Pencemar Al Quran
New York Times, August 30, 2009
Birk said, "I didn't want one photo leaking out and some viral e-mail going around the Middle East saying, 'Stupid California surfer blasphemes the Koran."
And what if there are charges of blasphemy anyway? To begin with, Mr. Birk reiterated a disclaimer from his artist's statement noting that his art project is not meant to be a sacred book. "Really, technically, this wouldn't even be considered a Koran by Islamic scholars because it is not written in Arabic," he said. (Mrs. Shreve Simpson confirmed as much, saying, "The Koran exists only in the language in which the prophet Muhammad received the revelations, and he received and preached them in Arabic.")
Mr. Birk also defended his work in terms of freedom of religious expression -- and interpretation. "The Koran is supposed to be a message from God," he said. "If God is speaking to human beings, I should be able to pick up this book and think about it. I should be able to contemplate what it means to me."
Still, Mr. Madha at the King Fahad Mosque sounded worried. "With all due respect to people's belief in First Amendment rights, the artist may be opening up a Pandora's box," he said. "And that's the last thing we want in this day and age."
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