A Florida pastor's plan to burn the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11 is a breathtakingly dumb idea. It's bad for the country. As Gen. David Petraeus warned, this illiterate's stunt could incite violence against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Pastor Terry Jones has argued that he enjoys a First Amendment right to burn the books. I'll buy that. Likewise, an imam has the right to build a mosque where he will, but he ought not claim that putting an Islamic center near ground zero would help build bridges across religious lines.
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There is no sense of proportion. The left portrays the religious right as extremists, if they oppose, say, abortion or same-sex marriage, while it ignores Islamic cultures' unequal and at times violent treatment of women and gays.
Witness Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43-year-old Iranian widow who was sentenced by the Iranian government to be stoned to death for adultery. Authorities later changed her sentence to death by hanging and now claim that Ashtiani is guilty of assisting in the murder of her husband. (Her supporters argue that a videotaped confession may have been coerced and doctored.) This mother of two could be hanged any day.
There are other victims as well. A young Afghan couple was stoned to death in August because they tried to elope. Recently, Time magazine told the story of a Bibi Aisha, an 18-year-old Afghan woman whose husband cut off her nose and ears, under orders from the Taliban, after she tried to escape mistreatment by her in-laws. Her real crime: refusing to be chattel.
Jones says that he has been praying as to whether to go ahead with his plans to burn Qurans on Saturday. May I suggest that instead of burning books, his congregation pray for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani?
Good article. Now, I dont agree that the left ignores the crimes of Muslim countries against their women. It is a question more of proportion and how much is achievable and in what order. Certainly, I see that Hillary has repeatedly taken very strong stance in favor of women's rights even in the Islamic nation context, and even when she has travelled to those countries.
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Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010 Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010