I just knew it was only a matter of time before the usual opportunists crawled out of the woodwork to exploit American oversensitivity to Muslim outrage.
LOS ANGELES – A Muslim woman who said she ordered a Quran through Amazon.com only to find profanity and religious slurs written on its cover page asked Wednesday for an apology and a full investigation by the online retailer.
Azza Basarudin, 30, said she received the Quran by mail on May 5 after ordering it through a used books division of Amazon.com that allows customers to order directly from third-party sellers approved by the company.
When she opened the Quaran, Basarudin said she found profanity and the phrase "Death to all Muslims" written on the inside page in thick black marker. Basarudin, a graduate student in women's studies at UCLA, said she was overwhelmed by fear similar to what she felt after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when her sister and mother were the target of anti-Muslim slurs.
"I dropped the book because I didn't know what to do," she said at a news conference at the Islamic Center of Southern California. "I was paralyzed after 9/11 – I couldn't leave my house for a couple of weeks – and I realized that fear was coming back."
OMG! I am in teh sh0ck! Quick, fetch the vapors before I perish from fear! What's the betting that this hysteric actually wrote that damn slur herself? I'd say it's 99% certain that this is what really happened here.
As bad as this money-hungry cretin's little outburst is, however, it wouldn't be complete without a soundbite from some suitably offended body claiming to speak on behalf of all Muslims:
Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said his organization wants a public apology and investigation from Amazon.com, as well as the firing of those responsible for mailing the desecrated book. He would also like Amazon.com to fund educational programs that foster religious tolerance.
Sure, and no doubt he'd like said programs funded through his little "council" too. Parasites like these are a dime a dozen: what makes me furious is the awareness that there are a large number of stupid or politically motivated people out there who will rush to beat the drums for these bottom-feeders before the media, rather than telling these crybabies to shut up and find more meaningful things to do with their lives instead of demanding money with menaces.
If this is real I think we should side with the woman and not worry to much about the parasites. Though she might be over reacting, I can see why she'd be pissed of and a even a little afraid.
If that was really written in there that is a vile and hateful up thing to do. She could think that if a person bought a Koran just to sell it online to intimidate someone and in a in a not so roundabout way wish for (or threaten) death to a believer what would stop that person from sending her more offensive mail or even come to her house? So there can be serious safety concerns if this is true.
If she fabricated this then she should definitely be prosecuted. Which reminds me of recent case in Marin city where it turned out a lesbian high school student wrote anti-gay graffiti and committed vandalism against herself. I guess she did it for sympathy or to force others to be more tolerant by seeing how nasty hate is. But I'm sure faking your own victimization doesn't help the cause.
Posted by: Malomas | May 19, 2005 at 03:59 AM
You know, I don't know whether to be appalled or impressed that members of a faith as whup-ass as Islam would use the tools of crying victim and claiming psychological trauma as a wedge.
Posted by: Andrew Reeves | May 19, 2005 at 05:09 AM
"If this is real I think we should side with the woman and not worry to much about the parasites."
Even if the book really did come with the insults inscribed in it, so what? If she wanted a pristine copy so badly, she shouldn't have bought a second-hand book online sight unseen. The woman is nothing more than a whiny ambulance chaser at best, and more likely a cynical fraudster.
Posted by: Abiola Lapite | May 19, 2005 at 05:59 AM
"Even if the book really did come with the insults inscribed in it, so what? If she wanted a pristine copy so badly, she shouldn't have bought a second-hand book online sight unseen."
I think that regardless how jacked Islam has been recently' It's not cool to buy something especially if you believe it to be a holy book and have some asshole wish death to you for believing in it and deface it. You see what I mean?
I I buy lots of stuff used I like to save money but I don't think that just because I ordered something that's used I want someone disrepecting me or people like me by writing all over it.
I know what your saying though this is blown out of porportion and does not deserve as much media attention as it recieves except maybe that it's exceptional rare example of racism or religious hate. Amazon is not at fault either the seller should be prosecuted and Amazon does not have to attend some stupid sensitivity class to get some vulture rich. I agree with you I just think you are a little too hard on her if it really happened as she said.
