Down in Gainesville, Florida, Rev. Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center is going to burn copies of the Moslem Koran on Saturday, as he launches what he calls “International Burn a Koran Day” – on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Before even striking the first match, the good Reverend has started an international firestorm among such disparate groups as leftists begging for tolerance of Moslem sensibilities and actual Moslems whose sensibilities command them to murder anyone trying to light one of their holy books.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the proposed Koran burning "idiotic and dangerous," and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said it would be “unwise" and "un-American." American hero, Gen. David Petraeus, predicted to the Wall Street Journal that the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians. "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," Gen. Petraeus said in an interview. Even the Pope got into the act. Tuesday's L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's paper, called the planned mass burning of copies of the Koran "an outrageous and grave gesture."
It is certainly with trepidation that a Good Catholic Boy takes issue with his pope, but when the Holy Father is not speaking ex cathedra, what he says is not de fide, and his opinion is no more infallible than those of the rest of us. In the great scheme of things, burning a couple of Korans is not such a big deal. Sure, it’s the sort of sacrilege well calculated to make some folks angry; sort of like burning the American flag (which Moslems do with appalling regularity), or giving a cop the finger. But only a lunatic zealot would want to kill someone for torching a book.
"It is the duty of Muslims to react," said Mohammad Mukhtar, a cleric and candidate for the Afghan parliament. "When their holy book Koran gets burned in public, then there is nothing left. If this happens, I think the first and most important reaction will be that wherever Americans are seen, they will be killed. No matter where they will be in the world they will be killed." So much for the tolerance of folks we are encouraged to tolerate.
We’ve never been particularly keen on the idea of book burning (newspapers, on the other hand, are a whole ‘nother thing); even though burning a Koran, a Bible, or your copy of Introduction to Algebra is the sort of free expression clearly protected by our federal and state constitutions. (Mind you, it’s still illegal to burn someone else’s Koran or Bible; and well it should be.) And General Petraeus has certainly made a valid observation that the Florida pastor’s plans will doubtless upset our enemies in the field. Ben Stein, writing in this week’s American Spectator, has this to say about that:
“Now, I am sure General Petraeus has a good point here. But, here is a bigger point: we are not supposed to have military men telling American civilians what they can and cannot do in their houses of worship. Yes, General Petraeus is an important figure. By the way, he's also the soldier who said American support of Israel made Muslims angry at U.S. troops and I don't think Generals are supposed to be making foreign policy either. But certainly, generals, even with a lot of stars on their epaulets, are not in charge of free speech and religious observance here.
“Really, it's even worse than that. He is saying that freedom of religion in America makes his job more difficult. But free exercise of religion comes way before how difficult his job is. And, yes, we don't want to offend Muslims, but why would we even consider sacrificing our freedom of religious expression to cater to them? And what kind of war is won by kowtowing to the people who hate us?”
Here in Louisville, Rev. Todd F. Eklof, minister at the Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church plans to host a “continuous reading” of the Koran for twelve hours on September 11, 2010. Eklof—who ironically refers to himself as an “atheist”—says the event is being organized by his church as a counter demonstration against the Florida book burning and a show of solidarity with Moslems. The church has more than 30 volunteers who will take 20 to 30 minute turns reading portions of the Koran aloud throughout the day while opening the church’s sanctuary to anyone who might want to sit and listen, Eklof said in an interview with LEO magazine. Eklof is the former Kentucky Farm Bureau employee who was fired by the state insurance company for protesting their opposition to gay marriage.
Perhaps Rev. Eklof and his terribly tolerant church members will choose to skip over the parts of the Koran that demand death for homosexuals and adulterers. We are considering volunteering to read our favorite Surah, No. 4:34:
“Men have authority over women, because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend of their wealth to maintain them. Therefore good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those women from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and beat them. Then, if they obey you, take no further action against them. For Allah is Most High, and Supreme.”
O.K., we know you’ll want to bring up the fact that there’s some pretty tough language in the Book of Leviticus, along those same lines. Well, the difference, of course, is that Christian countries (such as the United States) and Jewish countries (such as, well, Israel), do not routinely behead homosexuals, stone female rape victims, or cut the hands off thieves. Such is commonplace practice in Islamic countries, ruled by the Koran and Moslem sharia law.
The leftist dupes (sorry, Holy Father), useful idiots, and assorted Islamic fundamentalists who are demanding we show a little tolerance for Islam’s Seventh-Century atavism, are demonstrating what former Examiner writer Mark Twain (nee, Samuel Langhorne Clemens) once called “intolerant tolerance.” Who would disagree with the proposition that toleration of evil is, in and of itself, evil?
And, before our disgruntled readers (may their numbers be few) begin filling up our comments sections with cries of “Islamophobia,” we should remind you that a “phobia” is an “irrational” or “unreasonable” fear. Is it irrational to fear crazed zealots who routinely set off suicide bombs in public areas in order to kill noncombatant men, women, and children? Is it unreasonable to fear a religion that regularly issues “fatwas” calling for the deaths of cartoonists and journalists who have the temerity to criticize Islam? Is it bigotry to suggest that a religion that tolerates slavery, treats women as children, and preaches subjugation of non-believers is not deserving of the same level of respect and reverence as those preaching love and brotherhood?
But what about all those “peace-loving” Moslems who simply want to live among us, in our communities, and enjoy all our liberties, free of molestation? How do we distinguish between them and the suicide assassins who want to destroy Western civilization? Clearly, the “tolerant” thing to do would be to give all Moslems the benefit of the doubt. Treat each as a friend; right up until the point one tries to blow you up. Even then, a truly tolerant person would turn whatever was left of his other cheek.
Our Uncle John, fighting in the Pacific during WW II, had difficulty distinguishing between the peace-loving Japanese and the ones who bombed Pearl Harbor. His solution to the problem was not very tolerant, but he lived to enjoy V-J Day. Not every German was a Nazi, but we bombed their cities and killed their men, women, and children; until they agreed to stop bombing our cities and killing our men, women, and children. A pragmatic solution, but not very tolerant.
Maybe we’re not really at war with radical Islam; but if you listen to what their clergy actually preach, you come away with the distinct impression that much of Islam believes they are at war with us. Burning Korans, as a symbolic poke-in-the-eye to radical Islam, is not a particularly clever thing to do; but if it flushes out the secret domestic supporters of terrorism, forcing them to show their true colors, then it might accomplish something ultimately beneficial to our society.
Here’s a suggestion to all you “tolerant” folks out there who are so quick to criticize Rev. Terry Jones: Get yourself a copy of the Holy Koran, and read it. Or, stop by the Louisville Examiner offices and we’ll lend you ours. After you have read the thing, if you still feel all that tolerant, well, His Blessings Be Upon You.
On the other hand, if you feel inclined to commit the book to the fire; please be our guest.
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UPDATE: 09/09/10, 06:30 P.M. EST. The Associated Press is reporting that Florida minister Terry Jones has announced the cancellation of the proposed Koran burning demonstration previously scheduled for Saturday at his Gainesville church. Rev. Jones stated that he would be flying to New York instead, to meet with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and confirm his agreement with Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida that the “Ground Zero Mosque” would not be built as originally planned.
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