Protecting Even the Most Offensive of Speech: Quran Burning Day

This coming Sunday a small church in Florida is planning to have a “burn a Quran day”. This in turn has sparked protests around the Muslim World and has even forced General Petraeus to make a comment saying how the event could cause danger to the military personnel abroad.

The whole event is somewhat mind-boggling. The pastor planning the event is so far from the message and life of Jesus that it is hard to even comprehend. His complete disregard for the lives of others that may be put in jeopardy shows the true narcissism of the man and the overall church. I think 99% of individuals in the U.S. would agree with this. However, this event can serve as a powerful test of our freedom of speech.

The freedom of Speech just doesn’t pertain to nice, quiet, and respectful political or religious rhetoric; it also protects the profane, disturbing, and offensive. Whether it is burning a Quran, a Torah, a Bible, or an American flag, there are going to be some people that say the government should make it illegal-either because the simple offensive nature of it or the disturbance it could cause. However, just as the right should never have tried to take on a crusade against flag burning or other attempts at public censorship, the left cannot make some crusade against Quran burning or displaying a picture of Mohammad.

There may be backlash because of it; while I understand the deeply disturbing nature of the Quran burning (like most Americans would be deeply offended if someone was burning the Bible for some kind of show), for people to start rioting and being violent against the U.S. government or other U.S. citizens for this is stupidity. The overwhelming majority disagree with this childish act from the church, and the government has come out in strong opposition to the demonstration. However, we cannot allow the threat of violence and extremism to cause us to deny the freedom of speech and expression, just as the government was wrong in denying other civil liberties following the 9/11 attacks. The price of living in a free society means allowing things which are disgusting and offensive and may even cause security issues. However, the price of trying to censor and stop these actions is much greater- a slow and gradual loss of our liberties and freedoms. Speak out against the Quran burning day, let your Muslim friends know that this type of extremism does not represent you or your family; however, realize that the effects of allowing to this happen are less dangerous than the effects of the government stopping it from happening. This is a hard truth to swallow, but something we have to hold forth in a free society.

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Why My Opinion Has Changed…The Islamic Community Center Should Be Built

When the controversy first surfaced about the “Ground Zero” mosque, I was of the basic opinion that it should have the legal right to be built there, and that the groups protesting it were making the situation worse; however, I thought it would probably be best for them to move to a different location. However, as the situation as progressed, my opinion on the issue has changed for a number of different reasons: the importance of not letting misinformation and mistruths influence decisions, the position and ideas of the Imam who wants the community center built, not giving into hatred and anger, and finally what it would mean for Christian/Islamic relations worldwide.

First of all, we have seen how this whole situation has been portrayed with a lot of half-truths or straight out lies. The whole name “Ground Zero Mosque” is misleading as it is really more of a community center and is not even visible from Ground Zero. There have also been a lot of lies about how this is going to be used by radical Islam and how the people building the center support terrorism, which is simply untrue. We have seen how lies from the media can cause harmful decisions to be made (the latest situation with Sharron Sherrod and Fox News is a good example) and this sets a dangerous precedent. If we allow outlets like Fox News to make significant social changes by pushing out lies and half-truths, we will be encouraging them to do more of the same.

Secondly, the Imam who wants to build the community center has been an outspoken supporter of peace and an opponent of terrorism and extremism. He is part of the Sufi sect of Islam, which is the more meditative branch of Islam. In fact, his sect (which has traditionally always been the most peaceful) has actually been attacked, and individuals were killed by members of radical Islam. He is actually building the center to have a place for people to go, especially young people, in New York. If the building was being built by a radical fundamentalist I would be much more skeptical, but when it is being built by a Sufi who is trying to lead the followers of his religion away from extremism it is a different story.

Another important reason I have changed my opinion on this issue is because of the danger of giving into fear, anger, and even hatred. If this community center is not allowed to be built, than people will think that if they can be angry and hateful enough they can stop any other legal project (political or religious) which they are opposed to. We cannot let our Democracy and freedoms be denied because there are enough uniformed and angry people yelling. That is not a democracy; that is anarchy. It sets a horrible precedent that could have long-term effects.

Finally, this mosque being moved because of all the misinformation and anger would be terrible for Islamic/Christian relationships around the world. It has already been reported that Al-Qaida is using this event in their own recruitment. It would signal to the rest of the world that there is still some type of “Holy War” between Islam and Christianity. While there are serious differences and goals between the religions, this type of conflict does not do any good for anyone and gives people the impression of hatred, intolerance, and unfairness. On the other hand, this could be a chance of forgiveness and a mutual understanding between Islamic and Christian groups both in the nation and around the world. The people who are building the community center had nothing to do with 9/11, and they should have every right and support to build their own center of religion. As a Christian who believes strongly in the freedom of religion and expression, which the United States is founded on, there can be no other option to support the rights of these individuals.

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Why Allowing a Mosque to be Built Near Ground Zero is the Only “American” Thing to do

There have been many conservative leaders and Tea Party protestors that have come out recently against a mosque being built near the Ground Zero Site. While I can understand some of the anger and resistance people may have to this idea because of the radical Islamic community which was behind the September 11^th attacks, to deny the Muslim Community the right to build a mosque (or any other religion to build a place of worship) anywhere in the United States is setting a very bad precedent and is in fact going against the first amendment of the Bill of Rights- the freedom of religion and the illegality of “respecting an establishment of religion”.

One thing that people need to keep in mind is that this mosque is not being built to spite the U.S. and make light of the attacks, rather it appears to be an attempt to simply build a place of worship and show that the majority of Muslims are peaceful and non-violent. One of the arguments being made by conservative leaders, including former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, is that countries like Saudi Arabia don’t allow churches or synagogues, so we shouldn’t allow this mosque. The one problem with this is that….we are not Saudi Arabia or Iran..We are free and open democracy. Why are we trying to follow the religious exclusion of these nations? We allow religious and political thought from all angles and points of views. We are a country that allows wackos like the Westboro Baptist Church to remain legal. Why? Because, we are a free and open democracy where freedom of religion is guaranteed. To start trying to deny this because people are offended by something is denying the very ideas of the nation. The conservative movement has been raving about the following the original constitution. Well, this is an opportunity for them to follow their own ideas.

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