Pastor Terry Jones is just one of a long line of protesters who have used flames to destroy symbols of meaning. By now, the world knows of his intention to burn copies of the holy scripture of Islam, the Quran with his tiny congregation in Gainesville, Florida on September 11, 2010. His plan has been a bonanza for the media, which feed off of this kind of conflict. He has been repudiated by the Obama administration, by General Petraeus, and by hundreds of faith communities around the world.
The idea of burning the Quran creates a tension in America between freedom of expression and the need to respect religious plurality. On the one hand, people are disgusted by the insensitivity and disrespect Jones and his congregants will show to a major religion of the world. On the other hand, most people recognize he has an absolute right to express himself and his ideas in a non-violent way. At the ideological and intellectual level, there is no reconciliation in this tension.
Eleven months ago, a pastor in Greenville, North Carolina planned to burn copies of the Christian Bible. He believed that the King James Version of the Bible was the only true Bible and all other versions were "Satanic" and "perversions" God's word. His plan barely made the Greenville local newspaper. In 2008, the deputy mayor of the Israeli town of Or-Yehud apparently organized the burning of hundreds of New Testaments as a protest against Christianity throughout his community. And, of course, who can ever forget Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451 when thousands upon thousands of books were burned to destroy intellectual curiosity. Book burning has a long history as a means of moral, religious, or political protest.
What is missed in all of the anger, accusation, and counter-accusation is the possibility that people holding radically different values and beliefs can sit together to explore their differences. Pastor Jones is undoubtedly frustrated by what he perceives as the rise of Islam. Perhaps he sees Islam as a threat to his view of Christianity. Perhaps he is angry at the thought of an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. Perhaps he is tired of reading about extremists and suicide bombers and the deaths of American soldiers in Islamic countries. Maybe he really does see Islam as evil. Rather than isolating him and his congregation, would it not be more productive to see if they might be engaged in a civil and respectful manner.
The opportunity seems to be presenting itself. Clergy members, academics, and elected officials in Gainesville are planning nearly a dozen events to counter Pastor Jones' protest. What would happen if a dialogue could be opened up in Gainesville around the intense feelings on all sides? Such a dialogue could take many forms and certainly would have to be facilitated by a skilled mediator experienced in dealing with high conflict situations. What would America be saying to the world if, instead of protest and counter protest, there was conversation and dialogue leading to deeper understanding and mutual respect?
The media might not like this because burning books and counter-protests make for much more interesting stories than people sitting in a circle talking out their problems. However, the greater symbolism of a peaceful, respectful process for dealing with difficult conflicts over values and beliefs would be a far more powerful message from America to the world.
Some might say that Pastor Jones would never agree to a dialogue process. Until he is approached, we will never know. The job of the peacemaker is to show the parties that talking to each other is politically and emotionally safe. Pastor Jones may find himself on a media train hurtling down a track he really does not care to be on. The right process framed with the right words might be enticing to him and his congregants.
We will see how this drama plays itself out in the next few days. I hope however that someone in Gainesville has the common sense and courage to see that a peaceful dialogue will be a more productive and symbolically important way of dealing with this problem. The community would benefit, but more importantly, the world would benefit from this example of peace coming from America.