I'm surprised that nobody has started a thread on this topic yet.
A preacher of a nondenominational church in Florida is hosting an event called the "International Burn a Quran Day" on September 11th. As stated in the title of the event, preacher Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center plans to burn copies of the Quran as part of an event "to remember the 9/11 victims and take a stand against Islam".
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-29/u...ooper?_s=PM:US
The story has spread across the country and sparked controversy. Numerous individuals and groups have come out against the event, including Gen. David Petreaus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Catholic Church in Vatican City, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
My thoughts:
The First Amendment to the Constitution gives individuals the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech. Because of those freedoms, Mr. Jones and his church has the freedom to voice their displeasure at the Islam religion and express said displeasure by burning copies of the Quran at their church.
However, just because an individual has the freedom to do something, it doesn't mean it is a good idea to do it.
September 11th should be a day to remember the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and honor the victims who lost their lives that day nine years ago. Mr. Jones is taking that day and using it not to unite everyone to remember the 9/11 fallen, but to divide people by promoting religious intolerance.
Mr. Jones' event on September 11th reminds me of the protests that Fred Phelps and the Westboro "Baptist" Church stage across the country at the funerals of fallen soldiers. Westboro's idea of outreach to the community is to hold up signs that celebrate the death of our military personnel and dishonor the soldiers and their families at funerals. Mr. Jones' idea of outreach is to burn copies of another religion's sacred text and unilaterally dishonoring an entire religious group in which many of its members had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks or any other terrorist activities.
What will the "International Burn a Quran Day" event accomplish? What does the church think will happen as a result of their activities? Will any Muslims be converted from Islam to Christianity as a result of burning Qurans? I don't think so. If somebody burned a copy of the Bible, the Torah, or one of your most prized and cherished possessions, would you start agreeing with the person that burned it and start following their ways? Of course not.
There are plenty of ways to reach out to the Muslim community to promote peace, love, and brotherhood. Burning Qurans is the worst idea imaginable other than blowing up Mosques. Jones has the freedom to burn Qurans on 9/11, but it is a stupid and counterproductive idea that should not happen.
Anyone else care to comment?