Terry Jones vs. Lots of Angry Muslims

Dear Readers,

So I’ve been following the burning the Koran story. And I want to write about it.

First of all, I need to say that I don’t think Pastor Terry Jones ought to burn any Korans. I don’t think he should encourage anybody to burn any Korans. Burning a book that so many people believe to be the holy Word of God is wrong. I would be terribly offended and saddened if someone burned the Bible and/or the Book of Mormon in an act of protest.

If Terry Jones doesn’t like Islam, why doesn’t he just say something like, “Islam is a false religion. Muhammad was not a true prophet. Sure, some of the Muslims are nice folks, but everyone should be Christian, and not Muslim.” He could even say that Muslims are horrible sinners and they’ll burn in Hell forever. Or why doesn’t he just write letters to the editor of his local newspaper? Why doesn’t he encourage his followers to spread his anti-Islamic message through literature and arguments? Why does Terry Jones feel that he has to burn Korans and be so shocking and offensive?

I’ve never really understood protestors who do big symbolic, shocking things, like the folks who burn the American flag. Why don’t they just say, “In my opinion, America is not that great. America has done a lot of bad things, like enslaving people, disenfranchising minorities, and giving Paris Hilton her own reality TV show. I hear that things are much better in Holland.”

Well, for some reason the act of burning an American flag is more dramatic and shocking, even though all the flag-burners are trying to say is, “I hate America. America is bad.”

Well, I think that burning the flag just makes the flag-burner look immature. I’ve always kept my distance from protestors who speak symbolically through vandalism, or messing with effigies, or blowing stuff up. I prefer protestors to speak literally, not symbolically.

Like remember when Sinead O Connor tore up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live? I thought that that incident was in very poor taste, and I lost respect for the woman. Why didn’t she just call together a press conference and say, “I don’t care for the Pope or the Catholic Church for the following reasons...” She might not have generated as much press, but at least she would have been taken a lot more seriously by mature adults who are persuaded by arguments and not by shocking stunts.

But then again, the original Boston Tea Party people dressed up like Native Americans and dumped a bunch of tea into the sea. They were violent, rowdy protestors. They didn’t just politely ask King George III to stop being so tyrannical; they staged big demonstrations and they destroyed property and they used violence. And I guess it’s kind of cool to see people dress up and block traffic and yell into bullhorns. It breaks up the monotony of the day.

And the Supreme Court has ruled that burning the flag is protected under the freedom of speech clause in the First Ammendment. And so is burning the Bible or the Book of Mormon or the Koran.

But if you read this article, the most shocking thing to me is not Pastor Terry Jones’ plans to burn Korans, but this prominent Muslim’s response to the situation:

"If this [burning the Korans] happens, I think the first and most important reaction will be that wherever Americans are seen, they will be killed. No matter where they will be in the world they will be killed."

I'm not sure, but that statement might be a threat.

And Terry Jones claims that he has received over a hundred death threats, and I believe him. Radical Muslims have been known to threaten people with death, and they’ve also been known to carry out their threats.

That is not the way Muslims should respond. They should not kill anyone. They should not threaten people with death or violence. They should not use this incident to radicalize Muslims or incite more violence and terror.

So, what should Muslims do in response? Um, how about publish articles, write letters, chat about it with friends and neighbors? How about blog about it?

Wait, I have another idea. Why don't the offended Muslims hold a candlelight vigill? Or maybe they could write poems and songs about how much they dislike Terry Jones, and about how much they love the Koran?

But maybe the best thing Muslims can do about the Koran-burning is ignore it.

I mean, as a Mormon, I’ve kind of been in a similar situation as Muslims are. People have desecrated the Bible and the Book of Mormon before, and what have I done about it? Nothing. I just keep going to Church and saying my prayers and trying to raise a god-fearing family.

The only time I recall responding to messed up anti-Mormon stuff is when HBO did an episode of Big Love with sacred temple stuff in it. I called HBO and told them I was offended and I wished that they wouldn’t air the episode. I think they aired the episode anyway. I can't remember. But I didn’t threaten anybody’s life or do anything violent.

I think this whole burning-the-Koran thing can be a teachable moment. Muslims can learn to accept constructive criticism and to turn the other cheek. And Terry Jones can learn that doing really offensive things at the right time gets you famous.

Sincerely,
Telemoonfa