Posted by: Malomas | May 19, 2005 at 08:09 AM
"I think that regardless how jacked Islam has been recently' It's not cool to buy something especially if you believe it to be a holy book and have some asshole wish death to you for believing in it and deface it. You see what I mean?"
Who said it was cool? That's not the point.
"I I buy lots of stuff used I like to save money but I don't think that just because I ordered something that's used I want someone disrepecting me or people like me by writing all over it."
Yeah, like I said I want such a thing for myself ...
" I agree with you I just think you are a little too hard on her if it really happened as she said."
Anyone who decides to mount a soapbox to demand an apology and "a full investigation", merely because some random person amongst the millions of people who buy and sell secondhand books wrote things she finds insulting, is an oversensitive cretin, plain and simple, and that's assuming she's telling the truth, which I find hard to believe considering that the merchants who sold the book said they checked it before shipping. I'm under no obligation to believe every bullshit story I'm fed, especially when the person pushing it could just go out and buy a marker to do the scribbling herself.
Posted by: Abiola Lapite | May 19, 2005 at 08:17 AM
Woildn't your remarks be illegal under Mr Blair's proposed legislation?
Posted by: dearieme | May 19, 2005 at 09:43 AM
All the more reason for me to get them out there while I still can.
Posted by: Abiola Lapite | May 19, 2005 at 09:45 AM
What's so shocking? Every Jew who orders a Koran and opens it finds somewhere inside it a variation on the message "Death to the Jews". I also noted in my post on the subject, at the end of the Reuters version of the story, some more interesting "cult of hate" quotes from the spokespeople.
Posted by: AbbaGav | May 19, 2005 at 04:08 PM
Dang Abiola
I'm trying to discuss this not attack your reasons for having your opinion. I thinks it's wrong if she received a hate message from the person who sold her the koran.That's all. The "parasites" and all that I already agree with.
I just didn't want to rush to judgement.
I've already qualified several times "if this is real.." if "this really happened.." and so forth. I said I agreed with you in principle and I meant it.
I didn't try to twist your words into saying you wanted hateful words on used merchandise. I was writing that in response to your comment that if she wanted a pristine copy she shouldn't buy used.
It's obvious you think this case is full of crap but at the time I'm not ready to say she's a liar. If she is you know how I feel. I din't know that the merchants already checked the book at the time, but now that I do I'm leaning more towards your opinion.
Yeah, I can't write But part of that is that I haven't been writing in english much lately. If your not busy could we correspond by email? Next time in England it would be cool to meet you.
Posted by: Malomas | May 19, 2005 at 11:02 PM
Hey Abiola, to what legislation was dearieme referring?
Posted by: Alek | May 20, 2005 at 12:00 AM
Alek, the British government is proposing to make 'incitement to religious hatred' against the law. As you can imagine, it is being pushed as a sop to Muslim activist groups. It is a particularly disastrous piece of legislation (how can it be illegal to incite people to do something that is perfectly legal?) and will serve, in my own personal opinion, as a gigantic propaganda gift to ultra-nationalist groups like the UKIP and the BNP. I can't see the Muslim groups that are pushing for it being pleased by it, because they want anything that defames Islam or the Mohammed to be criminalized, which is not how it's going to work out. If it ever gets wheeled out, it will probably only be on rare occassions. It's really, really, really stupid.
Posted by: Pearsall | May 20, 2005 at 06:29 AM
I'll have to remember to restrain any possible future drunken brawls to people of my own religion now, as well (if I venture to Britain, of course). I thought this PC craze had died off some already; how can anyone have fun with drinkin' & fightin' nowadays?
Posted by: Alek | May 20, 2005 at 09:10 AM
Muslims.
How do we stop them from spreading? They cannot sustain a viable civilization on their own. Like trematodes and tapeworms they are pathogenic parasites, reproductive machines that will eventually kill their hosts.
Muslims - how do we stop them!
Posted by: Angela | July 09, 2005 at 01:38 AM