September 8, 2010

Pre-empting an Eternal Embarrassment

The alleged plan of Pastor Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center to burn the holy Quran on the anniversary of September 11 directly conflicts with established principles of respect for other religions and peaceful coexistence of all believers and people irrespective of their beliefs. It is in direct contradiction with accepted credos of freedom of speech and human rights, and it can lead to dire consequences. Ironically, this plan is propagated by an organization whose name symbolizes peace and friendship, not violence and hatred.

September 11 was an evident crime against humanity, and it was unanimously condemned by all religions around the globe. Although Al-Qaede and Taliban terrorists and their pawns associate themselves with Islam, they are the symbols of deviation from Islam, having nothing to do with the religious beliefs of the majority of Muslims. The Middle East and its Muslim population are indeed the first victims of the mistaken interpretations and practices of these groups, whose deeds should by no means be attributed to this compassionate religion and its holy book Quran.

Learned Muslims oppose any violence against other religions, their practitioners, and their holy books. While they have strong sanctions against such violence, for the last two decades they have been subject to calculated offenses against Islamic values, sacred places, and religious figures, especially the Great Prophet Mohammad (May God’s Peace be upon Him). The offense is now being directed to the Holy Quran.

The perilous plan for burning the Quran is unlikely to merely derive from the deviant and Islamophobic ideas of a pastor and, like many other similar incidents of the past, it might be a calculated plot to mislead public opinion, offend Muslims, deepen the differences among religions, and bolster extremism. Such an act will be a source of awful sin and eternal embarrassment for Americans who take pride in being religious and who deem themselves at the frontier of human civilization and proponents of religious freedoms. It also seems unlikely for Americans not to be aware of the sensitivity of Muslims to their Holy Book and not to be cognizant of the fact that burning books has brought about dignity and pride to no creed and religion. This is particularly true of burning the Quran, which will leave a profound wound on the hearts and souls of the Muslims around the world, increasingly denting the image of the U.S. in their eyes.

These observations reveal the extent to which extremist and aggressive ideologies have penetrated the American society. They underscore the plan of the Floridian church as the flip side of September 11 and as a terror campaign against morality, ethics, and world peace and security — a world that, thwarted by violence and conflicts deriving from power mongering and extremism, is in need of peace, morality, and spirituality more than any other time. Although the U.S. has condemned this plan, halting it remains the strict responsibility of the U.S. government and its religious groups. Resorting to the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg does not count as a judicious, justifiable and responsible approach here. They should take strong pre-emptive measures to prevent such a dark episode in their relationship with the Muslims around the world. Overt opposition against this reprehensible act is the responsibility of all freedom seekers.

Abolfazl Fateh