I am often surprised (despite prior cases of religious lunacy) of how self-described religious people can commit the most heinous and unjustified acts of violence in the name of faith. We have seen a series of riots and murders committed by Muslims after word has spread of the desecration of a Koran (Quran). The latest riot however is truly one for the books in sheer insanity. A rumor spread in Quetta, Pakistan that a crate of pomegranates from Iran contains some pages ripped from a Koran. As a result, Muslims went on a rampage looking for Shiites to kill. The mob ended up killed one man and wounded three others and torching neighborhoods to get right with Allah.

What is truly bizarre is that the subtle difference between Sunni and Shia is not a varying respect for the Koran. However, even a rumor can unleash the pent up hatred between these branches of Islam. So paper filler used in a pomegranate case is enough to launch lethal riots. Only a police line stopped the mob from wiping out a community of Shia in Pakistan.

The Koran is often used as a weapon against minorities, as was the case recently when Pakistani police arrested a doctor for reading from the Koran as committing the crime of “posing as a Muslim.”

Source: Newsweek