My internet connection is poor tonight, so I’m having trouble searching, but I would imagine that the proper way to dispose of a Koran is to burn it. (Analogously, it is the proper way to dispose of an American flag.)
I did find this entry in the Weekly Standard, inspired by an earlier Koran-burning story:
What’s the Proper Way to Dispose of a Koran?
Something to chew on.
6:28 PM, Sep 9, 2010 • By LEE SMITH
Terry Jones may have called off his Koran burning in Florida, but Iraqpundit writes that someone still owes the preacher a debt of gratitude:
Burning the Koran is only respectful way of disposing of the Holy book. For example, if a student is learning calligraphy and copies pages from the Koran, he is not allowed to throw away the papers. He must burn them out of respect for the Koran. So actually the Florida man is doing the Muslims a favor by disposing of several copies of the Koran in a proper way.
This reminds me of when I was studying in Cairo several years ago and my doorman showed me another way to dispose of the sacred book properly:
[The doorman] discovered in my garbage an exam I had taken that tested knowledge of certain ayat (or verses) from the Quran, and he reproached me for putting the holy book in the trash. I said that it was not the Quran itself, but only words taken from it. His response was astonishing: “You can either burn your exam,” he explained, “or do this …” At which point, he tore off a verse, rolled it up, put it into his mouth, and swallowed it.