One of the most talked about news stories this week as the plan by Reverend Terry Jones to burn not just one, but hundreds of Qu'rans on September 11th. Reverend Jones also used Facebook to encourage like-minded people around the world to do the same. Only today has this plan been called off, after nearly unanimous condemnation from the White House, the State Department, military leaders, and followers of all religions across the globe.
Unfortunately, significant damage has already been done without one book having been burned. This man has drawn the world's attention to his small, Gainsville-based fundamentalist Christian church called the Dove World Outreach Center and its anti-Islamic ideology. Jones has written a book titled "Islam is of the Devil", which is also the message that is prominently displayed on the property of his church. His children, age 10 and 15 years old, have worn t-shirts with this slogan to school. As of Sep 7th, 2010, the Facebook page of his church had nearly 9,000 followers.
Muslims around the world have already voiced their outrage using every medium and outlet available, including violent protests in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia. Just his voiced intention to burn the Qu'ran was enough to inflame already simmering tensions, and Reverend Jones knows this. His intention is not to stand up to radical Islam, as he continually states to the media. What he is trying to do push the Christian and Muslum communities further into violent conflict, and its working.
The the goal of all radical theologies is to enflame existing tensions, or to create those that did not already exist, resulting in a polarized community. Just like in time of war, many individuals will feel the need to take a side and defend what is familiar to them against a perceived threat. If Reverend Terry Jones and the Dove Outreach Center can incite violence against Americans, this just feeds into their underlying message. More people, uneducated, uninformed, and locked into the cycle of fear and consumption, will flood his church with money and other forms of support.
We have seen the same tactic used throughout history as a method of unconventional warfare. The ability to create the threatening situation leads to mistrust and ultimately violence. Ironically, the best example of this is the 9/11 attacks by Al Queda. The main goal of these attacks was to make Americans fear all Muslims, for for us to overeact to this threat. We did exactly that, putting thousands of Muslims on no fly lists, invasions of 2 Muslims countries, rendition, and countless other unnecessary actions that divided Christian and Muslims societies. This was the goal. It was not to kill thousands of people. We played right into their hands, and so is Reverend Terry Jones.
We have seen the same tactic used throughout history as a method of unconventional warfare. The ability to create the threatening situation leads to mistrust and ultimately violence. Ironically, the best example of this is the 9/11 attacks by Al Queda. The main goal of these attacks was to make Americans fear all Muslims, for for us to overeact to this threat. We did exactly that, putting thousands of Muslims on no fly lists, invasions of 2 Muslims countries, rendition, and countless other unnecessary actions that divided Christian and Muslims societies. This was the goal. It was not to kill thousands of people. We played right into their hands, and so is Reverend Terry Jones.
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