From the Wall Street Journal:
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said the planned burning of Qurans on Sept. 11 by a small Florida church could put the lives of American troops in danger and damage the war effort.
Gen. David Petraeus said the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians…
Which is all very true, I suspect. I also doubt the wisdom, in the largest sense, of burning a book considered holy by some people. I certainly don’t like it when someone desecrates the symbols of Christianity – especially the wild abandon some on the left have about desecrating specifically Catholic things.
And yet, Moslems will burn our flag at the drop of a hat. They’ll desecrate not just the symbols of Christianity, but even a Christian church for no reason at all. Christians are routinely brutalized in Moslem countries for no reason other than the fact they are Christians. There is no insult to my religion and my nation which Moslems won’t engage in – no lie about my government, my President (current or past) or our allies that Moslems won’t spread. Given immense provocation, I still say, no, we won’t utterly destroy Islam. But I’m supposed to ensure that no person in my nation offers any insult – as determined by Moslems – to Islam?
I don’t think so.
I’m tired of this speaking with baited breath as if Moslems are our masters and we are their docile slaves, free only to speak and do as they bid. Love I can give, even to my enemies; respect I can offer, even if they aren’t particularly respectable; tolerance I am all in favor of – but I won’t curb myself or my fellow citizens because Moslems demand it. If the burning of a Koran causes hurt feelings in Islam, then that is just too bad – perhaps it might make some of them think of the hurt feelings (to say the least) among those who have had family members blown to bits, beheaded or otherwise cruelly used by Islamist terrorists, with hardly a peep of protest out of the great masses of the Moslem people.
If anyone is Islam expects me to crawl, they will disappointed. I hope, too, that everyone will stand up and say, enough. It is time for the Moslem world to cease playing the victim, cease winking an eye at the cowardly acts of terrorists and stop blaming the world for problems in the Moslem world which are the sole result of cowardice, greed and apathy among Moslems.
UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg over at NRO’s The Corner takes issue with the actual desire to burn a Koran. He’s 100% correct in the particulars, but like most commentators on this issue, he’s missing the larger point. Why are we seeing people so strongly urging that the parish in Florida not burn a Koran? Because we fear a violent reaction on the part of Moslem people. Fear – even if not acknowledged or fully understood – is what is motivating the condemnations.
I refuse to bow to fear of what some Islamo-fascists might do. I’m no longer even remotely concerned about the tender feelings of the Moslem world – not until a Christian can hold his head up high in the Moslem world will I be concerned about how Moslems feel. Its a two way street – I won’t blow them up; I won’t behead them; I will treat them with respect and if there’s a natural disaster in Islam I’ll be first to advocate aid…but I’m not going to tremble over what they’ll do if offended by the actions of someone in the West. This has to stop, and I mean right now – not some time down the road if Moslems suddenly feel like being nice to us.
UPDATE II: Hartford, CT city council to demonstrate that they are ready, willing and able to be slaves.
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