Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt It's ironic that the very people who claim to be fighting against satanic forces are the devil themselves.
Originally Posted By hopemax Ok, I think some people aren't quite getting the crux of the question. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." In the Quran-burning example, this is an acceptable position to take. In the Islamic Center example, this is the exact reasoning, some have given for why the center should not be build. "Build it, just don't build it THERE," etc. But the response has been more, that the center should still be built. I'm putting aside the "crazies" who think it will lead to terrorist cells, etc; and more the statements from Dean, Harry Reid, and others, and what you get from a lot of the polling. Dabob has said the difference is because there is a difference between "offended sensibilities" and "death." Now, my follow-up, aren't there are other things that Islamic extremists have said, "if you do this, there will be death." To which most people have, correctly, not let them deter from. I'm thinking along the lines of the Dutch cartoonist, Salman Rushdie's book, etc. The latter case, people actually were murdered/attempted murder (several translators, and a publisher) but most people would say, the book still should have been published. So when it is okay to proceed with something, even though you know that doing so will put someone's life in danger, and when isn't it?
Originally Posted By Mr X I agree with those who say they have the right to do this, though it's a stupid and bad idea. I don't care for the equivalency notion though, as far as the mosque is concerned. Frankly, I think those who claim the mosque shouldn't be built "out of concern for the victims of 9/11" are essentially saying that the attacks were the will and desire of all the Muslims of the world. To put that into perspective, would one also claim that this book burning scheme is the will and desire of all the Christians of the world? Neither is true.
Originally Posted By Daannzzz Perhaps a helicopter load of burning bibles will fall on this particular church.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Frankly, I think those who claim the mosque shouldn't be built "out of concern for the victims of 9/11" are essentially saying that the attacks were the will and desire of all the Muslims of the world. To put that into perspective, would one also claim that this book burning scheme is the will and desire of all the Christians of the world? Neither is true.> Exactly. <So when it is okay to proceed with something, even though you know that doing so will put someone's life in danger, and when isn't it?> Well, in the case of Rushdie, for instance, he (and his publishers/translators) were not letting bullies bully them around from doing their own jobs. Essentially it was "I'm a writer, and I must write what I must. You can't bully me." Or "I'm a translator; it's what I do. You can't bully me away from doing my job." They took the risk to do their own jobs. This idiot in Florida is endangering people (our soldiers in Afghanistan) he doesn't even know, and who no doubt don't even approve of what he's doing, but could bear the brunt of the backlash anyway. I'd say that's a different situation. And as #6 astutely pointed out, he's probably not doing so out of anything but a desire to raise his heretofore non-existent profile and sell a bunch of T-shirts, mugs, and his hate-filled screed. Not exactly a Rushdie-like profile in courage.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "So when it is okay to proceed with something, even though you know that doing so will put someone's life in danger, and when isn't it?" This is a Christian church claiming that Islam is of the devil, and they are burning the Qur'an to protest what they believe are satanic forces at work. They may have the constitutional right to do this, but the whole motivation behind this stupid stunt is completely illogical.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<And as #6 astutely pointed out, he's probably not doing so out of anything but a desire to raise his heretofore non-existent profile and sell a bunch of T-shirts, mugs, and his hate-filled screed. Not exactly a Rushdie-like profile in courage.>> Totally agree, and it's really a shame that our media gives this guy the attention he craves. Imagine if the media had just ignored this guy - would this even be a story outside of his town?
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Was glad to see this today! <a href="http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/09/07/HP/R/37816/Religious+leaders+Combat+fear+and+intolerance+over+Islamic+center.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Me...ter.aspx</a>
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster I think a lot of religious leaders are feeling uneasy about the demonizing of Muslims. What happens to members of one religion may very well soon happen to the members of another. This qur'an barbecue is going to get massive media attention all over the world. We know that this is some tiny fringe church doing this but will the rest of the world know that? I think this is mostly just a publicity stunt for the church doing it. In this day and age you have to do or say something shocking to get noticed. But I also think the intent is to spur more violence on Americans from Muslims. Many Christians believe the end of the world will be a battle between Christianity and Islam and they are trying to bring it on.
Originally Posted By dshyates Where are the GOP reps in supporting Petreaus in denouncing this action? Palin, Bohner, and McCain et al.
Originally Posted By dshyates This guy is representing you on the international stage with regards to our stance on religious tolerance: <a href="http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/09/08/alg_resize_pastor_terry-jones.jpg" target="_blank">http://assets.nydailynews.com/...ones.jpg</a> I am filled to the brim with pride.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Yeah, he's just speaking on behalf of all us American's who want to burn Koran's on 9-11. Could be any one of us!
Originally Posted By dshyates But you know that is how it is going to be seen in Muslim countries. Combined with the protests against the Islamic Community Center in New York. And the attack against the Mosque construction site in GA. And with a side mention of the stabbing of the muslim taxi driver.
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster It's not just the troops in danger. These American extremists are putting all Americans in Islamic countries in danger.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Extreme Muslims have been burning American flags and pictures of our leaders for years now and there isn't a spate of attacks on Muslims in this country. Why should we expect that buring the Koran here would lead to attacks on our servicemen and women over there? Chew on that. Frankly, I think it is a stupid stunt by ignorant people fueled by a media that is just insane for ratings. This is Gainesville, Florida. If the media wouldn't have latched onto this it would have happened and NOBODY would have known or cared.
Originally Posted By Mr3000 13: <<Should we all get together and burn bibles on the anniversaries of everything terrible that has come from Christianity? There aren't enough days in the year or bibles in the world!>> A wonderful point, and one that I'm sure the "Dove World Outreach"-ers would not understand at all.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "If the media wouldn't have latched onto this it would have happened and NOBODY would have known or cared." This outrageous story is something that needed to be exposed, and I'm glad that the media is focusing on it. Especially in the context of all of the ugly backlash against Muslims lately and the fear mongering that the far right has been spewing all year.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<This outrageous story is something that needed to be exposed, and I'm glad that the media is focusing on it.>> While I agree that these people should be exposed for the fear-mongerers that they are, I'm not sure that feeding their need for attention is really a great thing. They obviously are doing this BECAUSE they want the attention - so having our 24-hour news media constantly focus on this is just what these groups want. It's free publicity for them. Once upon a time, exposing people like this in the media might have changed some minds, but today, with our media so polarized, people only tune into the media sources they want to hear. People who support this type of thing won't be listening to the negative news reports against it anyway.
