Church to endanger Troops with Islamic Insult

This idiot was enough to bring me out of my summer blogging hibernation.

The Dove World Outreach Church, in Gainsville, Florida, is planning on burning Korans on September 11th as a protest against Islam.

From CNN:

The pastor of a Florida church planning to burn Qurans told CNN Tuesday while the congregation plans to go through with the action to protest the September
11, 2001 attack on the United States by al Qaeda, the church is "weighing" its
intentions.

The Church's founder, Terry Jones, said of the planned burning:

"We realize that this action would indeed offend people, offend the
Muslims. I am offended when they burn the flag. I am offended when they burn the
Bible. But we feel that the message that we are tyring to send is much more
important than people being offended."
Jones said Muslims are welcomed in the United States, if they observe the
Constitution and don't try to impose Sharia law, or Muslim law. The message, he
said, is directed toward the "radical element of Islam.
"Our message is very clear," he said. "It is not to the moderate Muslim. Our message is not a message of hate. Our message is a message of warning to the radical element of Islam, and I think what we see right now around the globe provides exactly what we're talking about," he said.

While Jones, and his church, have the Constitutional Right to do so as a part of the freedom of speech, that does not mean they should. Especially in light of what the US Military has to say about it:

Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in Afghanistan, said the burning of Islam's holy books "could cause significant problems" for American troops
overseas.
"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort
in Afghanistan," Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant
problems -- not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the
Islamic community."
Petraeus said he was concerned by the political repercussions of the church's plan.
"Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," he said. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
He said extremists would use images of burning Qurans to inflame public opinion and incite violence.

That should be enough to stop this. Again, while they have the right to do this, that does not mean that they should. Especially since it will further endanger US Troops...We all the have the right to say and do certain things. I once heard it put this way: "We have the right [to do stupid things], just like people have the right to make out in public. But doing so still makes you a social retard."

Jones, in response to the Military's warning, said the congregation is taking seriously the warning from the U.S. military that the act could cause problems for American troops.

"We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it," said Jones.

Praying about it? I'm sure Jesus would approve of this. Actually, wait, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't.

I like what Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House has to say about this:

As bad as Obama has been, there is nothing more destructive of the
Constitution’s spirit and letter than burning the Koran - or any book for that
matter. What this Reverend Jones is planning on doing is so antithetical to
Americanism that any red-blooded tea party patriot should be steaming at the
very thought that this glory-seeking preacher wants to besmirch our most sacred
values by imitating Nazi brownshirts at their worst who piled high books by
Jewish authors at Nuremberg and set fire to them.

There is no difference - none - between the 50 or so members of the
Dove World Outreach Center and mindless Nazi drones if they carry through with
this plan.

My sole concern is with protecting the legacy of free expression in the
United States - a legacy that would be damaged if we burn any book for any
reason. Why stop at burning the Koran. Why not move on to 1001 Arabian Nights?
Or the diaries of T.E. Laurence? There are dozens of books that deal with the
Koran and the Muslim faith, both fiction and non-fiction. If you want to make a
symbolic gesture about Islam, why not torch those volumes too?

Moran has a great point. Book burning? Really? That does bring to mind fascist regimes of the past...

While I agree with the idea of sending a message to Radical Islam on 9/11/10, book burning is not the way to do this. Book burning is neither right, Christian, or American.

People from all walks of life in the US should protest this. Republicans, Democrats, independents, Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc...

We need to let it be known that is not representative of the whole.