One need not journey to the mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan to discover evil. We have our own home-grown variety of dangerous extremism here in Florida. The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, whose pastor Terry Jones has written a book called Islam is of the Devil, believes he is called by God to defeat non-Christians in general, and Muslims in specific.
Fortunately his excessive ideas have not carried widely. The church, according to Voice of America, has about 50 members (VOA). Their web presence is far more ominous, with a Facebook page and an active website. With only 16 fans, the Facebook site is more lethal than meets the eye -- as is the website. The church published an essay this week on-line an entitled "Ten Reasons to Burn a Koran."
It states:
On 9/11/10 we are burning Korans to raise awareness and warn. In a sense it is neither an act of love nor of hate. We see, as we state in the Ten Reasons below, that Islam is a danger. We are using this act to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful. We do not hate any people, however. We love, as God loves, all the people in the world and we want them to come to a knowledge of the truth. To warn of danger and harm is a loving act. God is love and truth. If you know the truth it can set you free. The world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam.
The essay continues:
The earliest writings that are known to exist about the Prophet Mohammad were recorded 120 years after his death. All of the Islamic writings (the Koran and the Hadith, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe Mohammad never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet Moslems follow the destructive teachings of Islam without question.
Islam (not us) is totalitarian in nature, like Nazism, Communism, and Fascism. T his evil nature of Islam needs to be seen. Moslems around the world burn and kill on a regular basis, every week, properties and people. All you have to do is follow the news. T he many death threats we are receiving, the warnings about terror attacks also prove our point. Do Christians make these threats when Bibles or churches are burned? No.
In 1985 I co-founded Fundamentalists Anonymous to combat the Fundamentalist Mindset, a black-and-white way of thinking described by the Dove World Outreach Center above. Sadly, this church embraces this mindset to counter not only the excesses of Islam, but all of Islam. This is as dangerous and illogical as condemning Christianity because of the Dove World Outreach Center.
On the Phil Donahue Show in 1985, I described this Fundamentalist Mindset for the first time on national television: A mindset that sees the world in black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. A mindset that cannot compromise. A mindset that is intrinsically unhealthy. This mindset creates extremism in any theology or worldview from Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, to atheism, Communism - any set of values that cannot accept gray. In short, Extremism.
The church's extremist website essay ends defiantly:
We have fallen asleep since 9/11/01 and have been hoodwinked by the growth of a (for now) non violent Islam. Shall we give in to threats, then, and allow Islam to grow in America unopposed? We at Dove World Outreach Center will not, even if it costs us our lives. For those who support us, we say thank you for standing with us in courage. For those who oppose us, we say wake up and do not give in to the fear and lies!
Given the brouhaha about Muslims creating their own spaces of worship in lower Manhattan, near New York City Hall, it cannot be said that this anti-Islamic sentiment is an isolated case, however extreme. Throughout Europe and Canada laws exist regarding hate speech. Although I support the ACLU's position on Freedom of Speech in this country, there has to be some way to protect my Muslim friends from this type of outrage. I remember the words of Martin Niemoller, If we do not stand up when they come for different groups, there will be no one left to stand up for us (saying).
I know the most difficult intellectual challenge to liberals and moderates like myself is being totally opposed to extremism. We are rightly afraid of becoming extremist ourselves. I have wrestled with this quandary since 1985 and find that if we cannot stand up against extremism, we will lose. Extremism won in Germany, was responsible for the Cultural Revolution, and the Killing Fields. The Dove World Outreach Center does not have this power, but the concept that 'Islam is Evil' is an ideology that can and has killed all over the world.
I do not know what the most appropriate response is to this growing Islamophobia in the United States -- and in Europe -- but I know this mindset is extremely dangerous. I call on minds loftier than mine to propose immediate solutions to this human crisis before the flames of hatred engulf us all.
This essay appears in Indonesian on The Jim Luce Stewardship Report (JLSR).
See also by Jim Luce:
Remembering My Battle Against FundamentalistsI Asked: Is the Fundamentalist Mindset Diseased?
Muslims & Non-Muslims Hear about Terrorist Threat, Solutions at Harvard Club
Follow Jim Luce on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimluce
Parvez Ahmed: Burning the Quran Is Like Burning the Gospels
Rodger Kamenetz: Why Holy Books Can't Really Be Burnt
I think we have to try to not hate others in American society, just because our enemy is hateful that does not mean we have to follow. If we do, how can we say that we are "different" than our enemies? how can we claim that we represent "good".
