Burned

And so, in the end, the pastor in Gainesville didn't burn any Qur'ans.

But he managed to draw enough media attention for the whole world to know that there are Americans who would think of doing such a thing, and on 9/11 to boot.

Whose fault is this? His or the media? Me, for checking out the Facebook page incredulously? Obama and Petraeus for even deigning to issue a comment? I'm not going to point fingers. It's everyone's fault.

This post is about the actual act of thinking of burning the Qur'an. Who even considers burning a holy book? I mean, seriously. I am horrified by the idea of burning books at all, regardless of one's reason, but at least if you are going all Fahrenheit 451 and you think you are ridding the world of filth, you have a reason that is potentially sound, in my opinion. It doesn't make it right, but you could argue your point and I'd listen. But burning a holy text of a legitimate religion practiced by approximately 1 billion people on Earth? As an act of hatred? C'mon.

Yes. Terrorism exists. Yes, the 9/11 attacks were claimed by Muslim extremists. There are extreme sects of pretty much any organized religion. Some of them practice violence and some don't. Some practice violence in very opaque ways (such as refusing to recognize the sexual orientation differences amongst people). And there are terrorists who don't act in the name of religion; see Timothy McVeigh and the Unibomber, amongst others.

You know what, whatever. I shouldn't even have to make any of those above points. The only point needed here is that whether we are at war with a country or not, whether we have a problem with a certain religion, whether any action we take would potentially cause problems for us, whether or not we've been wronged by a group, there is no justification for burning the holy book of other people in an act of defiance or as a statement or really, for any other reason.

The Muslim religion is very close to Christianity. Muslims pray to the same God that Christians do. (And Hindus and Buddhists for that matter.) I've not read the Qur'an, but I've read the basic tenets of Islam and really, is there much to argue with? Yes, Muslims adhere to some strict rules that are hard for some free-wheeling Americans to really understand. They have ritual around eating. There is Ramadan and fasting. There are dress requirements that some participate in. There's a strong sense of belonging. In Muslim countries, this is the norm. It is the air, as much as Christmas and Easter is here. And I'd argue that those countries are much more religious-based than we tend to be. I'm not sure if many Christian Americans could tell you the history of some religious rituals they participate in without a second thought.

I spent time in Turkey last year and I loved hearing the call to prayer 5 times a day as it wafted through the air over the loudspeaker wherever I was: the biggest city or the smallest village. I found it as beautiful as I do "All Come All Ye Faithful" sung in my childhood church in Chelmsford on Christmas Eve. I'm not a religious person, but I know faith when I hear it or see it, and I respect it, no matter what form it is taking. No matter what form. No matter by whom.

I'm not thrilled that a sect of a religion has chosen to attack us - to hate us. But there is no excuse for anyone using that as an excuse to justify hatred of an entire religion and group of people who have done nothing wrong. Especially a religious person. One who supposedly preaches the tenets of Christianity, which last I checked included the Golden Rule.

Good job getting your 15 minutes of fame, pastor in Gainesville. Media, are you sure you should've covered this quite so much; to have given it so much credence? And me: here I am, waxing on about it, after the fact. I guess we're all guilty, in the end, of something. We all get burned.