"I think it's highly offensive that he has done this to two of the holiest books in the world," Mr Patel said. "It does not in any way add any value to trying to promote world peace and the consideration of different views – especially when there are heightened tensions around the anniversary of September 11 and the Eid el Fitr (end of Ramadan) celebrations." The 12-minute YouTube video, one of more than 90 posted by Mr Stewart, shows the Queensland University of Technology-employed lawyer tearing pages from both books and using the paper to roll what looks to be marijuana cigarettes.
After smoking both he gives marks out of 10 – rating the Bible as a better burner than the Koran. In his commentary, he said people should just "get over" the burning of books like the Bible or the Koran. "I guess that's the point with all this crap," he said. "It's just a f---ing book. Who cares? It's your beliefs that matter. Quite frankly, if you are going to get upset about a book, you're taking life way too seriously."
Yesterday, Mr Stewart said he expected people to be offended by the video but was not worried about reprisals. He said although it looked like marijuana, he was actually smoking lawn clippings. "The video was a joke video, of course. I never actually do drugs. People do this stuff all the time and if people get really upset about this then they're taking it far too seriously," Mr Stewart said. A QUT spokesman said the university would seek an urgent meeting with Mr Stewart.
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