www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Quran Burning

That is the one. I guess I thought that I read that he was Muslim, and upon checking have only really seen it said by some website that he may have preferred that religion, but belonged to neither. Where, I got the idea that he was Arab may be a confusion with another poet that I learned about at around the same time. I think I knew that Rilke wrote in German and the poetry he wrote that first got my attention was called the Book of Hours, after all. I think the person who I may have been confusing his history with was the Persian Rumi, who I don't own any works by but have looked in to a little. hanks for the clarification.

Making a public spectacle out of burning books is distasteful, and calls to mind abuses that have been perpetrated upon us. If various sorts of religious believers, political groups, and whatever else, should shove their unwelcome propaganda through our doorways we can easily get rid of it without having a "demonstration".

As to the Qu'ran a solution occurs to me - assuming that someone has wished one or more copies upon us. Take them to the nearest mosque and return them, saying that you did not want them to go to waste or risk mistreatment. Obviously, the Moslems can scarcely be offended by that response, but if time they will grasp that they should not leave a copy of the Qu'uran at your door!

Meanwhile, to the surprise of many people, I'm at least somewhat appreciative of the Moslems in Ireland, because they are printing an Irish translation of the Qu'uran. When I am challenged as to why I have the booklet for the Divine Liturgy in both Ukrainian and Irish, it is quite pleasant to smile politely, point out that the Moslems are printing the Qu'uran in Irish, and is the questioner really suggesting that the Moslems may use Irish but the Christians may not? A few doses of that treatment stops the anti-Irish language tripe like a turned-off faucet!

Fr. Serge