A Different Take On Burning The Quran

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John Hinderaker at Power Line posted an article yesterday about the Florida church's plan to burn the Quran.  He made some very interesting points that I had overlooked.

Although Mr. Hinderaker agrees with General Petraeus' statement that burning the Quran is a bad idea and will cost American lives, he wonders, "Still, is it not highly problematic when a senior military officer warns American citizens against exercising their undoubted First Amendment rights?" 

The article points out:

"What gives rise to this dilemma, of course, is the fanaticism of radical Muslims, who have, indeed, responded violently to real or perceived slights to their religion. There is no parallel phenomenon with other religions. The Taliban blew up ancient statues of Buddha without worrying for a moment that Buddhists would react violently. Saudi Arabia destroys Bibles as a matter of policy, but it never occurs to the Saudis to fear mobs of rampaging Christians--or even Congressional disfavor in this mostly-Christian nation." 

Mr. Hinderaker is a lawyer and sees this event from a lawyer's perspective:

"Radical Muslims want to establish a zone of protection around Islam that insulates it against the critiques to which everything else--not just other religions--is subject. If that isn't the laying of an important foundation stone of sharia, what is it? And if there is one religion that is uniquely exempted from scrutiny or criticism, is it absurd to say that that religion is "established" in the constitutional sense?"

Mr. Hinderaker concludes:

"In the end, our way of life is simply incompatible with the precepts of radical Islam. There is no way to reconcile the two. Rather than start down the road of self-censorship, our government officials, including the military, should stand up for American freedoms.

"Finally, an interesting question: how is this controversy similar to, and different from, that over the Ground Zero Mosque? Both involve actions that private citizens have a right to take, but arguably shouldn't. It is a worthwhile comparison, but that is a post for another day."

I think the church in question is doing something very foolish.  They might be making a point, but they are putting American lives at risk.  However, this discussion is further proof that freedom and extreme Islam are not compatible.  If the goal of the extreme Muslims is to set up a worldwide caliphate, what better way to start than to begin to limit the freedom of speech and expression in 'free' countries?  Because of the actions of a few overzealous church goers in Florida, we are opening the door to that possibility.

 

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This page contains a single entry by Granny G published on September 7, 2010 5:07 AM.

Good People Behaving Badly was the previous entry in this blog.

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