"The Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center announced plans to burn copies of the Koran
on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but has been denied a permit to set a bonfire. The church, which made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said "Islam is of the Devil," has vowed to proceed with the burning."There are so many things wrong with this, it is hard to know where to start dissecting it. I couldn't help but notice the dichotomy between the name of the church - if we even dare call it that - and the hatred they are promoting. Isn't a dove a sign of peace and love?
No matter what one thinks about the Muslim extremists who were responsible for the horror that was 9/11 and all the other horrors committed before and since, the Koran is a holy book. Dare I even say it is as holy as the Christian Bible
and the Jewish Torah
?Yeah, I do dare. There are thousands, maybe millions, of people who practice the religion of Islam who have had nothing to do with terrorism. They revere their holy book and burning it in effigy is a grave insult. It is also stirring the embers of hatred among Muslims.
Today there are protests in Kabul over the plans to burn the Koran, and the protests have been taken to the same extreme as the plan. Protesters are calling for the death of President Obama, somehow believing he is behind the church's plan.
As I think about the ramifications of this, I wonder what the Dove World Outreach Center would think of a group burning a Bible to mark the horror that was the Crusades?
6 comments:
So true.
Religion is not about hating another- it is about finding things to love in the other.
Well said, Rayna. Too bad so many fail to grasp what is at the core of all religions. I don't know a single one that promotes hate. It is just certain people who use their religion to promote their own hate. Sigh.....
Those who truly follow the Koran believe in peace. They aren't the ones who destroyed the twin towers. I'm sure they are just as upset about what was done in the name of their religion as we are.
That's true, LuAnn. I have read a number of essays and commentaries written by devout Muslims who decry what is done in the name of their religion.
I've been thinking that same thing. What would those church-goers think if Muslims had a Bible-burning pyre? Just because you don't believe in something doesn't make that something evil. I don't know how a group who does that could continue to call themselves Christian.
Helen
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