Burning the Koran

This jerk, Terry Jones is getting quite a bit of attention. In case you don't read or listen to anything but my blog, he's planning on burning the Koran on September 11. Mostly, people are voicing their concerns that this act will make radical Muslims really upset and it will put the United States and her troops overseas in greater danger.

I think this man's actions are insulting and disrespectful to millions of peaceful followers of Islam.

However, I find myself a little bit annoyed by the media coverage. I seem to recall a little while ago that there was some upset over Proposition 8 in California. Lots of evangelical Christians voted to outlaw gay marriage and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of the more vocal supporters of the bill. During and following the vote, I heard that numerous people burned the Book of Mormon, a text that is every bit as holy to me as the Koran is to a Muslim. They also vandalized Mormon places of worship.

Why didn't this get more press? Why didn't talk shows and pundits sit around tables and talk about respect for other's beliefs?

I'll tell you why. It's because no matter how many Book of Mormons you burn, a person of my faith is not going to strap a bomb to him or herself and kill a bunch of innocent people in "vengence." Members of the Mormon Church use legal, democratic processes to state their beliefs. If other people don't like those beliefs, and even if the democratic process is overturned, Mormons will not pull out guns to change people's minds. They will keep living and doing as they believe without destroying.

So really it comes down to the violence. This hateful Terry Jones fellow might be getting a call from the president of the United States asking him to reconsider because a small minority of horrible Muslims have made the whole world afraid. How sad that hatred and death have become the language of religion.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Terry Jones went ahead with his burning of the Koran and no reporters or cameras were there to document it? Let him burn it all by himself and let Al-Qaida wonder if they'll get into heaven by blowing him up.