Mentally unstable homeless man killed for burning koran in Pakistan

[Kuya]

A mentally unstable homeless man was beaten to death before his body was set on fire for allegedly burning pages from the Quran in central Pakistan, police said.

A 2,000-person group snatched the man from a police station in a village on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur, 100km south of Multan, after officials refused to hand him over on Tuesday.

Ghulam Mohiuddin, a local police chief, said Ghulam Abbas, in his early forties, was taken into custody after people said they caught him burning pages of the Muslim holy book.

"After some time, more than 2,000 people surrounded the police station and asked the police to hand over the man to them, and upon refusal they ransacked the police station and took the accused with them," Mohiuddin told the AFP news agency.

"The protesters also set fire to several motorcycles and vehicles parked in the police station and damaged the quarters of police officials. Later they took away Ghulam Abbas to a main crossing, beat him to death and set his body on fire."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2...028355807.html

Preaching to the choir, but this is where we would be, if it weren't for the secular concepts of freedom of religion, secular government, and freedom to criticize even religious institutions. Never forget that the reason why stuff like this rarely happens in places like America is not because Christianity is more civilized than Islam, but rather, stuff like this does not happen in places like America because of secular people who believe no single religion should have the power to rule all our lives like it were the middle ages.

It's not about barbaric Islam vs. civilized Christianity, but civilized secularism vs. barbaric theism, and the best way to start is to keep your local zealots in check. The less power the religious right has in any society, the better off it will be. Unless you want stuff like this to happen.

[Ashmada]

3 nitpicks I have:

1. Where we "would be"? Were we were (and indeed still would be)! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be around between the 3rd and 18th centuries.

2. Barbaric monotheisms. You're quite unlikely to get slaughtered in the name of Vishnu, Jovis or Loki.

3. America is that way, albeit to a lesser extent. Abortion doctors getting murdered, rights being denied to all deemed unclean (women, gays, atheists, ...) and so forth.


Scary thing is... it's on the rise. The 21st Century seems to be the one where we collectively undo the Enlightenment.
Quite a bit early to talk of a second Dark Age but it doesn't look good on a global scale.

[ringthree]

3 nitpicks I have:

1. Where we "would be"? Were we were (and indeed still would be)! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be around between the 3rd and 18th centuries.

2. Barbaric monotheisms. You're quite unlikely to get slaughtered in the name of Vishnu, Jovis or Loki.

3. America is that way, albeit to a lesser extent. Abortion doctors getting murdered, rights being denied to all deemed unclean (women, gays, atheists, ...) and so forth.


Scary thing is... it's on the rise. The 21st Century seems to be the one where we collectively undo the Enlightenment.
Quite a bit early to talk of a second Dark Age but it doesn't look good on a global scale.

Just a nitpick of your nitpick, but Buddhist (in Southeast Asia) have a pretty bloody past.

[AidenCarby]

Pretty sure it's been established that Hodgis are savages. This is nothing new, I'm just waiting for some retarded group tries to make a martyr out of the guy who shat himself in a jail cell. Fucking Liberty

[archibaldcrane]

I'm sure if you went around burning bibles in the 1830s, there may well be a group of people bumrushing the local sheriff's office to have your head.

And just think, we were way more advanced in the 1830s than modern-day Pakistan.*

*not intended to be a factual statement

[archibaldcrane]

Also, shouldn't have been burning a koran in a war zone.

[Bladen]

3 nitpicks I have:

2. Barbaric monotheisms. You're quite unlikely to get slaughtered in the name of Vishnu, Jovis or Loki.

Nitpicking further. Hindus and Muslims of India have been killing/fighting each other for years. Don't know if the Hindu people are killing in the "name of Vishnu" though.

[Xno Kappa]

Wow, that's a sad story.

[Ashmada]

Nitpicking further. Hindus and Muslims of India have been killing/fighting each other for years. Don't know if the Hindu people are killing in the "name of Vishnu" though.

A long time ago (11th century), one side invaded and started making offers the other side couldn't refuse*, the other defended itself. The grudge has lasted through the ages. I'll let you guess which is which.


*"convert or die", if I need to spell it out.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

To be fair the other side was collateral damages. Main purpose were nobles trying to do some population control what with every other incest baby having claim to a half dozen fiefdoms.

[Dimmauk]

The protesters also set fire to several motorcycles and vehicles parked in the police station

WTF?! Shouldnt have been parked in a warzone.

[Churchill]

Pretty sure it's been established that Hodgis are savages. This is nothing new, I'm just waiting for some retarded group tries to make a martyr out of the guy who shat himself in a jail cell. Fucking Liberty

I'm actually offended you didn't even spell Hajji's correctly or further, that it's technically a sign of respect - unless of course they haven't done the Hajj, in which case it's disrespectful.

[mightyg]

3 nitpicks I have:

2. Barbaric monotheisms. You're quite unlikely to get slaughtered in the name of Vishnu, Jovis or Loki.

Loki? Really? Vikings were pacifists yo. I'm sure no one died in the name of Zeus...wait...Athena....no...hmmm fuck it.

[Lucavi]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2...028355807.html

It's not about barbaric Islam vs. civilized Christianity, but civilized secularism vs. barbaric theism, and the best way to start is to keep your local zealots in check. The less power the religious right has in any society, the better off it will be. Unless you want stuff like this to happen.

Roll down to Alabama where the cool whites are having their cool whites only christian party and burn a few bibles outside of it and see what happens. You can talk big about how "far we've come" or whatever, but you're a fool if you think that Christians won't burn someone alive for defacing their precious text.

Stupid is as stupid does. No more. No less.

[AidenCarby]

I'm actually offended you didn't even spell Hajji's correctly or further, that it's technically a sign of respect - unless of course they haven't done the Hajj, in which case it's disrespectful.

Straight disrespect son.

[Dimmauk]

I thought you were talking about sandwiches.

[Kuya]

Roll down to Alabama where the cool whites are having their cool whites only christian party and burn a few bibles outside of it and see what happens. You can talk big about how "far we've come" or whatever, but you're a fool if you think that Christians won't burn someone alive for defacing their precious text.

Stupid is as stupid does. No more. No less.

I don't care. My point is that christianity ain't any more enlightened than islam because they're both religions, and any civility on either side is not because of religion, but because of secularism.

[Ashmada]

Loki? Really? Vikings were pacifists yo. I'm sure no one died in the name of Zeus...wait...Athena....no...hmmm fuck it.

Topic wasn't about wars. Especially non-religious wars or raids. Viking wars or raids weren't about proselytism, they were about land and riches.

Topic was about tolerance of blasphemy and/or unbelief, and the average Bjorn didn't particularly care whether the average Erik believed in the gods.

Antique Greece/Rome... tbh, many of the patricians didn't actually believe in the gods or paid them little attention (you'd be surprised how free of religion Roman politics were - it wasn't "the gods would want this" or "the gods would want that, it's in the myth of X" but "that'd be good for the glory of the city", "is we can raze Carthage nao?" or "that'd fill our coffers") and most of the plebs were more concerned about their "family gods" (their Lares) than the pantheon.

[mightyg]

Go back in time and tell some viking that he's an idiot for thinking a Valkyrie is gonna bring him to Valhalla. I'm sure he'll agree to disagree with you and totally not split your skull open. All religion goes beyond what you can reasonably know as a human being, and there will always be idiots who think they're acting in their god/gods behalf when they commit heinous acts against other people.

[hey]

Go back in time and tell some viking that he's an idiot for thinking a Valkyrie is gonna bring him to Valhalla.

No shit, you just called him an idiot. You don't go around insulting vikings if you don't want your skull split open.