Burning the Koran

September 9, 2010 in Random Thoughts, Spirituality 8

I’ve had a number of people ask me what I think about the pastor and church in Florida that plans on burning copies of the Koran. The plan is to burn the copies on Saturday, the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I thought I’d toss out a few thoughts here and open up the blog for comments. Here’s what I think.

  1. This guy is getting way too much attention. I don’t believe that was his original plan. To be honest, he doesn’t strike me as being media-savvy enough to have planned this all simply to get his church into the spotlight. I’m sure he’s shocked at how the world has turned her attention toward him and his church. Still, he’s getting the attention. That’s why I’m choosing not to use his name or the name of his church in this blog.
    “Yeah, but the attention is all bad.” You might argue. That may be true of the mainstream media and the average joe in the street, but that’s not who this church connects to. Any church that would plan an event like this one clearly connects to people of like mind. And I’m sure there are many individuals who think this guy is the most anointed preacher ever. I have no doubt that once the dust settles, and the attention is gone, that he will see many new families in his church. Trust me, he’s getting a massive amount of “good” attention through this event.
    But don’t miss out the value of negative attention either. For guys like this, having “the world” against you is simply a sign that you are doing God’s will. I’m sure he will quote the words of Jesus to his congregation, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18) The more negative the comments, the more this guy will believe he’s doing God’s will.
  2. This guy has the right to burn the Koran. I hope we don’t miss this point. Legally, he is allowed to do this. And he should be allowed to do this. Right or wrong, let’s not strip away more freedoms because we are worried about what someone might do. Now, I’m Canadian, which means I don’t appreciate freedom the way my American friends do. Just look at our law books here in Canada and you’ll understand that statement. But, my Americans friends have defended a person’s right to even burn the flag. If we tell this guy that he has no right to burn the Koran, then what’s next? What right is removed from us. As a biker, do I eventually lose my right to ride because some people are afraid when I go past them? As a follower of Christ, do I lose the right to express a personal spiritual opinion because an atheist disagrees with me? As much as I do not agree with what this guy is planning to do, I do believe he should have the freedom to do it.
  3. As a pastor, this guy clearly needs discernment. Most pastors I know have a heart to build relationships with those outside their faith. Most truly want to build bridges, not walls. When I plan an event, a sermon series, or anything else that is connected to the church, I ask many questions. At the top of that list are questions about how this event will be perceived by those outside the church. Will it connect with them? Will it build relationships? Or will it offend? I want everything we do as a church to connect to people. I want our events to be a bridge to the unchurched. If this guy took thirty seconds to ask the same questions, I think he’d see how ridiculous this decision to burn the Koran truly is.

Now, I have one more thing is bugging me about this whole story, but I hesitate to say it. I believe it could be misunderstood. So, let me first make it abundantly clear that I completely disagree with the man’s decision to burn the Koran. I think it’s one of the worse ideas I’ve ever heard. It’s wrong. It’s inappropriate. It’s anti-Christian. Repeat after me: “Rob does not support burning the Koran.”

Having said that, are we not playing right into the same stereotype by suggesting that people will die if he burns the Koran? The Muslim community has been clear that they do not support fanatics any more than Christians support their fanatics. The North American Muslim community condemned 9/11 as much as anyone else did. Does the Muslim faith promote peace or not? If it does, then why wouldn’t that faith win out over the behaviour of one man and one church? When we suggest that people will be killed in response to the Koran being burned, are we not being anti-Muslim?

There have been instances where Atheists have burned Bibles. There wasn’t an uproar with people suggesting that lives will be lost because they are burning Bibles. So, why are we suggesting that extreme behaviour will happen with the burning of the Koran. Is it because we truly believe that is how Muslim people behave? If so, why do we believe that? Is it true? Again, according to leaders within the Muslim community, they are people of peace. So, which is it? The preacher in Florida claims that he is burning the Koran in an attempt to open our eyes to the evils of Islam. He is suggesting that we are being deceived into accepting this faith group into our cities, especially after 9/11. When we respond with fear that if he burns the Koran, Muslims will murder innocent people, are we not actually proving him right?

Let me use abortion to illustrate this point. No intelligent discussion on abortion includes murdering doctors. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, you agree that murdering an abortion doctor is wrong. It is the radical extremists who shoot doctors. People who are out of touch with the real world. As a result, when debating abortion, pro-choice people don’t say, “We’d better not push our opinion because someone might get killed.” And, pro-life people don’t say, “I wouldn’t make those comments public, because you might cause the death of some doctor.” Rather, we see heated, emotional, and intelligent debates take place on that issue. Both sides recognize that the radical fundamentalist is going to do whatever he/she might do regardless of what either side says on the debate. So, why is it different now?

Again, I don’t believe he’s right. But it’s bothering me just how much our words don’t seem to match our outrage. We are saying Muslims are peaceful people and we should demonstrate love and kindness rather than offensive acts of burning their holy book, but then we express fear over what might happen if the Koran is actually burned. You can’t have it both ways.

