Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 9, 2010

Rev. Terry Jones has announced that 'Burn-A-Quran Day' has been canceled - he will meet with Islamic imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Is this Quran burning cancellation a good thing or a bad thing?

If Rev. Terry Jones decided to cancel, of his own accord, his church’s plans to hold his “International Burn-A-Quran Day” this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Muslim bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, where nearly 3,000 innocent people were murdered by bloodthirsty Islamic terrorists, good for him. Our freedom of speech and freedom of expression provisions remained intact.

If, on the other hand, he canceled it because he was threatened with death by Muslims one time too many (at last count, Rev. Jones had received more than 100 death threats), or if he felt that the rabid hatred and lack of regard for human life was too great to risk because of the unhinged reaction by radical Muslims across the globe, those who wish non-Muslims to believe they are a religion of “peace and tolerance” have revealed their hypocrisy and lack of regard for human life. Over a book.

This would have been an excellent opportunity for Muslims to demonstrate and prove to the watching world their “tolerance.”

Instead, the media has been filled with countless examples of Muslims’ intolerance, of violent riots in the streets. It reinforces their despicable barbarism of the past: if you’re offended or have your feelings hurt, threaten to KILL the offender. Don’t bother with debate or logical, civil discussion — don’t bother with a mature response or ignoring the offense. Screaming, threatening, bullying, and ultimately, killing your opponents — without remorse — worked so well in 9th century Middle Eastern countries, so why not continue to try to pull it off now? Bring back the inhumane barbarism of the past into the 21st century to get your way?

If being a thug works, why change?

Violent Muslim protesters in Pakistan, angry about planned burning of Qurans in Florida... where is the religion of 'peace and tolerance'?

A curious note: In many of the stories perused about Rev. Jones’ announcement that he will cancel the 9/11 burning of Qurans, he has told reporters — or they have fabricated it — that there is some kind of “swap” intended between him and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. That if Rev. Jones cancels the scheduled Quran burning, the imam has agreed that Ground Zero Victory Mosque will be moved to another location, away from the WTC site.

Huh? In your dreams. No way would the radical imam Rauf agree so quickly and amicably to moving the offensive, $100-million GZ mosque site.

Baffling development, to say the least. Or misreporting. Or a misunderstanding on the part of the minister. Or lying on the part of the imam. Will keep you posted.

Reminder, patriots: Saturday is the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Be sure to fly an American flag. Fly two or more, if possible.

Reported by New York Times, Pastor Cancels Koran Burning and Plans to Meet Imam:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The pastor planning a burning of the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks said Thursday he would not go forward with the event, adding he plans to meet with the imam planning to build an Islamic center near ground zero.

Terry Jones, the pastor from Gainesville, Fla., said at a press conference, “We have agreed to cancel the event.”

The pastor’s announcement came after a growing chorus of demands, from President Obama to religious leaders, American generals and others, that he cancel the event planned for Saturday because of the potential imact on Christian-Muslim relations and the effect a Koran burning would have on American troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But details of the pastor’s planned meeting with the Imam, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, remained elusive. Mr. Jones did say he got a promise to move the New York mosque, although such an agreement could not be independently confirmed.

“I have agreed to meet with him,” Mr. Jones said in reference to the Imam.

“We have at this time no regrets,” he said. “We feel we have accomplished our goal. We are very very happy with the outcome.”

The pastor’s decision came the same day President Obama said that the pastor’s plan to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was a “stunt” that violates American principles of religious tolerance.

Since Pres. Obama squeezed into his busy-busy schedule the offering of his opinion to the press on the Florida book burning (hope you didn’t miss your tee time, sir), perhaps he’ll go one step further and denounce in the press the disgusting, criminal barbarism of torture, disfigurement, and honor killings of Muslim women? Oops, ran out of time… POTUS has gotta go duffing, dontcha know.

From Guardian, US pastor cancels plan to burn Qur’an:

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who planned to burn the Qur’an on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, has decided to cancel the event.

Jones, who heads the Dove World Outreach Centre church based in the university town of Gainesville, claimed an agreement had been reached with Muslim leaders to move the controversial location of a planned Islamic cultural centre and mosque in New York.

Sources close to the New York imam, however, said there was no agreement to move the mosque away from the former World Trade Centre site.

The pastor’s proposal to burn the Qur’an had drawn criticism from President Obama and religious and political leaders across the Muslim world.

From Sydney Morning Herald, Pastor cancels 9/11 Koran-burning plan:

A US pastor has cancelled a Koran-burning ceremony marking the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

“We have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday,” Terry Jones said.

Jones said he decided to cancel his protest because the leader of a planned Islamic centre near Ground Zero – the former site of New York’s World Trade Centre which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks – has agreed to move its controversial location.

‘I will be flying up there on Saturday to meet with the imam at the Ground Zero mosque. He has agreed to move the location,” Jones said outside his small evangelical church in Gainesville, Florida.

