To remember the 9/11 attacks this coming Saturday, a pastor from a small Gainesville, Florida, church has arranged a Koran burning. Although his church has only about 50 members, he has received insane international attention.
President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Sarah Palin, the Vatican, the NYPD, and the FBI have all expressed dismay at the plans and have requested that Pastor Terry Jones cancel the event, to be held at the Dove World Outreach Center on the ninth anniversary of the attacks. In fact, violent protests are already taking place.
Although Jones has the right to burn the Koran under freedom of speech, is it really that great of an idea? It has already sparked protests in the Middle East and, most importantly, will put even more American military members in danger in an already very difficult battle for Afghanistan and Iraq. This is the argument that those who decry the plans are making. And I agree with them.
However, wasn't this the same argument we were all making about the mosque at Ground Zero? Yes, they have a right to build it under freedom of religion, but should they? It's inappropriate and insulting to the memory of those killed on September 11, and reeks of dangerous Islamic triumphalism. And yet, Obama can't stop lecturing us about our Islamophobia and intolerance towards different religions and cultures.
Furthermore, Americans are called dangerous when they stage peaceful protests against such a monument to radical Islam. Yet when Afghanis burn the American flag and chant "Death to the Christians," we have to respect their culture and remember how peaceful they really are. Moreover, I'm sure a Bible burning would make absolutely no waves in the media, except maybe on Fox.
However, interestingly enough, a Bible burning did happen under our noses, and it was done by the American military! Reports have now come out that last year, Bibles in the native languages of Pashto and Dari were distributed to American troops in Afghanistan. Some locals and a couple reporters documented footage of troops in sermons and Bible study classes using the Bibles. After complaints that Americans are not allowed to proselytize to the locals, the military confiscated the Bibles and burned them! Interesting that very few people got wind of it. I fear that the military is becoming increasingly soft with political correctness (remember Nidal Malik Hasan?) and were easily made to trash the Bibles for image's sake, even if the men had no part in evangelization.
It's the usual double standard: Muslims can do no wrong, while American Christians are always wrong. Question or speak out against teachings of Islam - you're a hater and bigot. Trash Christianity, you're a media darling.
Rob Stanley is a guitarist, recording artist and creator of Rockanomics.com - http://www.rockanomics.com, a leading online community for conservative news, new music, political opinion, pop culture interests, and career building resources. For more information on this article, to read others like it, and to experience our dynamic community, visit http://www.rockanomics.com/public/390.cfm
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