Is it illegal to burn a Qoran?

Well I don't think the right to offend is enshrined in any form of human rights

What exactly are you gaining by being offensive and disrespectful to others?

Put another way, what's the difference between your attitude of "I can offend - so what?" and the ISIS members who shout "death to all infidels in the West"?

Well I don't think the right to offend is enshrined in any form of human rights

What exactly are you gaining by being offensive and disrespectful to others?

Put another way, what's the difference between your attitude of "I can offend - so what?" and the ISIS members who shout "death to all infidels in the West"?

Well I don't think the right to offend is enshrined in any form of human rights

What exactly are you gaining by being offensive and disrespectful to others?

Put another way, what's the difference between your attitude of "I can offend - so what?" and the ISIS members who shout "death to all infidels in the West"?

It seems rather petty to complain about the burning of some book when such evil views are commonly held.

Most religions have views in which everyone is judged on their actions at the end of their life; Muslims, Jews and Christians have hell, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists have reincarnation. If you don't believe in it as you have said, it won't affect you because at the end of the day there isn't a definitive view on what happens after you die.

People often say this to me.

What you say simple isn't true: the world has been severely damaged by individuals who believe (often with absolute dogmatic certainty) in judgement after death: it is often such individuals who place little or no value on this mortal life, and will play high stakes with the lives of others.

If someone believes that I deserve to be tortured for eternity simply because I do not share their ideology, how can that not have a negative impact on the world? These are not people you would want to pass the time of day with at the post office. They are not people who are likely to have reasonable ideas about how to improve the world in a harmonious fashion, for the benefit of everybody.

The world has also benefited by individuals who believe in judgement after death. Since Islam is the highlight, look at the Islamic Golden Age. I'm sure I could find many other religious devout individuals who have done great things from various religions.

People often say this to me.

What you say simple isn't true: the world has been severely damaged by individuals who believe (often with absolute dogmatic certainty) in judgement after death: it is often such individuals who place little or no value on this mortal life, and will play high stakes with the lives of others.

If someone believes that I deserve to be tortured for eternity simply because I do not share their ideology, how can that not have a negative impact on the world? These are not people you would want to pass the time of day with at the post office. They are not people who are likely to have reasonable ideas about how to improve the world in a harmonious fashion, for the benefit of everybody.

I understand where you are coming from but many of those individuals of those religions don't believe you will be 'tortured' excluding the deluded crazies.The Abrahamic religions, for instance, teach that only God knows whether you shall be condemned or not and this decided by how good you are. In the Qur'an it actually says non believers will and can be sent to heaven and that some Muslims will be sent to hell. Only radical Muslims who most likely haven't even read their own Holy book would jump to conclusions and this perception is forwarded by the media.

All three of the Abrahamic religions are clear that atheists such as me will certainly go to hell, regardless of how good we are.

In the qur'an, it says that heretics (Muhammad supposedly believed there would be 72 false sects of Islam, and only one true one), pagans, polytheists, and those it deems social miscreants will definitely go to hell and no mercy is to be shown towards them in this life. I believe that Muhammad fundamentally misunderstood Christianity, as it is unlikely he would have considered Christians People of the Book if he knew that Christians consider Jesus to be god. In regards Christians and Jews, it says they are not to be trusted, and that it is acceptable to lie to them to achieve your ends: that is a rather condemnatory attitude.

I think it would be wrong for religions to take credit for the achievements of individuals in the Middle Ages. I believe that if the greatest minds had spent more time on philosophy and science and art rather than religion, they would have achieved a lot more good.

All three of the Abrahamic religions are clear that atheists such as me will certainly go to hell, regardless of how good we are.

In the qur'an, it says that heretics (Muhammad supposedly believed there would be 72 false sects of Islam, and only one true one), pagans, polytheists, and those it deems social miscreants will definitely go to hell and no mercy is to be shown towards them in this life. I believe that Muhammad fundamentally misunderstood Christianity, as it is unlikely he would have considered Christians People of the Book if he knew that Christians consider Jesus to be god. In regards Christians and Jews, it says they are not to be trusted, and that it is acceptable to lie to them to achieve your ends: that is a rather condemnatory attitude.

Let me claify what the Qur'an means by non believer. In the context of the Qur'an it is someone who knows a lot about Islam but refuses to embrace the religion. If you are a good pious person who has minimal knowledge about the religion, who doesn't really understand it, you can still go to heaven and of course it all comes down to God's judgement. God knows best, He knows your fears, you hopes and what you are all about and so Allah is the only one who can judge you. In the end, we don't know what will happen to us but we hope and pray.

So believe what you want, ultimately, I believe that everything you do is your choice and wish you all the best in this life and the next.

Well clearly these individuals have achieved quite a lot in both science and mathematics whilst being religiously devout and you could argue that being religiously devout played a big factor in their life choices and decisions.

Clearly some have been categorized in the quran and other religions in terms of those who will go to heaven or hell but it isn't that plain and simple. God judges you on intent indefinitely. An atheist who embodies everything that a good person should be according to said religions, could find his way to heaven. It isn't black and white. Non believers go to hell and believers go to heaven. The terms "Non believer" and "Believer" mean a lot more than an atheist and a Muslim.

"And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone. But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun(the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc)."

Again, it is clear that according to Islamic ideology, there are many groups of people whose lives would automatically be forfeit if it had its way.

It doesn't matter how good I am if I am an atheist: there is no hope for me according to Islam.

Or is it freedom of speech? Surely it could be interpreted as inciting religious hatred...

(Sorry guys for the click bait- I wanted to call this "what is the boundary between freedom of expression and religious hatred" but that wouldn't get any views...)

I believe that fire is sacred and eternal, so for me, such a process is a natural part of rebirth and a matter of deep respect.