“We felt that that would be a sign that God would want us to do it. The American people do not want the mosque there, and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Koran.’’

The agreement could not be immediately confirmed.

One of the organisers behind plans to build the $US100 million ($109 million) Islamic cultural centre immediately denied the pastor’s claim of a deal.

Jones’s plans to burn Islam’s holiest text had sparked an international outcry.

President Barack Obama, the top US general in Afghanistan and several Christian leaders had urged Jones to reconsider his plans.

Obama said the burning ceremony would be a “recruitment bonanza” for al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the attacks on the United States.

Obama told ABC television’s Good Morning America that he hopes Jones listens to “those better angel” and to the individuals and organisations pleading with him to change his mind.

From New York Times, Planned Koran Burning Draws International Scorn:

The international outcry over a tiny Florida congregation’s plan to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11 intensified on Thursday, drawing vocal condemnations from world leaders and touching off angry protests in corners of the Muslim world.

Although some protests in Afghanistan and Pakistan rippled with scenes of burning American flags, the outrage in the streets seemed largely isolated. Officials in Muslim countries urged restraint, seeking to head off any violent reactions if the Florida church goes ahead with its plans to set fire to several copies of the Koran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks this Saturday.

Meanwhile, President Obama joined a litany of high-ranking American officials to condemn the Koran burning, saying that the act, amplified by a global media, could put American troops at risk and fan anger against the United States. Mr. Obama called the planned event “a destructive act” and said it would be a “recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda.”

American embassies and consulates were reviewing their security policies, and several diplomatic missions in the Muslim world posted statements prominently on their Web sites condemning the planned event. The State Department issued a travel alert on Thursday saying the burning could catalyze violent anti-American demonstrations.

In 2005, violent protests erupted in Afghanistan and Pakistan world after Newsweek published report — one it later retracted — saying that American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had flushed a Koran down the toilet. At least 17 deaths were blamed on the riots.

In 2006, a Danish newspaper set off an enduring battle over freedom of expression versus religious respect — and spawned another wave of violent protests around the world — when it published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons flouted the Islamic prohibition against making images of him and also insulted Muslim regard for his importance.

[...]

But American officials have said they could do little to prevent the congregation from exercising its constitutional right to free speech.

The controversy received some attention in the Arab media but did not dominate the news, with a relatively modest spread of newspaper stories and television shows devoted to the threat.

Statements criticizing the threat continued to pour out on Thursday evening, mostly restricted to condemnations of Mr. Jones. But some went further, including a statement released Thursday by Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shiite movement, which said the administration needed to stop the demonstration “or it will be a partner in this and be held responsible.”

In Nigeria, which has been wracked by violence between the predominately Muslim north and Christian south, President Goodluck Jonathan posted a message on his Facebook page saying that burning the Koran would “assault the sensibilities of our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

Addressing Mr. Jones, Mr. Jonathan wrote, “Be mindful of the Golden Rule taught by Jesus Christ: Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you.”

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, hundreds of protesters — at least one group of them organized by a local politician — took to the streets to decry the church’s plans.

Some carried signs declaring, “Obama: Stop Florida Church.” Others set fire to American flags and effigies of Mr. Jones.

Quite the imagery created here by Doug Powers, guest blogging at Michelle Malkin’s blog:

Throughout this whole flap, did you feel like the lunch meat of sanity unwillingly trapped between two slices of kookbread in a wacko sandwich?

Additional reading:
Staring at the View: Burning Elvis and Burning the Quran
Atlas Shrugs: Muslims in Indonesia, Afghanistan Riot over Koran Burning in FLA
Andrew McCarthy, NRO: Burning Questions
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Minister Receives Death Threats from Muslims for Sept. 11’s “Burn-a-Quran Day”… Honor Killings & Inhumane Acts Against Muslim Women Get Little Media Attention and 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
Michelle Malkin: Associated Press Orders No Pictures Shown of Burned Korans; Burned Christian Bibles, Not So Much; Update: Koran Burn Canceled
Gateway Pundit: Ground Zero Victory Mosque Imam Issues Threat: If You Don’t Build It “They Will Attack” (Video) 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) and Figures. Support For Ground Zero Mosque Plummets After Obama Weighs In and Nuts… DNC Chair Kaine: If Ground Zero Mosque Was a “Synagogue or Church There Would Be No Controversy” (Video) and Krauthammer on Pelosi’s Mosque Comments: “I’m Trying to Decide if Her Statement Was Out of Malice Or Pure Lunacy… I’m Going With Lunacy” (Video) and POWERFUL – Families of 9-11 Victims Release Ad Against Ground Zero Victory Mosque (Video)
On My Watch – The Writings of SamHenry: Imam Rauf as Agent for Muslim Dominance – The Larry King Interview 9/9
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
Nice Deb: Video: Hannity Talks To Former Imam About Ground Zero Mosque and 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: Imams order beheading of Geert Wilders and Mosque builders won’t disclose funding while we pay Imam to travel the Middle East

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