I myself know very little of the Qur'an, having never read it or indeed seen it. Actually, I may have once held it in my hands but only because I was thinking 'Ooh, the Qur'an, I really should read this sometime.' But a mate told me (thereby making it fact) that it's quite a contrdictory text in that some parts can be seen as talking about everyone living together in paradise, whilst others talk about the glory in converting unbelievers and waging holy wars. There may not be a direct part saying that but there must be something in there that these terrorist leaders can use to rally people to their Jihads.

It's not as if the Qur'an is unique in this sense, the Bible has got to be one of the most bizarre books to look to if you want tips on how to live your life. I had the wonderful experience last week of browsing through the Book of Leviticus. I feel sorry for fundamentalist Christians who follow the word of the Bible literally. Everytime a man emits a bodily discharge he's unclean until he takes two doves or young pigeons to the Tent of the Lord and gives them to a priest to sacrifice. Not to mention women on their periods. It's also the book that gives the law saying sleeping with another man is wrong whilst on the same page stating that a man cannot wear clothes woven from two different cloths. A Holy Book offering fashion advice? Sounds a little bit gay... But you've got to give these fundamentalists some credit, these are just two examples of the hundreds of laws in Leviticus and to live their entire lives by them must take some doing...

However, the real reason I've been chuckling to myself these last few days is due to the reaction to the Pope's comments relating back to a 14th Century piece which states that Islam's brought nothing but violence and evil into the world, or words to that effect. First off, misquoted or not, that's a stupid fucking thing to say. If the Pope's tying to make a stand against Islam I think a simple one-finger salute towards Mecca would be a much simpler and easier to understand symbol for the Catholics of the world to unite around. Or, as is the case with most things the Pope has an opinion about, he should just keep his fucking mouth shut.

But you can't deny how hilarious the reaction to his comments has been. It was the same as with the Danish cartoons. Someone lets slip that some Muslims are violent, the Islamic world reacts with uproar, protests and... violence. I don't know if I can spell it out anymore... shooting a nun because you're pissed off that someone said your religion is violent isn't the best way to prove your innocence. Surely at least one of them has said to himself, 'Hang on a tick. Maybe reacting with violence in order to protest against being called violent is a bit fucking simple.' But somehow I doubt it. Perhaps if George W. Bush came out and said, 'At the end of the day, all Muslims are fun loving, peaceful people', the whole world could hold hands and skip into a bright future together. No. That's a stupid idea. And I'm not talking about the entire Muslim community here. I'm talking about just one example of the unfortunately large number of idiots that inhabit our world, in every religion and social strata. They are fools who are ruining our world in everyway and must be punished accordingly.

As Bill Hicks said when talking about pro-life Christians killing doctors: 'It's irony on a base level, but it's a hoot. It's a fucking hoot.'