"The U.S. commander in Afghanistan has criticized a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.
"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems -- not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."
Petraeus said he was concerned by the political repercussions of the church's plan.
"Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," he said. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
He said extremists would use images of burning Qurans to inflame public opinion and incite violence."
CNN
I agree with the General. Burning copies of the Koran is needlessly provocative and will cause our troops to be in danger. It will cause riots and probably deaths. The Muslim world may erupt.
That being said one has to wonder about the constant protestations from the Muslim world that Islam is a religion of peace. If even a drawing of Muhammad can incite riots and if a ten minute movie can justify the murder of Theo Van Gogh how can this violent religion continue to present itself as peaceful?
Are there peaceful Muslims? Yes. I would argue however that this is in spite of their religion, not because of it. The reaction to anything the Muslim world considers blaphemous is ALWAYS violent. There is a cause and effect relationship here, Islam/violence, that cannot be denied without a blindness to reality.
Have Muslims, or anyone else burned Bibles or destroyed and mocked Christian symbols and the faith itself recently?
June 18, 2007:
"After defeating their rivals in Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, Muslim extremists are focusing their attacks on Christians in Gaza City. Christians in Gaza City have issued an appeal to theinternational community and a plea for protection against the increased attacks by Muslim extremists.
Father Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Latin church, told the AP that Muslims have ransacked, burned and looted a school and convent that are part of the Gaza Strip's small Romany Catholic community. He told the AP that crosses were broken, damage was done to a statue of Jesus, and at the Rosary Sister School and nearby convent, prayer books were burned.
Gunmen used the roof of the school during the fighting, and the convent was "desecrated," Mussalem told the AP."
Associated Contnet
December 6, 2006:
"Two Muslim students have been expelled from an Islamic school in Melbourne for urinating and spitting on a Bible and setting it on fire.
The explosive incident has forced the East Preston Islamic College to call in a senior imam to tell its 650 Muslim students that the Bible and Christianity must be respected.
Anxious teachers at the school have also petitioned principal Shaheem Doutie, expressing "grave concern" about an "inculcation of hatred and radical attitudes towards non-Muslims" at the school, including towards non-Muslim teachers.
The Bible desecration took place last week at a school camp held near Bacchus Marsh, about 50km west of Melbourne, attended by 33 teenage Muslim boys ranging in age from Year7 to Year 10.
A school report of the incident, obtained by The Australian, says it happened late at night and involved three students and another two watching.
"The main perpetrator (a Year 7 student) urinated on the Holy Bible, tore some pages from the Holy Book and burnt them then finally spat on the Holy Book," the report says.
The second boy, from Year 9, "tore pages from the Holy Book and burnt them", while a third student, from Year 7, "tore pages from the Holy Bible and then he rolled it up like a cigarette and pretended to smoke it"."
The Australian
June 4, 2008:
"Have you heard the cries of outrage in conservative Christian circles about the burning of hundreds of Bibles by religious extremists in the Middle East? Probably not — and I suspect that the reason is because the "extremists" in this case were Jews, not Muslims. Had Muslims burned hundreds of Bibles, we'd be hearing calls to burn and deface Qu'rans. So why can Jews get away with it?
In Or Yehuda, Christian missionaries distributed hundreds of New Testament Bibles and other missionary material. Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon drove around and urged residents to hand it all over to religious students who were going door-to-door collecting it back. They took it all to a synagogue where it was burned in a large pile."
Atheism.about.com
And what has been the Christian response to this?
Which religion is the religion of peace, Christianity or Islam?
Christian history is violent. We've made many mistakes and I wouldn't try to deny that. However, the faith has matured and along with maturity has come understanding. Christianity is moving towards peace while Islam is moving towards violence.
Until Muslim leaders come out forcefully against the violent actions perpetrated in the name of Islam I'll stand by my belief that Islam is a religion of war and conquest. We hear the quiet voices of Muslims protesting the actions of the Imams on occasion but by and large the silence is deafening.
If Muslims were smart they would use the burning of these Korans as a time to show the world just how peaceful they are. Gather at the site of the burnings in prayer. Stand in silent, prayerful and peaceful protest and witness to this stupidity, just as Christians do at abortion clinics. Do that and earn some respect.
However, even if a few would do this the vast majority that will erupt in violence will overshadow them. But it would be a start.
Posts
With regard to the Koran, I do not think we should stoop to the level of the ignorant savages, rabid Imams and mad Mullahs who control power in Islamic states. The Dove World Outreach Center is behind this book burning and the reader may listen to what its president says here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.doveworld.org/
The following web links provide its 10 reasons to burn the Koran followed by an additional 5:
http://www.doveworld.org/blog/ten-reasons-to-burn-a-koran
http://www.doveworld.org/blog/5-more-reasons-to-burn-the-koran
But after reading all this, it seems as though the Dove World Outreach Center is just as fanatical as the Moslems whom it opposes. Oh yes, many of their reasons appeal to my fanatical side, but again, we cannot stoop to the level of ignorant savages.
Rather, we should start with educating our children about the truth of Islamic fascism and the liberal progressive humanism that is all too willing to compromise with evil. I keep on returning to this theme: we need to go back to the Gospel of repentance and conversion, righteousness and holiness; otherwise, we will experience God using the Islamists to punish us in the same way He used the Babylonians to punish Judah.
It's interesting that this Pastor Jones is nearly a mirror image of the Imam that wants to build the mosque at ground zero.
ReplyDeleteBoth are using outlandish actions to generate interest in themselves and their cause. Both are using the shield of the Constitution, particularly the First Amendment. Both are taking actions that have potentially lethal outcomes. Both are stirring the pot.
Yet, our government would protect the one while it, if it could, and it still might, would silence the other.
We can have crucifixes in urine and statues of the Virgin made from manure but whatever we do we will not offend the Islamic community. Why? Because Christians can be relied upon to turn the other cheek while Islam can be relied upon to attack its tormentors.
I'm getting tired of gutless priests and pastors and pissed at ultra violent Imams. One thing I'll give the Imams though is that at last they stand up.