Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 9, 2010

From Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs on Islamic 'honor killings' of women: 'Stop Islamization of America's (SIOA) next campaign to reach and educate the American people has hit the streets of Chicago, the first in a nationwide campaign: taxitops! I thought it was a perfect medium to get our message to the people who are hungry, tired of the lies and starving for information that the media is too afraid to provide.'

I’m of mixed emotions on the “International Burn-a-Quran” Day this Saturday, to be conducted in memory of the horrific 9/11 attacks on America by radical Muslims 9 years ago.

I’m trying to be objective. As a Christian, I’d obviously be distraught about Bibles being burned by American Muslims. But as an American, I’d honor and uphold, although reluctantly, their freedom of speech and expression provided in the Constitution — nor would I threaten to behead them, as Muslims are now doing. And while the Word of God is holy to me and to millions of Christians, a book IS just a book. When it’s set on fire, it becomes a symbol to those who cherish it. But it’s still a book.

And therein lies the problem. I’m having difficulty wrapping my head around this zealous outcry over the Quran burning. This 9/11 book burning will not change anyone’s mind — it’s not meant to. Book burning is actually rather lame, but it has certainly lit a metaphorical fire in both camps.

Even Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Gen. Petraeus are speaking out against the Florida minister who is orchestrating the protest burning. The minister is well within his rights under the Constitution to do so, even though he is being deliberately provocative. As are Muslims when they burn Bibles or Torahs or effigies, or wave “Death to Infidels” and “Death to Americans” signs in protest. Or illegal aliens (and Muslims in zealous retaliation, of course) when they desecrate the American flag.

The burning, mutilation, whipping, stoning, or beheading of women who dare defy Muslim men, often presumed guilty with no evidence, no trial — victims of “honor killings” — is far more heinous than any burning of a book. Where is the condemnation from the media or the White House over the cruel, criminal misogyny that is permitted under Islamic sharia law? No outcry. None.

How tragic that the White House, Muslims, the left-wing media, and all those other folks who are in an uproar over the scheduled Florida Quran burning on September 11 can’t muster up as much energy and outrage to protest and fight the inhumane, despicable treatment of women and teen girls in Islamic countries under sharia law, and there is a growing number here in the United States.

It’s upside-down world where a controversial book burning is getting more media attention and protest from Muslims than the unspeakable tortures or vicious killings of thousands of Muslim women and girls, females who are given no voice, no liberty, no hope, no equality. Who are treated worse than the average American pet. Who have no liberty and are ignored by the media, the White House, and so-called peaceful Muslims.

Books can’t feel pain or sorrow — they’re OBJECTS. Inanimate objects. They aren’t people, aren’t life. Screaming and threatening to kill over a few books burning this Saturday in Florida… is this for real? No one with a shred of humanity or sanity should buy into this nonsense with more passion than they emote over the depraved acts of sharia of a young woman having her nose cut off, or her face destroyed by acid, or her head chopped off all in the name of Allah. It is an atrocity. And I’m not hearing any outcry on it from Clinton or Petraeus… they’re speaking out for BOOKS, not for desperate human beings.

Excuse me if I don’t share in either the enthusiasm nor the anger for Rev. Terry Jones’ scheduled burning of the Quran — Muslim women are being raped, tortured, and murdered, and they are valued far less than a book. They are shown little compassion or aid by fellow Muslims around the world. And these same Muslims that claim Islam is the “religion of peace” are threatening to kill the minister who is spearheading the Quran burning.

The “religion of peace” is no such thing.

Reported by KXNT Las Vegas News Radio, Fla. Minister: Sept. 11 Quran Burn Still Planned:

The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.

“We are still determined to do it, yes,” the Rev. Terry Jones told the CBS Early Show.

Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect. The 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Quran Day.”

Supporters have been mailing copies of the holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers to be incinerated in a bonfire Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Kabul, took the rare step of a military leader taking a position on a domestic matter when he warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that “images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence.”

Petraeus spoke Wednesday with Afghan President Karzai about the matter, according to a military spokesman Col. Erik Gunhus. “They both agreed that burning of a Quran would undermine our effort in Afghanistan, jeopardize the safety of coalition troopers and civilians,” Gunhus said, and would “create problems for our Afghan partners … as it likely would be Afghan police and soldiers who would have to deal with any large demonstrations.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the pastor’s plans were outrageous and urged Jones to cancel the event.

“It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world’s attention, but that’s the world we live in right now,” Clinton said in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations. “It is unfortunate, it is not who we are,” she said.