I wonder if he has any idea of how difficult it is to actually burn a book? I actually did some research on this (for a scene in a book I was writing) and found that it was just about impossible to burn even a small paperback in our backyard grill, even when I doused it with starter fluid. I like the idea of watching him strike match after match and get extremely frustrated because the most he can do is singe the edges.
The earliest writings that are known to exist about the Prophet Mohammad were recorded 120 years after his death. All of the Islamic writings (the Koran and the Hadith, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe Mohammad never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet Moslems follow the destructive teachings of Islam without question.
Now lets look at this regarding another important book where the FACTS are pretty much the same give or take a decade or so.
The earliest writings that are known to exist about the JESUS CHRIST were recorded 120 years after his death. All of the CHRISTIAN/CATHOLIC writings (the old testament, new testament, Mormon bible, the biographies, the traditions and histories) are confused, contradictory and inconsistent. Maybe JESUS CHRIST never existed. We have no conclusive account about what he said or did. Yet CATHOLICS/CHRISTIANS follow the destructive teachings of THE BIBLE without question.
Sorry I don't bash religion but neither the Koran nor the Holy Bible are testaments of historical events but rather a spiritual/philosophical instruction manual
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2009/10/22/pastor-host-halloween-bible-burning-event/
BTW what possible good can come from burning a few Korans?
As this pastor writes and spews his message from his mouth he fails to see that as he's pointing one finger at Muslims, he's really got three fingers pointed back at him.
This is lunacy at it's worst and is snowballing to the effect of "as long as the message is pro christian/catholic hate rhetoric is OK for the USA"
Just as burning the American flag, here and abroad, does nothing to hurt America but only pisses people off.
The intolerance of those who will rail at the book burners is matched by the intolerance of the book burners themselves.
http://www.stewardshipreport.com/index.php/petraeus-planned-koran-burning-endangers-troops.html
There is a strong difference in the quality of reactions between these communities that cannot be ignored. As an atheist, I feel a need to stand up for those who want to burn the Koran, because any step in bowing to Muslim threats of violence is a step towards appeasement of this religious sect and its deep embrace of violence as a response for all occasions.
But what they do do is shift the lines of what it is acceptable to say. The impeccably groomed and articulate blonde haired blue-eyed promoter of hate would have little chance of making a case if the brown shirted lout screaming in the streets didn't deaden the audience's nerves to the heat of his hate first.
As for what you can do to counter these people who want to share their endocrine disorder (excessive bile) with the world, there is little you can do about the extremists (even if you take the time and effort to break their grip on the hate that they use to prop up their fragile egos, their instinctual reaction will be to grab on to another hate and embrace it just as tight, even if it is the polar opposite of the hate they are gripping now), but you can try and resensitise the mainstream to the heat of hate by making an effort to get them socialising with the object of that hate, not as a token or 'exotic' friend, but as a normal friend.
However, as a matter of tax law, "charitable" status should be forfeit for groups that are aggressive maligners of other faiths. Tax-free status is an indirect form of governmental support, and it should not be going to petulant religious congregations.
I haven't seen one American Muslim group come out and condem Hamas for the recent murder of 4 Jews just 2 days before peace talks were to begin in Washington between Israel and the Palestinians. When has CAIR came out and officially condemmed Hamas? Never. But maybe everybody here still believes that CAIR doesn't funnel money to them. Or maybe you believe that their not a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood. Like I said the Author needs to re-evaluate extreme.
Would a Republican bother to ask if any of the things said in the quotes, about the writings being from decades after the death of the founder, or the writings containing inconsistencies and contradiction, be equally applicable to the Christian Bible, indeed, to the Jewish Torah?
Would a Republican bother to ask if the "totalitarian" regimes make up a small percentage of the Muslim population on the planet?
Would a Republican bother to ask if Islam is as diverse as Christianity with many different creeds and denominations, as different between Catholics and Protestants?
When these people blindly grasp anyone who spews ideas that echo their own, and not ask intelligent questions, they give power to the evil that waits for the unwary.
That's the real danger in America today.