Herald Column: On the Burning (and Reading) of Qur'ans

This week's Calgary Herald column from yours truly compares and contrasts the planned (but never excuted) burning of Qur'ans by Florida pastor Terry Jones, and the "Read a Qur'an" event organized by Calgary imam Syed Soharwardy:

 

...Of course, given the dark history of book burning by past authorities, it strikes me as alarming that a 21st century church -- albeit an obscure one -- would choose such a way of making a point.
And while the burning of a book is -- or ought to be -- a protected form of expression, doing so is in fact an insult to that very freedom.
It was the impulse of censorship which drove centuries of book-burning. The masses were to be prevented from reading the condemned material and sufficiently intimidated from publicly expressing such ideas in the future.
While modern-day book burners may have less sinister motivations, the sinister overtones remain. Clearly then, in the face of a planned book-burning, an event calling for that same book to be read is an effective counter.
However, the organizers of "Read a Qur'an Day" seem to be expecting the reader to reach a certain conclusion as to the book's interpretation. It is therefore a risky gambit on their part.
The debate over how to correctly interpret the Qur'an has been raging for centuries, how could a first-time reader walk away with a concise understanding of its meaning?
There is but one Qur'an and its verses have been used to justify both terrible acts of oppression and violence -- including 9/11 itself -- and acts of great charity and compassion. Soharwardy obviously has his own interpretation, as he described his event as being about "showing people the Qur'an is not a book of violence."
But there are many verses in the Qur'an which appear to be exhortations to violence. Soharwardy would surely have instructions on how to interpret such verses, but it is not "Read a Qur'an with Syed Soharwardy Day."
Moreover, it's really not about convincing non-Muslims that the Qur'an is "not a book of violence" -- it's about convincing those radical Muslims who believe it is.
It's possible the extremists are the ones with the "correct" interpretation, but that doesn't mean we can't hope and expect that a modern, moderate Islam prevails.
There is one additional reason Soharwardy himself should be wary of the invitation he's extended: how could a book open to such considerable differences in interpretation possibly be God's final set of instructions to humanity?
The danger of asking people to read the Qur'an is that it might generate skepticism more than anything else.
Skepticism, though, leads one away from automatic veneration, and there are those who believe that religious views should be granted automatic and unconditional "respect". All that should be asked of people is that they have an open mind.
Therefore, what's really needed is not burning and not simplistic glorification of religious texts, but rather critical analysis and examination. Both Pastor Jones' event and Imam Soharwardy's event are obstacles to that end.