The blogs have been excellent reading, with opinion divided between ‘Good idea!’, ‘Bad idea!’ and ‘A plague on ALL their houses!’…
Longrider points out that it’s just a book, and the furore in the ‘Muslim world’ is playing into the hands of those who point out the hypocrisy in their approach to other outrages, as noted by Blognor Regis.
The Nameless Libertarian thinks that ‘turn the other cheek’ instruction should come into play. It would, I'm sure, be more 'Christian', but I can't see that that has worked out so well for us so far.
Anna Raccoon thinks that this might, one day, come to be seen as a turning point.
TravelGall at A Very British Dude can see a potential upside…
For myself, I have to confess that the greatest pleasure is seeing Obama caught between the proverbial rock and hard place:
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's leader, has written to the American President asking him to personally intervene to stop irreparable damage to relations between the West and Muslims "threatening world peace".Except, as we saw with the Victory Mosque….he can’t. Rightly so.
US law is quite clear on the restrictions the American public will accept on their freedom of speech, and this doesn’t meet that test.
The personal appeal from Indonesia will put President Obama, who spent four of his childhood years living in Jakarta, under intense pressure to ban the Koran burning in order to prevent a violent backlash across the Islamic world.Yet if he does try, he’s going to get it in the neck from his own electorate, who only elected him by 52% and that support has been steadily waning since last November:
But Mr Obama is also under domestic pressure not to give into Muslims ahead of Saturday's ninth anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks amid a heated American row over Islam and a proposed mosque near New York's Ground Zero.Heh! The buck stops with YOU, Obama. How do you feel about your triumphant ‘victory’ now?
And since they must realise they can’t count on the Obamassiah, they are turning to other options:
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, has asked Interpol, the international police organisation to examine whether a Florida church's planned book burning can be banned to stop a "massive reaction" across the Muslim world.Good luck with that…
Old conspiracy theories are being dusted off:
"This is a plan by Zionists to put the entire world into trouble, so it should be foiled," said Tariq Naeemullah, the head of the Joint Civic Front, a coalition of non-governmental organisations in Multan.It seems other countries have whackadoodle quangos too! They’re more like us than we thought, eh?
General David Petraeus, the US military commander in Afghanistan has warned that the burning will have global repercussions and endanger US military personnel serving abroad.Yes, it’ll make them plant IEDs and launch mortar attacks and…
Oh, wait.
Having seen where appeasement has got the West, the pastor isn’t for turning, and who can blame him?
Despite the mounting pressure, Terry Jones, the pastor of an tiny extremist Christian church in Florida, has dismissed the calls for him off a bonfire of 200 Korans, to mark 9/11.But you can always count on someone to make more of an idiot of themselves than anyone else.
"As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," he said.
So step forward, Hillary, for your turn in the spotlight:
Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State said: "It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world's attention."Welcome to 2010, Hillary. It’s a whole new ball game now…
It's all very amusing. The Pastors congregation must be swelling!
ReplyDeleteIt does rather show the incompatibility between the two cultures.
They just don't mix unless both sides are mutually respectful.
The Ground Zero Mosque could be moved elsewhere. They know it's upsetting people.
It's a deliberate attempt at provocation, much like the Pastor is doing, in his own little redneck way.
I have an in built cringe factor against anyone burning books, I don't like it, never will. However if the pastors plan was to get right up the noses of the enemy (Islamic extremists) and their supporters (the righteous in general) he's succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
ReplyDeleteAs you will already have realised, I find Obama's discomfort a hoot. Free entertainment never got this good.
ReplyDeleteWhen you see things from Allah's perspective, any book burning is small potatoes. His eye for an eye offer of a mosque built on Ground Zero, is the light entertainment of Infidels.
ReplyDeleteI found the BBC's recent "picture news" of offended Muslims rather amusing... They headline it with a photo of a group burning an American flag - something I reckon is at least as offensive to many Americans.
ReplyDeleteWe should seperate moderate Muslims from insane murderous Islamic extemists while every 'infidel' Christian or not is lumped in with some nutty Pastor who wants to burn some Korans, how exactly does that work?
ReplyDeleteI could only give two hoots re both a Mosque on Ground Zero or burning Korans as long as it has no negative inpact on me. I am certianly going to find it difficult to fight for the rights of New York bulding's regulations or American freedom of speech.
The best way to defeat this nutty Pastor is not to take him seriously, and that's the point for me what he is or isn't going to do is just crazy, believe the planned NY Mosque will have little impact on its nieghbours but both insane Islamic exstremist terrorists and the current reaction of many 'moderate' Muslims is disturbing and frightening to too many for them and thier reaction to be tolerrated.
there only one thing more annoying than a terrorist and that is a person stupid enough to encourage them
ReplyDeleteI wish I had heeded the words of my dear old Pater all those years ago...
ReplyDeleteSon, he said, open a flag factory. You'll never be poor...
People almost from all city mosques gathered."
Mr Jafary said that the crowd chanted "death to America" and threw rocks at the German-run military base in the city.
The protesters demanded the Afghan authorities give them an American flag "so they can burn it and end the demonstrations". "But we don't have an American flag," said Mr Jafary.
Shit, I could have made a fortune there, couldn't I?
I just cant make up stuff as good as that!
What I take from this, with my usual delight, is that the Religion of Peace has shown itself in it's true colours once again.
Nothing, absolutely nothing has actually occured, merely threatened to occur, and the fuckers go beserk!
Thousands on the street, one shot dead and not a goddam American flag between them.
My American friends find burning their flag terribly offensive, but they shrug and say, that's your Constitutional right, and walk on...
Just wondering whether the Islamic extremists around the world have enough religious faith to believe that Allah will punish Pastor Jones.
ReplyDeleteThat'll be No then
"It does rather show the incompatibility between the two cultures. "
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Mutual respect would certainly help, but there's no sign whatsoever that that's going to happen.
A religious leader plans to burn a book, and the entire Western world rises up to condemn him, accuse him of 'provocation', claim that he doesn't represent us, try to find ways within (and without) the law to stop him.
A religious leader plans a Victory Mosque on the site of one of the world's worst terrorist atrocities and....
*crickets*
"I have an in built cringe factor against anyone burning books..."
Me too. But I'm also an atheist, so if you're gonna burn any book...
"I found the BBC's recent "picture news" of offended Muslims rather amusing..."
I wonder if it was recent, or just stock footage? They must, after all, have plenty to choose from!
"We should seperate moderate Muslims from insane murderous Islamic extemists while every 'infidel' Christian or not is lumped in with some nutty Pastor who wants to burn some Korans, how exactly does that work?"
Quite. I rthink people are starting to see through that one.
"there only one thing more annoying than a terrorist and that is a person stupid enough to encourage them"
Hmmm. We should offer them more concessions and see if that does the trick...
Oh, hang on. Haven't we tried that?
"Shit, I could have made a fortune there, couldn't I?"
Heh!
"What I take from this, with my usual delight, is that the Religion of Peace has shown itself in it's true colours once again."
Yup! It never fails to do so, does it?
"Just wondering whether the Islamic extremists around the world have enough religious faith to believe that Allah will punish Pastor Jones."
Good point!