Don't ban it. Expose it. Let people decide for themselves.

Submitted by ghwoodworth (United States), Sep 16, 2007 at 03:02

Concerned European says: "Copies should bear a stamp on the first page with a general statement, namely that all violent verses in this book are only of historical character. Obviously, all copies with radical comments should be banned and destroyed immediately."

"verses inciting violence would be marked in red and have [a] special disclaimer stating that these verses are purely historical and have no relevancy in the modern world"

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WHO says they have no relevancy? On whose religious authority would you claim that they are meaningless today? Yours? Who says they're only "of historical character?" You? Obviously a great many people think they DO have relevancy, and are willing to sacrifice their lives for it. Don't most (or all) Moslems believe that every single word of the Koran is the literal "word of God"? Are you going to tell them that some of God's words don't count -- just because you say so? What if they don't believe you and choose to act on them anyway?

I am against banning the book, or ANY book. Let people read it and decide for themselves. But there's no need to mark the violent parts. Anyone can recognize those parts for themselves. Who needs to be told "Careful now! This passage is violent."?

I disagree that copies with the violent passages should be marked or banned. All the better to let them be exposed. Public exposure is good! Let people read them and see the violence for themselves. They'll make up their own minds. There's no need to treat people like children who can't be allowed to see something.

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