The Best Defence Against Terry Jones? Ear Plugs…

Terry Jones, the preacher, burnt a copy of the Quran, intentionally insulting Muslims. That is indeed his right, under the US Constitution. The Muslims who have killed at least 30 people in Afghanistan are responsible for those murders, but Jones is morally, if not legally culpable. While he was free to do what he did, he did so knowing the likely outcome, not just a possible outcome, but the most probable outcome. Thus, he cannot avoid moral responsibility even as he denies it. The killers, though, do not get a free ride by crying, ‘He made me do it!’

Now, Jones seeks even more attention. He wants to ‘hold a trial’ of the Prophet Mohammed. What law might pertain, what authority he might have, are exactly nil. This is a publicity stunt and nothing more. The man is a fool and most people recognize that.

There are those, though, who will take this as yet another manifestation of hostility on the part of the West toward Islam. It’s not, actually. It’s the hostility of an idiot and his handful of parishioners, looking for attention and contributions.

The wise thing to do is to simply ignore it, as one would ignore the babbling of a derelict on a street corner. But inevitably, there will be people who will use this to fuel their outrage and seek to avoid their responsibility for their own actions. Sadly, it is not this world that will ever be spared of idiots, on both sides.

Koran-burning pastor threatens mock trial for Mohammed

Despite clear evidence that his actions have led to multiple murders and widespread violence in the Middle East, controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones has vowed to step up his provocative campaign against Islam.

The radical pastor said that he was considering putting Islamic prophet Mohammed ‘on trial’ for his next ‘day of judgement’ publicity stunt. His last, in which he oversaw the burning of a copy of the Koran after a six-hour mock trial, has been directly responsible for a wave of violence that began last night and has left 30 people dead and more than 150 injured.

The defiant stance has led General Petraeus, the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to join international condemnation of pastor Jones.
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by Crossroads Arabia

Crossroads Arabia is written by a former US foreign service officer who has had two tours in Saudi Arabia, 1981-83, 2001-03, who reads and speaks Arabic and has spent the bulk of his career in the Middle East, with assignments in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain in addition to those in the KSA.

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