Books and Bodies

"Where they begin burning books, they will end with burning bodies."

~ Heinrich Hilne, 1821

I do realize it's been a long time since I did any form of commentaries in here, but every now and then, there is something which infects my view of the world, and forces me to speak my mind.

To start, let's get a few things very clear. To begin, Islamic extremism does exist in the world. Depsite my personal opinions regarding the events of the past ten years, it is not something I would attempt to deny, as the proof is overwhelming. Even dating back as far as the Crusades - no, it's not a new concept to the world. It's just been made more horrible by the advent of technologies newer than the trebuchet.

Second, get over yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. (I address the large numbers of the planet's population who see a follower of Islam and immediately choose to believe he will kill us all.) The number of people involved in 'terrorist actions' is relatively small as compared to the whole. Yes, there are bad people out there. There have always been bad people out there. It's just that now it's a specific minority that's being targeted. Sound familiar?

Third, I am personally getting tired of hearing about the great sacrifices of our troops in the Middle East. In this day and age, there are two types of active military operations on foreign soil: peacekeeping, and occupation. Peacekeeping missions are military operations condoned by the United Nations, whose soldiers are given a blue beret to signify they have done such operations. I personally know a soldier who has done two tours in Afghanistan. He has no blue beret, as the deployment there is not condoned by the United Nations. Therefore it is not a peacekeeping mission. What was the other option again?

Fourth, it is very insulting, in a genealogical sense, to call these people terrorists, when all they have been doing for the last several years is defending their home nation against an occupying force. My own grandfather was a member of the Dutch Resistance during World War II, doing the exact same thing to Nazi Germany that the Afghans and Iraqis are doing to our troops. Yes, I just compared the people that are permitting the continuance of this military action to Hitler - come and get me. (This point also ties in with my second point, should you wish a refresher.)

Now, have crimes been committed against our allies? I will not deny that. But where did it start? In 1989, Texan Congressman Charles Wilson completed a covert operation with the help of Israel and Egypt to oust the Soviet Army from Afghanistan. A total of $500 million dollars was spent on this, matched by Saudi Arabia. When the job was done, he further asked for a scant few million dollars, less than one percent of the operation's budget and cost, to help build schools and hospitals so Afghanistan could get back on its feet. And he received nothing. In the ensuing power vacuum in Afghanistan, the Taliban, which had no knowledge of America's initial assistance, seized control, believing no one else would help. And so it began.

So, in the end, America made an enemy which was willing to bide its time until it could strike with the furies of Hell. But, as we all know, no story truly ends. Because we stand four days away from the next insult being driven home, an event which leads me, compels me, to write.

On the ninth anniversary of the 11 September attacks, a Florida preacher named Terry Jones, leader of the Dove World Outreach Centre, a controversial church of fifty members, is intending to light up the night sky of Gainesville, Florida. The fuel to the fire: stacks upon stacks of the Qu'ran, the holy book of Islam. Now, book burnings have happened before, and even in our lifetime. Copies of J. K. Rowling's near-legendary 'Harry Potter' series were burned in 2003. In the same year, Iraq's national library was burned to the ground. The library held rare and unique books dating back as far as the 16th century. It also housed one of the oldest known copies of the Qu'ran, which dated back even further.

Depressingly, even Canada has its name on the list of countries touched by this deplorable scenario. In the 1990's, congregants of a church in Grande Cache, Alberta burned books they believed were contrary to the Word of God. Oddly enough, whether coincidence or otherwise, various sects of Christianity also appear on the same list numerous times. I leave that point for you to decide upon.

Book burnings have long since been the purview of extremist sects and fundamentalist groups. To look over the lists of known book burnings throughout history, I can't help but notice one devastating fact: many such incidents were carried out by many groups long-since known to have dabbled in oppression, persecution, and torture of others. Everyone from Stalin to Hitler, from Mao Zedong to the Catholic church and the Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python fans, remain silent) have taken part in this ritual for as long as books have existed. So, when our society and civilization burn books from a culture that is, for the massive percentage of their demographic, an extremely peaceful group of people, what does that say about the rest of us?