Could a radical Muslim extremist kill someone because this guy burned a Koran? Of course it could happen. But, a radical Muslim extremist could kill someone even if he doesn’t burn the Koran. Same with a radical Christian extremist could do something stupid regardless of the actions of others. But if we suggest that he should not do this because of the potential behaviour of extremists, then we’d better be prepared for the slippery slope that comes with that argument. We’d better be prepared to stop having opinions at all because of the potential behaviour of extremists.

Rather than focus on what some idiot in Florida is planning on doing, why not put some energy into building a relationship with a person outside your faith system. If you’re a Christian, connect to a Muslim. If you’re an atheist, build a relationship with a religious person. If you ride a Goldwing, become friends with someone who has a real bike (okay, just teasing with that one).

Okay, enough rambling … I’d love to hear your thoughts.

  • Julie H

    The troops in Afghanistan are fighting for hearts and minds. They are trying to work with village elders and the people themselves to drive out the Taliban. They need to eliminate some of the places where terrorists can hide and re-group. This story — which I agree has gotten WAY too much attention — will be used as a propaganda tool. The Taliban will use it as one more reason why the people can not trust the Americans; more proof that the troops are the enemy. The longer these strongholds exist, the more troops will die.
    Regardless of the situation overseas, this stunt is a slap in the face to the millions of peaceful, adherent Muslims who live in our communities, attend our schools and work among us day-to-day.
    Does this guy have the ‘right’ to burn the Qur’an? of course. But I can hardly believe that this offensive act is anything that Jesus would condone.
    Finally you ask if this act will be the catalyst for moderate Muslims to take up arms against Americans. No, but if there are one or two out there who are on the edge of fanaticism this may push them over the edge. As we saw in 2001, it only takes a handful to kill thousands of innocents.
    Fanaticism, of course, is not unique to Muslims. Let’s remember, there are fifty Christians in Florida who are planning to burn Holy Books

    “Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings.” — Heinrich Heine

  • Emma

    What I’m about to say may offend some people, and for that I apologize. And please do not misconstrue my thoughts, because I’m not going to be able to articulate them very eloquently. This pastor needs prayer, big time…not because what he’s planning on doing is reprehensible and just plain immoral, but because the man obviously has very little faith in his faith. He obviously is so unsure of his own faith, beliefs and spirituality that he feels the need to bully others into following him. You remember that kid on the schoolyard who called you names and pulled your hair? He (she) felt really crummy about themselves and had zero self-confidence, so they felt the need to knock other people down to feel ‘up’. Those people need prayers, they need a hug, they need our compassion. This pastor needs to spend some time in the Word, and with God, to recharge his faith. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel the need to be such a bully.

  • Trevor Hilton

    Personally, I wouldn’t burn a Koran. It wouldn’t accomplish anything if I did, and feel I’m just lowering myself to their level. But, I disagree with many of the reasons given for him not to do it.
    Muslims will get mad. They already are mad.
    They’ll start bombing. They already are bombing.
    It’s insensitive. It’s also insensitive of them to kill Christians, burn Churchs, etc.
    It also bothers me that our own President supports a Kuwaiti citizens First Amendment right to build a Mosque near the site of the World Trade Center, but condemns an American citizens First Amendment right to burn a book.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UWWPHBVQ2EV2VNRQPRFN3EV5ZU PETER

    Hi Rob, I agree with most of what you are saying. I believe that this pastor is not only unwise but would go as far as to say that if he thinks that burning the Koran is an action pleasing to God, there is something fundamentally wrong in his understanding of the gospel.

    The only thing I don’t agree with is your implication that Islam is basically a peace-loving religion. I know that there are Christians who thought they could use violence to advance the cause of Christ, but in doing this they were clearly violating the New Testament and going against the early history of our faith in which, for the first three centuries, the gospel advanced and gained influence through faith, love prayer and servanthood, not through violence or the exercise of political power. In contrast, the Koran clearly does have many texts that support violence against “the infidels” and the early history of Islam (it advanced mostly through conquest) supports the view that violence is fundamental to Islam. That’s not to say there aren’t peace-loving Muslims. I have made friends of several Muslims and I believe that we are to treat all people with respect and assume the best, not the worst. But Jesus did tell us to be wise as serpents as well as innocent as doves, and I believe we should be under no illusions about the true nature of Islam. There are many within Islam who have an agenda to take over the Western world. This of course doesn’t justify what this foolish pastor is doing, because it is contrary to the way of Christ — but sometimes Christians who want to sound reasonable make Islam out to be more peace-loving than the evidence justifies.

  • Anonymous

    Great thoughts, Julie. And, I totally agree with you.
    I wont go so far as to blame the media (too easy a cliche), but this isn’t a story and it’s been made into one. IF this guy had been ignored, then this wouldn’t even be an issue.

  • Anonymous

    Emma, awesome comment! I think you’ve nailed it perfectly. When you are insecure about your own beliefs, you attack others. When you are insecure about yourself, you tear down others so that you look bigger. This guy clearly does need prayer for all the reasons you mention.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, Trevor. It shows again just how complicated this stuff can truly be.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Peter,

    Perhaps I should clarify. I’m not suggesting that it is peace-loving. I’m suggesting that Muslim-leaders claim it is peace loving. They speak out against 9/11, etc. And so, either we take them at their word or we acknowledge that this guy is speaking truth (even if his acting out by burning a Koran is unwise).