Global Affairs: Burning of the Qur’an

Islam is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an (a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God) and the teachings and example of Muhammad, founder of the religion and often considered by its adherents to be the last Prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.

Jones feels Islam is “of the devil” and has been extremely outspoken on the subject going so far as the write books on the subject. He has been described as a ‘grizzled 58 tear-old who packs a .4 caliber pistol on his hip. The Church, known as the Dove World Outreach Center, also gained negative attention during the 2000’s for its direct criticism of Muslims. It is a 30 member non-denominational church in Gainesville, Florida. The church is listed as a hate group by several civil rights organizations. New ministers are now ordain with no previous qualifications or requirements. Jones’s son is a youth minister.

Jones gained media attention last year nearing the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attack for his encouragement of International Burn a qur’an day, during which participating Christians were to burn the Muslim holy book from 6pm to 9pm. The event propagated through facebook and other websites. Originally the burning was to commemorate the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack as well as to ‘open the eyes’ of Muslims around the world and expose parts of the religion as dangerous and radical. The amount of news coverage was ridiculous and made Jones truly dangerous.

Anger at the proposal was swift and obvious as protests (relatively peaceful) sprung up around the world. The Muslim community was outraged by threat of having their sacred book desecrated. However, even after calls from President Obama and General Petraeus (both explained the potential consequences of his actions) Jones’ plans were not initially unchanged but may have led to the ‘agreement’ he eventually sought out. What was said during these phone calls is unknown to the public.

Ultimately, Jones agreed to what he percieved as a ‘deal ‘ made with Imam Muhammad Musri that the burning would be cancelled so long as the Muslim mosque (community center) that was scheduled to be built near ground zero was moved. He publicly promised to ‘never burn the Qur’an’. However, Musri has no direct control over the mosque in New York and construction will continue as planned. This was more of a discussion than a deal according to Musri who said 'He's accusing me of lying to him, which I did not. I was very explicit with him." said Musri, who is with the Islamic Society of Central Florida. It is unclear what was actually said during their meeting.

March 20, 2011, after a 6 hour mock trial (which he felt relieved him of his promise), Pastor Terry Jones actually burned the Qar’an. A single copy of the book was doused in gasoline and burned inside the church, overseen by a local fireman.

The depth of the anger felt around the world became apparent two weeks later. Approximately a thousand protesters stormed of the Blue Mosque in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif (far north) and attacked a local UN headquarters. The building’s security was quickly overrun and the employees within were left defenseless. Seven UN workers were killed, two of them were executed by decapitation. Four protesters were killed. Next, the UN headquarters in Kandahar (far south) was hit. The security was more prepared and police fired into the attacking crowd, often with machine guns. It was realized that many of the protesters were disguised Taliban militants. Jalalabad (far east) was hit next resulting in an additional 20 casualties. Kabul (center) has also experienced riots resulting in about 100 casualties.

The death toll is 321 so far but continues to grow daily. Jones’ actions were idiotic and unjust, but the response seen across Afghanistan is equally intolerable. The people being killed are unrelated to the burning, a fact that both US and Russian leaders in particular have heatedly pointed out. No government actions have yet been made other than tightening security and protection of UN headquarters and convoys.

Jones is protected by his right to free speech, and it is legally impossible to say that he is responsible for the deaths of the UN workers or of the US soldiers that will suffer in the future. Senate is looking for a way to prosecute him. Several sizable (2-4 million dollar) bounties have been put on his head by Islamic organizations but he seems to be receiving mixed reviews in the US, some calling him a hero while others call for his arrest. Regardless, the Taliban are likely to take advantage of Jones’ ignorance as a recruiting tool; and protests will continue. Jones also intends to put the prophet Muhammad ‘on trial’, potentially angering Muslims more than ever before. The true repercussions of Jones’ actions have yet to be felt.