10 September, 2010
Lessons to be taken from Terry Jones
No, not the bloke from Monty Python, the crazy guy from Florida who wants to burn a Quran.
As a ‘pastor,’ he claims to speak for Christianity. Most people understand that he does not. This is reassuring. If people are sophisticated enough to understand that a handful of crazy people do not speak for Christianity, even if they claim to, then it means that people might also understand that a handful of maniacs do not represent Islam, even if they claim to.
Equally, if Christians can’t or won’t distinguish between mainstream Muslims and crazy extremists who claim to defend Islam, then how can they expect Muslims to distinguish between mainstream Christians and crazy extremists who claim to defend Christianity?
You get what you give.
There was some relief expressed today when the crazy guy was reported to have cancelled his book-burning after claiming to have secured an agreement to relocate the not-really-a-mosque at not-really-ground-zero. Although the claim has been denied by both sides, the suggestion should have been met with outrage, not relief. Since when does America give in to idle threats from religious nuts? I thought that was called appeasement and that appeasement was a bad thing.
As for Donald Trump, if I offered him market value plus 25% for Trump Towers, should he sell even if he is happy there and doesn’t want to move?
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As always Bill, you cut straight to the bone and make so much sense! Totally agree with everything you've said in this post.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the whole mosque outrage in NY I must admit I was a bit surprised...until I actually read the full story and realised it's exactly what you say..." not-really-a-mosque at not-really-ground-zero". I mean, I can completely understand why a lot of New Yorkers would be sensitive, but I also think they all need to take a step back, take a deep breath and try to think a little rationally about it rather than emotionally.