Terry Jones, the leader of a small congregation in Gainesville, FL, pledged that on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks he would burn a pile of Qurans.
Very, very, very bad idea.
This bad idea comes because of the planned Islamic Center being built two blocks from the World Trade Center site. Once again, it is not a Mosque. If fact, there are several mosques in lower Manhattan and there is no complaints about their proximity to where the World Trade Center once stood.
“Pastor” Jones’s (and I am using the term loosely) protest is dangerous. This gives terrorist organizations, like al-Qaeda, the fuel to recruit more members. It weakens our relations with countries with predominantly Muslim countries. And third, it places our service members in Iraq and Afghanistan in more danger.
General David Petraeus, Commander-International Security Assistance Force and Commander-U.S. Forces Afghanistan, has weighed in on this event claiming that the planned protest will enrage anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world.
If someone was advocating the burning of The Bible or The Torah, there would be massive outrage. This is no different. I find it abhorrent and disgusting and you should as well.
The Gainesville Fire Department has refused to give Mr. Jones a permit for the event. It has shamefully inspired copy cat events.
It FINALLY took a phone call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates to force Mr. Jones to cancel postpone the event.
Now someone could make the argument that he is protected by the First Amendment through the freedom of speech and expression clause. HOWEVER (comma) it does violate the freedom to PEACEABLY assemble clause. Key words and tricky phrases are important, ladies and gentlemen.
These people are not peaceably assembling. This is counterproductive. All it is doing is inciting violence towards a group of people.
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