There are a lot of commotions recently about the desecration of Koran by the American Soldiers at Guantanamo Bay detention center. Although I do not care for any detention centers whether in America or any place else for that matter and also don’t think it is a good idea to destroy any book, I don’t understand the reaction of so many Muslims to these events. Was it worth the loss of seventeen lives over such an act of so-called desecration? After all it was not a Koran written by the prophet himself. It was a Koran printed by the infidels, on infidel’s paper, quite possibly using an infidel computer and infidel print shop and infidel workers.

What is so important about some Arabic statement that makes ordinary and common 20 lbs. paper into the word of Allah? Koran is just a book, like every other book. Why does this book have to be treated so differently than any other book? There are no restrictions on handling of Bible or Old Testament, why should there be so many restrictions on handling the Koran?

When I was growing up in Iran I never understood why my parents had to perform ablution, kiss and hold the Koran with both hands in order to just move the book from the mantel over the table during the New Year festivities as part of the Nourooz celebration¹s set-up. No wonder I never saw them reading the book. Who wants to take a shower every time one wants to open a book? Especially in dry countries in the Middle East.

In his book, The Little Green Book, Sayings of Ayathollah Khomeini, Political, Philosophical, Social and Religious with a special introduction by Clive Irving, ISBN 0-553-14032-9, he describes the handling of Koran as follows:

"It is forbidden to touch a page of the Koran with anything impure, it is forbidden to place blood or bones on the Koran, it is forbidden to write out verses of Koran with impure ink. One must avoid giving the Koran to infidel.

Khomeini even recommends that the Koran be taken away from infidels by force. He also states that if a page of Koran falls into a toilet, it is absolutely indispensable to withdraw it from there, even if this should prove costly. In case this is impossible, such a toilet must never be used again until it has been ascertained that the paper has rotted away."

I wonder if Khomeini or any other fanatic Muslims ever stopped by the print shop where a Koran is being printed. What Khomeini has said may have been applicable to the first Koran generated by the Automan in the latter part of the 7th Century long after the prophet had passed away, when the medium used was not paper but animal skin. Even if it was the animal skin a human life must worth a lot more than a book.

Why does a piece of paper become so important because some Arabic words have been written on it? The problem we are facing is due to ignorance of some of the Muslims living in countries such as Pakistan. The country with the most Madressas established and paid for by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. When we lock up boys in rooms for ten or fifteen years just so that they can read and memorize an Arabic book they have no knowledge of, what else is the result other than what we witnessed couple of weeks ago following the desecration of a book. Seventeen people lost their lives because some infidel American kicked the book and flushed it down the toilet. What a pity!