ach Center has planned a burning of Qurans to mark the forthcoming 9/11 anniversary. Pastor Terry Jones has dubbed the event "International Burn a Koran Day," and conceded to The New York Times that he doesn't know much about the religious text, and that the planned event is drawing donations at a time when his bank has demanded payment on the church's mortgage and its property insurance has been cancelled. Although, Jones says he has "no experience with it [the Quran]," and only knows "the Bible," he is nonetheless convinced that Islam is "full of lies," and a religion "of the devil." The pastor's actions have drawn attention worldwide. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calls the planned burning an outrage. Watch video of some of CAIR's response here. Dr. Saeed Khan, a professor at the University of Florida, told The Times that Jones is "hijacking Christianity," much like "Al Qaeda hijacked Islam."
As noted here, First Amendment scholar Charles C. Haynes has maintained that the rise of anti-Islam rhetoric is not only a danger to religious liberty in the country but also plays into the hands of extremists. "Such ill-informed statements must be music to al-Qaida's ears. After all, al-Qaida has worked hard to convince the Muslim world that its political and violent ideology is the true face of Islam - and America's ‘war on terrorism' is actually a ‘war on Islam,' Haynes wrote.
f course you have the right to build a mosque, but it is insensitive to build it there."
ous freedom in America, for native-born and immigrant alike. He commendably stated, "As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan."
lent. The newspaper also cites similar controversies developing in California and Florida as well as a recent Time poll showing that "43 percent of Americans hold unfavorable views of Muslims, far outpacing" unfavorable views of other religious groups.
rising "anti-mosque rhetoric," is reminiscent of other periods in the country when disfavored religious groups were the victims of intolerance - Haynes notes, for instance, anti-Catholicism that festered throughout the nation during the 19th Century.