Allahpundit at Hot Air brings up some thought-provoking considerations:

I wish they wouldn’t do it either — burning books is an almost singularly offensive form of protest, needless to say — and I appreciate Petraeus’s concern for his men. But it’s hard for me to imagine him asking, say, anti-war protesters to stay home from a rally lest a public show of division among American voters give hope to the enemy. Citizens and political leaders can and should criticize or counter-protest this preacher, but if military brass are willing to start weighing rights against American blood spilled, where’s the line? I support repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but if it happens, won’t media coverage of that play rather poorly in Iraq and Afghanistan? Should we maybe not do it then so as not to jeopardize any troops?

[...]

This is a tougher issue, I think, than it seems at first blush. My instinct on provocations is to lay off unless it’s in defense of some important liberal principle. That’s why I supported “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” which was a reaction to the culture of intimidation practiced by some Muslims against western blasphemers. When people like Lars Vilks and Kurt Westergaard and the “South Park” guys have to fear for their lives for drawing cartoons, solidarity in the name of free speech trumps concerns over offending Muslims who don’t participate in that culture. By Petraeus’s own admission, though, the Koran-burning incident now involves the same culture of intimidation: He’s not merely worried about hurt feelings among innocent Muslims if the Koran burns, he’s worried about U.S. troops being killed for the offense. What incentive is created (or, rather, reinforced) if the event is now called off for that reason? I heard these same arguments from the “hearts and minds” crowd during the “Everybody Draw Mohammed” kerfuffle — we must censor ourselves so as not to alienate non-violent Muslims, even though in the process we end up giving the violent ones precisely what they want — and I’m as confused as ever as to where the line is, assuming there is one.

From Atlas Shrugs, more thought-provoking points on the flip side… Muslims in Indonesia, Afghanistan Riot over Koran Burning in FLA:

More love from the religion of peace and tolerance. Sorry, fellas, here in America we have free speech. Nobody said boo when Piss Christ was an art exhibit or Comedy Central had Jesus snorting coke or when the steady stream of Jew hating cartoons and TV shows in the Muslim world came out, so the prophet moe and his followers are going to have to grow up.

Muslims must learn to get along with others and live side by side with their fellow man.

The 911 quran burning in Florida is a dumb idea. I don’t support such acts. Book burnings are always a bad idea. But Muslims have nothing to fear from those Christians. It is insensitive for that church to burn the quran, but it is still a free country, is it not? Islamic supremacists can’t whine about “insensitivity” while planning to erect a 15-story mega mosque on Ground Zero. Meanwhile, Muslims across the world are going nuts of the book burning, “death to America.”

Staring at the View weighs in with an intriguing essay… Burning Elvis and Burning the Quran:

Thirty-five years ago my brother burned my Elvis records. At the time I was in India. He thought he was doing God’s will. Included among them was Elvis’ Greatest Hits Volume 1 which I had bought when I was ten years old. It contained Heartbreak Hotel, All Shook Up, Hound Dog, and Jailhouse Rock. I still remember most of the lyrics.

How did I respond to my brother’s zeal for God? Other than, “Damn it Sam, wasn’t that going a little overboard?” – nothing. I didn’t hold it against him, try to burn his house, or threaten his family. I’d almost forgotten about it until this week when the furor surrounding a church in Florida threatening to burn the Quran brought it back to mind.

The media is all over this story. Google it, and you will find the pastor called every name in the book. Well, not really; read 20 stories and you’ll see the same adjectives repeated 20 times. If the church goes through with its threat, I imagine every news channel in the world would love to be there with its cameras when the first ayah hits the flames. A rabbi here warned us of the seriousness of this action (tears), reminding us that people who begin by burning books end by burning people (heavy sobs). General Petraeus stated that American soldiers in Afghanistan will be endangered if the event is not called off.

I just have three questions, one for the media, one for the rabbi, and one for the general.

My question for CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and all the others is, Why are you focusing all your attention on the stupidity of the pastor, and none on the stupidity of the people who will kill, burn, and maim when their book is burned? No one will be hurt if the Quran is burned. Wounded feelings, Yes; wounded bodies, No. Bruised emotions, Yes; bruised heads, No. Injured emotions, Yes; injured people, No. Hurt sentiments, Yes; patients in hospitals and bodies in morgues, No.

And I have a question for the rabbi. You went on and on about the “sacred book”. Have you read (I mean carefully read) what it says about your people? Do you know what Muhammad did to your people in Medina and Khaybar? Can you connect that, not just settlements in the West Bank and checkpoints at Gaza, with the hatred many Muslims feel towards your people?

My last question is for the general. Are you really telling us that we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and our soldiers are sacrificing their lives and limbs by the thousands, to help a people who will kill us if we burn a book 99.9 percent of them cannot read? (The only “Quran” is the Arabic Quran; any other translation is considered merely an interpretation and the vast majority of Afghans cannot even read that).

