[continued from previous message]   
      
   > While Bible scholars say the Bible is written by men who were inspired by   
   > God, Muslims believe the Koran is "the copy of an original that is sitting   
   > in heaven, and has been sent down [by revelation to Mohammed]."   
   >   
   > The book is seen as something sacred in itself, he explained, its words   
   > having come "directly from Allah. That's why they are so mad when they think   
   > something [unseemly] is being done to the Koran."   
   >   
   > A Muslim will never keep a Koran at ground level, for instance.   
   >   
   > The Pentagon says a January 2003 memo issued to U.S. personnel at Guantanamo   
   > Bay instructed them to "ensure that the Koran is not placed in offensive   
   > areas such as the floor, near the toilet or sink, near the feet, or   
   > dirty/wet areas."   
   >   
   > Even in Western societies, Nalliah noted, copies of Bibles could often be   
   > found in witness boxes of courts, ready for use when witnesses are sworn in.   
   > But the Koran will generally be kept in safe storage elsewhere, covered in   
   > cloth, to be brought in when required by a Muslim witness.   
   >   
   > He said such reverence for the Koran stood in stark contrast to some   
   > Muslims' feelings about the Bible, however.   
   >   
   > Nalliah said the Koran was "confusing" on this score. In places (e.g.: sura   
   > 29:46-47) it appeared to urge Muslims to respect the Bible and those who   
   > believe in it; elsewhere it exhorts them to fight those who don't accept   
   > Islam until they pay tribute and accept inferior status (sura 9:29-31).   
   >   
   > According to author and Islam scholar Robert Spencer, "a devout Muslim might   
   > very well mistreat a Bible, because traditional Islamic theology regards it   
   > as a corrupted and unreliable version of the genuine revelations that were   
   > given to Moses, Jesus, and other Prophets."   
   >   
   > Spencer noted that in sura 9:30 the Koran says those who believe Jesus is   
   > the Son of God are under Allah's curse.   
   >   
   > "Throughout history, most Muslim theologians have held that the New   
   > Testament has been tampered with since it teaches that Jesus is the Son of   
   > God."   
   >   
   > Some of the more notorious reported incidents of Muslims abusing Christian   
   > symbols implicate Palestinian radicals, including the trashing of the Church   
   > of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002; and the desecration of Maronite   
   > churches in Damour, Lebanon in 1976.   
   >   
   > In the Damour episode, Yasser Arafat's PLO killed more than 500 of the   
   > Christian town's inhabitants before turning it into a stronghold, and used   
   > the interior of the St. Elias church for a shooting range, according to   
   > published accounts.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)