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Militant Islam Monitor > Satire > CAIR announces Koran giveaway: Toilet manufacturer introduces Koran- accomodating Islamoflusher

CAIR announces Koran giveaway: Toilet manufacturer introduces Koran- accomodating Islamoflusher

Christians and Jews join Muslims in show of righteous indignation over fake Koran flush story
May 19, 2005

"...We want to turn a negative image into a positive one," said Altaf Ali, the council's Florida director, at a press conference on Wednesday at the Nur-ul-Islam mosque in Cooper City, Florida..."


"...Among those at the mosque (press conference) was Jack Lieberman, a co-chairman of the two-year-old Jewish-Arab Dialogue Association.

"As a member of a religious minority, I'm sensitive to violations of the rights of other minorities," said Lieberman, who is Jewish. "If they can do it to one religious group, it could happen to us..."

http://www.brokennewz.com/displaystory.asp_Q_storyid_E_1250islmaflush

Toilet Manufacturer to Introduce Koran-Accomodating Islamoflusher

Matt Myford 5/19/05

An American toilet manufacturer is currently designing a new model that will "flush the bulkiest of Korans," sources said yesterday.
A spokesman for Krap King, Inc. said the company would have the new "Islamoflusher" model in stores for the spring, when Americans do their most flushing - sacred religious texts included. The new toilet would "help prevent and possibly eliminate" situations like the recent Newsweek story, which reported that American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a Koran down the toilet to "intimidate" suspected terrorists.
"The toilet backed up when the Koran clogged it," said an anonymous Krap King employee.

"A detainee witnessed the whole thing, and...BAM! Next thing you know, there's 17 dead and hundreds injured during anti-American rioting. Our toilet will prevent such incidents. If an interrogator puts a Koran in, that sucker ain't coming back up."

Newsweek has since retracted the story, but Krap King is proceeding nonetheless. "Preventative measures," said an anonymous employee.

"Plus, this is the toilet industry's big chance to shed its aura of obscurity and really make a splash."

The ACLU released a statement denouncing the toilet. "This toilet shall accommodate Talmuds and Bibles," the statement read.

"And we're checking into sacred Hindu and Buddhist texts, too. We will not have the toilet industry marketing their product for the sole purpose of humiliating Muslims."

"We've gone after Big Tobacco and Big Oil before," the statement continued. "There's no reason why we won't confront Big Toilets on this issue."

"If Krap King can make an extra buck by being able to flush all the major religious books,

said another employee, "get ready for our Atheist 4000 model."

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MIM: Midwest rightwingers respond to CAIR's Koran giveaway.

"...Git'cher Korans here! Red hot Korans! Filled with tasty jihad and multiple ways to kill the infidel! Red hot Korans; git'cher Korans here!

CAIR, the American Jihad Lovers group. They protect terrorists, have had a batch of their own people and officers imprisoned form terror ties, and here they are, trying to show their peaceful ways to us "Ig'nant Infidel Amercans."

What a rack of nut sacks..."

http://midwestrightwingers.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_midwestrightwingers_archive.html

Muslim group offers free copies of the Koran

by James Davis Sun Sentinel 5/19/05

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11680559.htm

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (KRT) - An American Muslim organization, reacting to controversy generated by the alleged desecration of the Quran, has offered to give a free copy of the holy book to any American.

The giveaway, which, depending on demand, could go as high as 100,000 copies, comes after a recent Newsweek article alleging that the text was flushed down a toilet, said leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"We want to turn a negative image into a positive one," said Altaf Ali, the council's Florida director, at a press conference on Wednesday at the Nur-ul-Islam mosque in Cooper City, Fla. "America's image is taking a beating, and it's affecting us all, of different faiths."

Those who call the council's national toll-free line, 1-800-78-ISLAM, can get a free copy of the holy book, Ali said. Local Muslim communities around the country will be asked to underwrite the campaign.

Dozens of samples of the English translation of the Quran, hardcover and paperback, were on display at the press conference.

The Quran giveaway followed Newsweek's claim in early May that federal officials at the Guantanamo prison tried to flush a Quran in order to demoralize Muslim inmates suspected of terrorist activities.

The magazine retracted the story Monday, saying the report's unnamed source had retracted his statement; but by then, outrage leading to riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan had claimed 17 lives.

However, the religious leaders noted there have been other reports alleging quranic desecrations for years. Ali said the council wanted a full investigation of the alleged misdeeds at Guantanamo.

"From the Muslim perspective, the Quran is the sacred word of God and should be treated with respect," he said.

The Wednesday press conference also drew allies from Jewish and Christian faiths as a way to "send a message of solidarity," Ali said.

Among those at the mosque was Jack Lieberman, a co-chairman of the two-year-old Jewish-Arab Dialogue Association.

"As a member of a religious minority, I'm sensitive to violations of the rights of other minorities," said Lieberman, who is Jewish. "If they can do it to one religious group, it could happen to us."

Pastor Jeffrey Frantz, of the Miami Lakes Congregational Church, agreed.

"Christians have a concern for reconciliation," he said. "Desecration against one faith is an abomination for all faiths."

Ali said the council also supports a pro-Quran resolution drafted Tuesday by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.

The proposed resolution calls for the House to condemn any U.S. policy that disparages religion. The resolution also "recognizes that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as any other holy book of any religion, should be treated with dignity and respect."

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/11693220.htm

MIM: Jihad through Da'wa

All faiths urged to read the Koran

by Alexandra Alter

Muslim advocacy group is using this week's furor over a retracted Newsweek report on the Koran's alleged desecration to educate the public about how to handle Islam's holy book.

