Burn the Koran

This week a Pastor in Florida announced that he and his congregation will burn copies of the Koran on September 11th, 2010 as a protest against Islam.  This has garnered worldwide attention, mostly negative from the friends of Islam.  Even President Obama is openly condemning this action as inflammatory, fearing the repercussions from extremist Islamic fundamentalists.  My comments and thoughts follow:

It’s interesting how burning the US Flag in protest, burning the Bible, hanging the President in effigy, defiling the dead bodies of our soldiers, and attacking the peaceful people of this planet are accepted and condoned practices of Islam, yet any attempt to protest their religion or the Prophet Mohammad are immediate calls to Jihad and that reap immediate reactions.  This is typically fundamentalist thinking.  Extremism and fundamentalism are what brought us to this point.  Are we responding with more extremism and fundamentalism or are we sending a message that incites us to our own Jihad?  What is the message?

What concerns is the response from the Whitehouse and our President to show tolerance and acceptance for this Extremist Fundamentalist group of zealots.  If this is truly a country where freedom of expression is our right and not subject to interpretation or subjugation, this Pastor in Florida should be applauded for his assertion of Freedom, rather than cautioned against expressing his opinion.  If this man is willing to stand behind his actions and reap the repercussions for his actions, then he should proceed, but I caution him to think this trough because if we live by the sword, we will surely die by the sword.  Perhaps a less drastic demonstration is in order.

We have the freedom to voice our opinions in a manner that we choose, but we conveniently forget that along with that freedom comes the responsibility for our actions.  Are you ready for the repercussions for your actions?

Be very careful…  You reap what you sow…  Hate begets hatred, and violence begets more violence.  What are the ramifications of this action? Please think this through before acting. Are you ready for the reaction?  Are you willing to stand the test of this protest?