International Burn the Koran Day

The ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is upon us.  I’ve been reflecting a lot in the last few days.  I’ve listened to some tributes and find myself fighting back tears.  I still can’t listen to that Alan Jackson song that asks “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turnin’”.  I was one of those people you heard about that went home from work the morning of 9/11, turned on the news channel and sat mesmerized for three days straight.  I was traumatized.  I can think of a lot of things that would be good to do to commemorate this macabre anniversary, but now I’m hearing about Pastor Terry Jones from Gainesville Florida, the Pastor at Dove World Outreach Church.  On the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I guess he’s planning on having an “International Burn the Koran Day”.

We’ve come a long way since that awful day, but apparently we’re still going in a number of different directions.  At the very least, this is “controversial”.  Pastor Jones has been under a tremendous amount of pressure to “re-think” his plans.  Burning the Koran would upset many Muslims throughout the globe.  In fact, a few folks in Afghanistan found out about the plan and commensurately organized a protest.  Whaddya suppose they did?  They burned the American flag while chanting “Death to America!”  How about that?  They heard that someone in America was planning to burn the Koran and their immediate reaction was to burn our flag and condemn our entire nation.  So, for clarification:

A select few radical Muslims are terrorists that kill based on religion: we are tolerant.

A select few Christian Americans plan on burning the Koran: there are protests calling for the destruction of America.

I hate to sound elitist, but I’m starting to wonder if some people are simply beyond help.

These people won’t condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization.  They won’t even condemn Al Qaida!  We tiptoe all over the place because we need to demonstrate our tolerance to a group, many of whom believe it is their mission to kill anyone not willing to convert to Islam, and then we take their side against a guy in Florida that plans to exercise his 1^st amendment right?  Some think that we have to compromise.  That sounds like the type of compromise I had when I was married.  My wife would want A, I would want Z and we would compromise somewhere around B. 

Look, I only know one Muslim on a personal level.  He’s a great guy.  I think of him as a thoughtful, considerate, peaceful man.  I consider him a friend, but he's more of a “friend of a friend” but whenever the three of us get together, it's always a good time.  He and I have not discussed much politically, but I did notice he’s a member of a Facebook group called “Hamas is not a Terrorist Organization”.

As Christians, many of us express our disdain for radical Christians.  I don’t know anyone who has anything positive to say about Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas.  You know, the people that go to military funerals and hold up signs stating “God Hates Fags”.  I deplore those jerks.  I denounce them.  Most of us think this guy in Florida is a schmuck too, and we’re not afraid to say it.  But where are the moderate Muslims expounding about Radical Muslims?  Hamas claimed responsibility for the killing of four Israelis this week, one of them a pregnant woman.  Until I hear Muslims coming out en masse to denounce that type of behavior, I will see blatant hypocrisy.  I want a huge group of Muslims shouting their condemnation of Hamas.  I want to hear it about Al Qaida and The Taliban too!

Rosie O’Donnell thinks radical Christianity is as dangerous as radical Islam.  Sure thing, Rosie, when was the last time in our lifetime that Christians killed 3,000 people in a day in the name of Christ?  Are there atrocities in our history attributable to Christianity?  Of course, but that was a very long time ago, and we see clearly that those actions were terrible.  We, as Christians, denounce those actions, and we do it unequivocally.  

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of protests, Foreign, National and Local; Political & Religious (I’ve personally attended a few Tea Party rallies.  Keep that under your hat, I don’t want folks to know about my radical racist homophobia).   It seems that many of the foreign and liberal protests tend to get violent, and fire comes into play regularly.  What do they burn?  Among other things: The American Flag, The Israeli Flag, and Effigies of our Leaders.  *They’ve even done effigies of President Obama.  I thought he was going to restore our relations with everyone?  Keep in mind, we’re the ones deserving of death for having a small group in our country planning to burn Korans.  They haven’t done it yet, but we all deserve death because they intend to do it.  I wonder if any Muslims have ever burned bibles?

I frequently hear that Islam is a religion of peace.  Keep in mind that the Koran refers to Jews as Apes and Pigs.  Mohammed took a nine year old girl as his wife.  Islamic papers often depict Jews with horns.  Islamists don’t denounce people who participate in reprehensible things like CUTTING PEOPLE’S HEADS OFF!  There is fatwa on a Danish cartoonist for drawing Mohammed.  Comedy Central often shows material that mocks Christianity, but when there was a planned showing of something slightly mocking Islam, it was quickly pulled, following repeated death threats.  Muslims force their wives to cover their faces in shame.  In fact, in Iran, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was sentenced to “Death by Stoning” for being so gallivant as to allow herself to be photographed without her head covered.  Death?  By Stoning?  Really?  I seem to remember that America is frequently chastised for being so uncivilized because we still employ the death penalty.  It’s done after a conviction and years of appeals.  Then, when it is actually carried out, is done as humanely as possible; a humane punishment for those that have committed barbaric, inhumane, acts.  In the Muslim world a woman can be sentenced to death by stoning for being photographed without her face covered?  Death comes to adulteresses too.  I didn’t realize how broad the definition of adultery can be.  The act of a woman speaking to a man who is not her husband, or a member of her family, can be construed as adultery; this applies to widows as well.  Conversion to Christianity is punishable by death in many regions of the Middle East.  Where’s Mike Farrell for this?  Oh yeah, he’s advocating for the release of Mumia.  *Sorry, that’s an entirely different can of worms that I’m not prepared to open right now.

We are tolerant of the least tolerant of religions.  There are no Synagogues or Christian Churches, outside of Israel, in the Middle East.  Even possessing a bible is a crime.  If you’re not Muslim, you’re not even allowed to visit Mecca!  We’re not talking radical here, this is just the way it is in the Middle East.  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is quoted as wanting to wipe Israel off the map!  I’m still waiting for Muslims to go on the record condemning that kind of talk.  Something tells me that I’ll be waiting a very long time.

General Patraeus decided to get involved.  That really bothers me.  As a member of the United States Armed Forces, you’re not to take a position on political matters.  He's the top dog of the military and breaks that rule so blatantly?  If it’s that important, Obama should be on it.  Oh, that’s right, he doesn’t like to comment on local issues….pause for scoffing/laughter.

Toleration of the intolerant is only leading to more problems.  The United States has consistently held itself to a higher standard, and its thanks is perpetual condemnation.

At this point Pastor Jones plans on moving forward.  I am trying to figure out just what it is that he believes he will accomplish.  Does he think he’s going to change someone’s opinion?  My guess is that it will only harden the opinions of people on both sides of the argument; those that won't be be swayed regardless.  And much like the situation with the “Ground Zero Mosque”.  Just because you have the right to do it, doesn’t make it the right thing to do. 

So, Pastor Terry Jones, if you were to ask me what I thought you should do, with regards to your plan for an “International Burn the Koran Day”, I would say, “knock it off you flippant moron!  You’re acting as stupidly as they are”.

Nolan D. Winans