"Within the Islamic text, there is so much respect for people of other faiths," said Altaf Ali, the Florida director of The Council for American-Islamic Relations, which is giving out free copies of the Koran, along with guidelines on its significance. "We hope people of other faiths will utilize this opportunity to get the book and when they read it, they will see the similarities between the three faiths."

The campaign comes after Newsweek on Monday retracted an item saying military investigators had confirmed that a U.S. interrogator at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had flushed a copy of the Koran down the toilet. Violent protests resulted in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries. There were at least 16 deaths. It is unclear how many can be blamed on the Newsweek report.

The protests touched off a nationwide discussion about the treatment of holy Scriptures. Beyond CAIR's campaign, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., drafted a House resolution this week urging that "holy books of every religion should be treated with dignity and respect."

Muslims regard the Koran as the direct word of God, delivered in Arabic to the Prophet Mohammed, Islam's founder, through the Angel Gabriel. Muslims believe Mohammed dictated the Koran's 114 suras, or chapters, to his followers in the seventh century.

Strict Muslims ritually cleanse themselves before even touching the holy book -- an observance that stems from a Koranic verse: "This is indeed a Koran most honorable. It is a book well guided which none shall touch except those who are clean."

Nothing should be placed on top of the Koran, and it shouldn't touch the ground. If it is damaged beyond use, it is disposed of in a respectful way, through burial or burning, said Maulana Shafayat Mohamed, head of the Darul Uloom Institute in Pembroke Pines.

"There is a saying in the hadith that the respect and sacredness that you attach to the Koran can be a means of elevation and prominence for you, and if you disrespect and disregard, it can be a cause of disgrace to you," Mohamed said, referring to Mohammed's oral teachings.

Muslims' reverence toward the Koran mirrors attitudes in other faiths.

Traditional Jews view the Hebrew Scriptures, or Torah, as direct revelation from God to Moses. When the Torah is brought out of the holy ark, the congregation stands out of respect. On the Sabbath and holidays, it is carried through the synagogue during services so that congregants can step forward to kiss it. It's forbidden to touch the pages of the Torah with your hands; even the cantor reads aloud with the help of a pointer, said Rabbi Jory Lang of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami.

"It has to be afforded an enormous amount of respect, not because of the parchment, not because of the ink, but because of the content," Lang said. 'I've been asked on a few occasions by Jews, `Aren't we making an idol of the Torah?' No. We are respecting the content."

If the Torah accidentally falls and touches the ground, the congregation is required to fast for a day or study several pages of Talmud, ancient Jewish legal commentary, said Miami's Rabbi Yitzchak Selmar, a sofer or Torah scribe. Torahs with torn pages or faded letters are no longer considered kosher and are buried in a Jewish graveyard.

Various Christian sects hold divergent views of Scripture -- conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists regard it as God's infallible word, while liberal denominations tend to believe the Bible can be interpreted, said Sam Lamerson, a professor of New Testament at Knox Theological Seminary, an evangelical seminary in Fort Lauderdale.

While there are no rules governing the treatment of Christian Scripture, believers generally handle the book with respect, he said.

"We certainly would never want to see the Scripture mistreated or abused," Lamerson said.

Eastern religious traditions, even those with no central Scripture, often follow strict guidelines for the preservation, treatment and disposal of sacred texts. In Buddhism and Hinduism, for example, religious texts are not supposed to touch the ground and are often wrapped in silk cloth when they are not being used.

Within Hinduism, disposal of religious texts, mantras and images of gods can pose a major problem, particularly when everyday items such as calendars and bags of lentils often come with pictures of deities and sacred Sanskrit words, said Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

"This is a problem across many traditions," she said.

Allegations of religious abuse at Guantánamo prison are not new. The Herald reported in March that captives allege through their lawyers that guards kicked and stomped on Korans and cursed Allah.

"Even the idea of taking the Koran into the bathroom would be very offensive to most Muslims," said Aisha Musa, an assistant professor of religious studies at Florida International University. "The idea that someone would willingly desecrate it is very offensive to them.

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http://www.gopusa.com/mobile/view_page.php?file=news/2005/may/0517_koran_giveaway.txt

Free Korans for the American People
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
May 17, 2005

(CNSNews.com) -- An Islamic civil rights group is launching a Koran giveaway -- a campaign intended to turn a "negative incident into something more positive," it said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations planned to hold a Tuesday morning news conference to discuss details of its campaign to offer free Korans to the American public.

CAIR said its campaign is a direct response to the controversy generated by Newsweek magazine's May 9 article claiming that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a Koran down a toilet in an effort to "rattle" detainees.

Newsweek retracted the anonymously sourced story on Monday, after first admitting that parts of it were wrong.

CAIR said its campaign, called "Explore the Koran," involves the community-sponsored distribution of Islam's revealed text to Americans nationwide.

"It is our belief that greater access to Islam's holy book will help foster a better appreciation and understanding of Islam by ordinary Americans," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Last week, CAIR called on the Bush administration to launch a public probe of the Koran-flushing allegations.

Over the weekend, CAIR held a conference in the Washington area on the causes and remedies of "Islamophobia and anti-Americanism."

CAIR described the conference as a success, with more than 300 people attending.

Speakers included former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim; Amnesty International USA Board Chair Chip Pitts; Gerald Michael Feierstein, director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Regional Affairs, Bureau of Near East Affairs; and Cherif Bassiouni, a law professor at DePaul University.

"It was gratifying to see such genuine interest by participants from across the U.S. in a conference aimed at tackling the complex issues of Islamophobia and anti-Americanism," said Fouad Khatib, CAIR board member.

"We are confident this will enable CAIR to play an active role in formulating positive solutions to check these destructive trends."

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