This Is What Happens When You Show People The Bible Disguised As The Quran

NEW DELHI: Islamophobia is on the rise across the world, with right-wing anti-Islam parties gaining ground across Europe. In the wake of the Paris attacks last month, articles linking the religion to violence and extremism were passed off as serious analysis. Islam is a fundamentally violent religion -- went the train of thought, with primordial affiliations to religion superseding other factors (economic, social, cultural, and so on). No one cared to remember that all religions are violent when the political ends call for it. The crusades, spurred on by Christianity, was one of the bloodiest periods in human history. Just as militant Islam exists, so does militant Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and even Buddhism.

People blame the Quran -- without ever having read it -- for militant Islam, even though an overwhelming majority of the Muslim world rejects the interpretation of the Quran relied upon by militant groups be it the Islamic State, Al Qaeda or the Tehreek-i-Taliban. Further, people don’t realise that their own religious texts -- the Bible, the Manusmriti, the Mahayana Sutras -- all have elements that discriminate against women or in part seem to condone violence.

This would explain why filmmakers Sacha Harland and Alexander Spoor, producers of the Holland-based YouTube channel Dit Is Normaal, were able to elicit the kind of reaction they were looking for when they replaced the cover of the Bible with that of the Quran and took to the streets. They told people to read highlighted sections of the Bible (people thought they were reading the Quran) and comment on it.

"If you've been raised with this book and these kind of thoughts it's going to influence the way you think," one man said.

Another woman commented, "To me, this sounds like they want to oppress you and force you to believe what they believe."



"Most of our people have experienced the freedom to make their own choices and freedom of speech, and having that freedom allows you to think differently," said another man.

So do you blame Christianity now? I didn’t think so. It’s not the religion, it’s people.