now get a hell of a lot more training in cultural awareness and sensitivity. That does not stop individuals from being retarded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-a-quran-is-it-a-crime/449697.md?page=3)