Fragile: Handle with Care

When breakable goods are shipped, they are stamped with a distinctive sign--"Fragile: Handle with Care". Even though the Quran, the holiest book on Earth, does not carry the warning, Quran-maniacal Muslims do handle it with the same attitude, as if the holy book will shatter into pieces. Apparent respect shown towards this book is not because of its contents. Instead, it has become a religious mandate, propagated by extensive propaganda and it is an exhibition of a natural human instinct to worship something, whether it be an idol or a book. Muslims believe that thawab (a spiritual reward) is earned every time a portion of the book is recited. It's a kind of credit card that offers mileage on flying-the more you charge the card, the more points you earn.
Is the book that Muslims are holding in their hands today nothing but a replica of the master copy, which Allah has preserved in his sacred library? All Muslims of the world would unanimously vote for "Yes". Their assessment is not based on facts but on a Quranic verse that says, "This is a Glorious Quran, (inscribed) in a tablet preserved!" (Q85:21). So, did Allah use his gigantic copier machine, creating thunder and storm, to make copies of his Quran?
Not really!
In today's world, people would reject any attempt of initiating a new religion. If someone did try, he would immediately be put in a straightjacket and sent to a psychiatric hospital. The same rule applies to Muhammad; his claim of receiving commands from Allah is an outright lie. However, for the sake of this article, let's pretend that Allah revealed the Quran.
Whenever a verse was revealed to Muhammad, it was memorized by his associates and sometimes written on pieces of wood, deerskin, palm leaves, bones, etc.
Why were those verses written on wood, deerskin, bones and palm leaves?
Historical records show that Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese official, reported the invention of paper to the Chinese Emperor in 105 AD, 500 years before the era of Muhammad. Recent archeological investigations, however, claim the actual invention may have been around 140-86 BC in Gansu province of China. Although the word "paper" came from "papyrus", there is a significant difference between these two. Papyrus was a type of plant found in Egypt along the Nile River. Approximately 5000 years ago, Egyptians made flat and uniform sheets from these trees for writing purposes.
Maybe China was a little too far from Arabia and Allah was not able to help Muhammad with paper. How about using papyrus, which was available in Egypt? In another archeological discovery, a roll of papyrus more than 2000 years old was found in Egypt. This papyrus contains 112 short poems of a Greek poet and they are in good condition. Allah could have easily commanded, "O prophet! Get a bundle of papyrus and write down what's sent to thee!" But it did not happen.
People used to make false a Quran when Muhammad was alive. We read in verse 2:79,
"And woe unto those who write the scripture with their own hands and then say, 'This is from God,' that they may in this way obtain a small gain. Woe unto them for what their hands have written and woe unto them for what they gain thereby!"
Despite the possibility of creating a false Quran, Allah or Muhammad never thought about the importance of compiling the Quran and putting the verses in the form of a book. Apparently, the foremost method of preserving the Quran was memorization. Some verses were written on stones, bones and leaves, without realizing the fact that goats love to eat leaves. Yes, a darned animal with four legs known as a goat ate a piece of the all-powerful Allah's Quran. "Narrated by Hazrat Ā'ishah that ayat-e-Rajm and ayat Raza'at were revealed, they were written on something. I kept them under the cart, meanwhile the holy prophet died and we became busy and one GOAT came and ATE those ayyat" (Ibn-e-Maja).
A'ishah had a problem with domestic animals before. In another instance, in order to resolve a scandal, a slave girl, Barirah, testified (al-Tabari, p.1523), "The only fault I ever found in 'Ā'ishah is that, when I was kneading my dough and ordered her to watch it, she fell asleep over it, and the pet sheep (or a goat) came and ate it." It's very normal for a little child; however, a goat eating the Quran is a noteworthy phenomenon that will have an enduring effect on believers of Islam.

The Narcissistic Allah

A good person never expects anything in return, when he does a good deed to another. He would never expect the other person to thank him for the rest of his life, or bow five times a day before him, nor would he curse him or hate him for not thanking him. 
Now examine the concept of Allah in Islam. Muhammad said that Allah did us a favour by creating us (though we never asked him to). Then he DEMANDS that we bow before him five times a day to thank him, and please his vanity by chanting he is great (Allah-oh-Akhbar) and that there is no one else besides him. He doesn't just demand, but threatens to throw us into hell if we do not do this. Also, for those who do not follow him (the non-believers), he secures a burning hell.  
Only an evil person would behave thus-use threats and punishments to coerce helpless people to chant his praise five times a day and assure him that there is no one else besides him. If Allah is good, he would be just concerned about our happiness, not to assert his power over us and his vanity. Also, Allah lacks self-esteem, as no person with self respect would force others to respect him and force them not to worship anyone else. A truly great person doesn't need others to tell him he is great and doesn't bully others in praising him only and no one else.
Also, a good person doesn't praise himself. He in fact remains humble even when his accomplishments are praised by others. Only a parasite and a very empty vessel brags about himself and praises himself with his own mouth. Now, let us suppose that the Koran has indeed come from Allah. Witness that the Koran is heavily laced with verses praising Allah. If Allah is the source of the Koran, then he has spared no effort in praising himself. He has called himself the Exalted, the Supreme, the Most Compassionate and Merciful, the Sovereign, the One, The Source of Peace, to just name a few. Not only has he praised himself, but he demands his followers to regularly chant the Koran and praise him with the most fanciful salutations. Based on this, can anyone say that he is good? He is more a petulant, narcissist worthless creature.  
Allah resembles more to Saddam Hussein, a dictator than to a real god. All that a dictator is concerned is in ruling the people, that the people Submit their wills to his will, and no one else's, praise him and thank and him for everything. Those who do not follow him (the non-believers), he would usually torture and lock them away in some dungeon (the hell in Islam).
It matters little whether the person who does not bow before him five times and worships no one (an atheist) or someone else (as Hindus and people from other religion) are good people, moral and caring. All he is concerned, as any bloody dictator, is that they submit to his will, which is the essence of the word Islam (submission). Similarly, it matters little to him if the people who do bow five times before him are immoral and ruthless and evil doers --- he will allow them to come to heaven eventually.
Also note that he enjoins his people to spread his glory and name by spreading Islam to get more people to bow before him. He doesn't tell them just to love each other and help one another, irrespective of being believers or idol-worshippers. He exhorts them to convert the non-believers and if necessary use violence. In certain passages in the Koran, as widely documented, the followers are asked to use force on the non-believers. It matters little whether his followers have evil doers and live like animals, as the present state of the world testifies. All that is important to him is that they worship him and with that he is content.
This is the core of Islam, which is really indefensible. Hence, the need for censorship at gunpoint, the need to murder people (as the Holland filmmaker Van Gogh), or pass death sentences on people who expose Islam (such as Taslima Nasreen). Hence the blasphemy laws in Pakistan and other Islamic countries. The fact is that if one has the Truth with him, then he need not be afraid of what others say-another person's disagreeing cannot change the Truth or Reality. It is only when one knows that one is wrong, so wrong that the first person to disagree or criticize you can crumble your entire system, that you need to murder him when he speaks.