Muslims have complained that the Koran is often displayed on the lower shelves, which is deemed offensive as many believe the holy book should be placed above “commonplace things”.
Now officials at one library have recommended keeping all holy books, including the Bible, on the top shelves.
The move has come despite concern from Christian charities that this will put the Bible out of the reach and sight of many people.
Guidance published by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, a quango answering to Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, brought the situation to light.
It said Muslims in Leicester had moved copies of the Koran to the top shelves of libraries, because they believe it is an insult to display it in a low position.
A report into the issue said the city’s librarians consulted the Federation of Muslim Organisations and were advised that all religious texts should be kept on the top shelf to ensure equality.
The guidance states: “This meant that no offence is caused, as the scriptures of all the major faiths are given respect in this way, but none is higher than any other.”
As a religious nutjob myself it’s a term I try to avoid, but there really are occasions I’d like to see Muslims forced to write 100 times “Liberal secularism is what gives me religious freedom.”
20 Comments
As someone who is vertically challenged, I think I will have to object to any sorting of objects on a height basis on a matter of principle.
I would have thought that had people objected to holy books being placed in with ‘commonplace’ things, there might be a sort of separate shelf or cupboard entirely for said holy books….
The idea of the Koran next to the Kama Sutra is giving me the giggles, rather. Then we have to add L. Ron Hubbard and something from the Orange People…
“The idea of the Koran next to the Kama Sutra is giving me the giggles”
.
That’s hilarious.
I file all my books in alphabetical order, by name of author. So my Bible and Koran both get filed away, under G, for God.
Put the bible in historical fiction and the Koran in poetry. The reverential treatment of these texts should be restricted to their believer’s temples.
Put the bible, koran, mein kampf, and all the other rubbish on the top shelf and out of sight where they belong.
And the Iliad was used to teach morality well before the others…
Actually the way to sort out which goes “highest” is the Sir Humphrey method… form a committee (a HUGE one) of clerics from ALL the religions to determine precedence, and don’t do the altitude-by-holiness thing until the committee has decided (by at least 75% majority, although if a deity exists and is capable of acting on human minds, surely we should wait until there is unanimity to indicate some correctness).
There must be procedural fairness, after all! We must give a deity the chance to do it’s thing and help us avoid error.
Heh heh heh.
(Oh dear, there’s a nasty Legionella in the air conditioning where the committee is locked in… or do we supply each delegate to the closed session with a machine gun given that most claim to follow a deity of peace?)
More to the point what will placing the Bible, the Koran et al on the top shelves do to the Dewey decimal system in the Library. Seems to me it is a clever way of hiding these books from everyone since no one will be able to find them unless they look on the top shelves all around the library.
Patrick, my initial response would be to categorise and file them the other way round: Bible – Poetry; Koran – Historical Fiction. Of course they are both and much more.
Besides, poetry and historical fiction *warrant* reverential treatment, especially poetical and historical texts of such profound influence, depths of meaning and import as these two priceless texts.
My religion requires its sacred texts to be displayed on bottom shelves, spine to the back, and laid horizontally. I trust the library will accommodate my faith as well.
The Library of Congress cataloguing system separates ‘serious, proper religion’ (the Koran, the Bible, the Upanishads) from stuff put out by L. Ron Hubbard and the like. Sticking them all on the top shelf together may have entirely the opposite effect to that intended…
[Insert nasty skeptical joke about invisible pink unicorns and flying spaghetti monsters here].
Yeh yeah yeah
You’re not supposed to leave the Qu’ran on the bloody floor or put it on the low bookshelf and blah blah blah.
But so what? These rules were written when people were lucky to sit somewhere once in their lives that wasn’t dirt. It’s just bloody stupid. Like Orthodox Jews who only wash once a week. The idea was to get clean – dickheads.
The idea of the Koran next to the Kama Sutra is giving me the giggles
No it’s sacrilige I tells ya. The Kama Sutra is a holy book.
SL@11: “Sticking them all on the top shelf together” … even better, stick them all in the same VOLUME to force comparative study.
We could always do something like Constantine’s council did when deciding what was canonical scripture and what wasn’t:
Put em all overnight in a locked garbage bin, in a locked room, and whatever is left in the garbage bin in the morning has obviously been deemed garbage by the deity, so we can file them in fiction.
But then we’d have to rip the bible into pieces… filing some under “Q”, some under “J”., under “E”, “D”. We can always rip pages by J and/or E in half…
(biblical scholarship joke)
At least the Koran could be filed in one spot under “M” (or perhaps “G”).
At the next big Muslim protest I anticipate placards saying “Dewey Decimal = Western Oppression”.
I hadn’t realised there was an extra sting to this gag. Go to DEM’s site and scroll down for background.
Is that the top shelf in the fiction section or the top shelf in the non-fiction section.
Now you’re linking into the Dawkins post, Terje…
What happens with texts of defunct religions? Eg, Egyptian Book of the Dead – how should it be treated?
LE@17 “What happens with texts of defunct religions? Eg, Egyptian Book of the Dead – how should it be treated?”
That’d be handled automatically with my idea on forming a committee to sort it out and not allowing any interim recommendations to be implemented.
Besides, defunctness only applies until the revival (e.g. Druids).
Then you’ve got the issue of what to do with “Star Wars” books and videos when enough people put “Jedi Knight” on their census form!
Oh dear, if “atheism” is recognized as a theological assertion (it is), then all the books with no place for deities will have to go on the top shelf too… then libraries will be full of ladders… people needing wheelchairs or acrophobia bring claims under Disability Discrimination Act…
So, because of the DDA, the easiest solution becomes a special library with only 1 shelf, funded and staffed by the only people who can offer assistance with what book a person should read next.
And any parliamentary output that is prefaced by a prayer?
Dewey Decimal = Western Oppression
Yep.
It’s oppressive man. I think it’s a shameful extension of the apparatus of Western imperialist vectors.
We should all try to be more free and less oppressive like Here. They don’t put the Qu’ran on the bottom shelf.
Michael J Totten is CIA.