Outcry from Muslims over the 9/11 Quran burning…

Muslims in Indonesia protesting upcoming Quran burning | Photo credit: Atlas Shrugs

Yet where is the Muslim outcry for the mutilation and killing of women?

Time cover: Disturbing photo of a young woman whose nose has been cut off, permitted by Islamic sharia law

UPDATE: Quran burning event canceled by minister… < a href=”http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/2010/09/09/ministers-planned-quran-burning-draws-islamic-hysteria-scorn-death-threats-he-cancels-book-burning-will-meet-with-imam/”>read more here.

Additional reading:
Gateway Pundit: New Black Panthers Issue Threat to Koran Burners: You Will Be the Target (Video) and Westboro Cult Will Torch Koran… And US Flag and Call Off the Suicide Bombers… Pastor Cancels His Koranic Bonfire and Paki Minister Wants Obama to Offer Eid Prayers at Ground Zero & Declare Himself Caliph of All Muslims and Another Obama White House Lie About Islam and While Abbas Talks Peace With Obama – His Ministers Honor Mother of 4 Terrorists and CNN’s Zakaria Presents Hezbollah as a Model of Religious Tolerance and Obama Stands By His Support for Ground Zero Victory Mosque (Video) and Obama Administration Stands By Ground Zero Imam Despite His Attacks On America (Video) and NY Muslim Cab Driver Stabbed in Neck… Teabagger Pro-GZ Mosque Leftist Charged With the Crime and Radical Ground Zero Victory Mosque Imam Thanks Obama For His Support and Karl Rove: Team Obama Was Taking Sides on Ground Zero Mosque Before They Took Sides (Video) and Ground Zero Victory Mosque Supporters Rant Against Jews Then Beat Jew-Supporter at Rally (Video) and Roger Ebert: Calls Sarah Palin Hitler, Says America Is At Fault for GZ Mosque Troubles and Ground Zero Victory Mosque Supporters Call Americans Bigots & Scream “Hallowed Ground- That’s a Lie!” at Rally (Audio)
Dangers of Allah: Leftist Feminists Ignore Islamic Oppression of American Girls
On My Watch – The Writings of SamHenry: Imam Rauf as Agent for Muslim Dominance – The Larry King Interview 9/9
Patterico’s Pontifications: Forgive Me for Not Caring About What They Think
Mcnorman’s Weblog: Imane Boudlal, Disney Worker Who Sparked Hijab Flap, Rejects New Company Compromise UPDATE: She’s off the schedule. and Nancy Tries to “Walk Back” Her Call to Investigate the Mosque Protesters
The Camp of the Saints: Andrew McCarthy Gets It…Almost Fully
John Schulenburg, Gateway Pundit: FBI Intimidation of Koran Burners and Media Double Standard
Nice Deb: Flight 93 Memorial Blogburst #71: Ride to Stop the Crescent Mosque and Radical GZ Mosque Imam Claims Obama’s Cairo Speech Borrowed Talking Points From Cordoba Initiative and The Media’s Double Standard In Reporting Ground Zero Rallies
Diary of a Mad Conservative: Islamization of France and Imams order beheading of Geert Wilders and Mosque builders won’t disclose funding while we pay Imam to travel the Middle East
Frugal Café Blog Zone: British Writer & Comedian Pat Condell Slams the Ground Zero Mosque — “Is America Losing Its Mind?” (video) and LA Times Readers Weigh in on Muslim Employee’s Lawsuit Against Disneyland… Hijab or No Hijab? and As More Americans Learn about Ground Zero Mega Mosque, More Are Opposed to It… NYC Greek Orthodox Church Destroyed on 9/11 Still Not Permitted to Rebuild or Relocate (video) and Muslim Leaders Call Mega Mosque Opposition “Beyond Islamophobia” & Shows Hate of Muslims, Similar to Persecution of the Jews (video) and Krauthammer & Rove on Pelosi’s Loony Ground Zero Mosque Comments (video) and “Follow the Money”: FBI First-Responder to 9/11 WTC Ground Zero, Michael Grimm, NY Candidate for the Senate, Wants to Know About Mosque Funding & Wants Pelosi to Resign (video) and WE REMEMBER – Families of 9/11 Victims Speak Out… Release Powerful, Emotional Ad Against Ground Zero Mega Mosque (video)
NewsBusters: Chris Cuomo: Christians Shouldn’t Condemn Jihad Because of Crusades

Categories: Freedom of Speech, Government, Law & Constitution, Media & Communication, Religious Views, Social and Political Climate
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