How to Burn Islamic Flags Without Upsetting Muslims

Many Muslims can’t stand ISIS and see in them a terrorist organization that is giving Islam a bad name. But for religious reasons those same Muslims are very bothered when the flag of ISIS is burnt in public because it contains what they consider to be sacrosanct religious text.

We can argue about whether or not they have the right to be upset or insulted, but the fact is that they are, and their anger over the burned flags can distract us from the big picture. Our Minister of Justice, Mr. Ashraf Rifi is a moderate who has spoken many times against the blind extremism of ISIS. But that didn’t prevent him from seeking to deter people from burning their flag (and angering many lebanese in the process) because he can imagine how the extremists will use the flag-burning incident to rally the masses and distract from the main fight at hand.

Is there a middle ground? Can we protest against monsters who cloak themselves in religious text without angering the devout? Here’s a compromise I’m proposing: Flags that resemble the flags of political entities without actually containing the religious text. As an example, here are three flags where the religious text is replaced by gibberish. I think even the devout should agree that burning those is halal..