Dude, You Have a Qur'an

Last year, a public burning of the Qur'an was prevented by Jacob Isom, who later was commended for his bravery during the Rally to Restore Sanity (and/or Fear). He famously shouted, "Dude, you have no Qur'an!" snatching the holy book away from a man who was trying to publicly burn it.

It is unlikely for that very Qur'an to have made its way from Texas to Massachusetts, but, somehow, a mysterious copy of the Islamic holy book appeared in the common space outside my room Friday morning.

Someone is missing a Qur'an. And Dewick is missing a plate. 

Not wanting to deprive a student of his prayer book, I left the text alone. It remained, however, throughout the day, moving location around the space, but never leaving.

(Photograph staged)

Curious about the Muslim faith, I have temporarily borrowed the book, intending to read it in its entirety. In my reading, I hope to settle once and for all questions like, "What does Islam have to say about other religions?", "Are Muslims commanded to kill non-believers?", and "What do their beliefs say about suicide?" I suspect I already know the answers to these questions, but in order to once and for all squelch the misinformation, I might as well read the book.

Once finished, I plan to return the Qur'an to the corner table in the hall, either for its rightful owner to finally claim, or for another university student to check out of this impromptu library.

Speaking of libraries, I have recently discovered Tisch's audio-visual selection on the 3rd floor, prompting such acquisitions as the the DVD version of the invaluable 1994 film, Stargate.

I haven't seen this in forever.

So between studying ancient religions and studying alien ones, I should be pretty well versed before long. Who ever said you don't learn things in college?