Make Sept 11 World Peace Day Thursday, 09 September 2010 05:06

When Pastor Terry Jones announced his plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, nobody paid much attention as it came from an obscure group in Florida. But as the public torching of the holy book draws near, it has triggered worldwide fury and condemnation, with the Vatican, the United Nations and even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fiercely decrying the move as one that fans religious hatred and bigotry.

Pastor Terry’s planned sacrilegious act raises many questions. Why has he chosen to fan hatred nine years after the September 11, 2001 attacks? What is President Barack Obama’s stance on this issue? Is Obama playing safe to deflect the charges of his opponents that he is pro-Muslim?

Pastor Terry must realise that his incendiary act will have repercussions not only in the US but in the entire world.

At the same time, this sends a clear message to the world: how the act of a miniscule minority can tarnish the image of the majority (Terry’s little-known church is a fringe group with just around 40 members) in the same way as Osama bin Laden’s actions have sullied the image of Muslims worldwide. It is noteworthy that both religious and political leaders have been unanimous in asking Terry to back out from carrying out his threat.

This action of burning the Quran can have three positive and three negative outcomes.

On the positive side:

A. Since Pastor Terry Jones needs a substantial number of copies to burn, he will be buying many copies of the Quran and the money used to buy them will benefit Muslims.

B. According to Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, a religious scholar, burning the Quran is permissible. It is better to burn the Quran than tear it or throw it away.

C. This action will unite Muslims around the world.

On the negative side:

A. Burning the Quran is an abuse of the freedom guaranteed by the US Constitution, the freedom of expression

B. This action will put US troops and civilians around the world at risk, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are Muslim countries.

C. It will result in further discrimination against American Muslims.

As we had commented earlier, attacking Islam ensures an easy ticket to fame, which has been unscrupulously employed by many Islam-baiters worldwide, as was evident in the Denmark cartoon incident.

The September 11 attacks have inflicted deep wounds on racial harmony and peace worldwide, and Pastor Terry wants to rub salt into them by observing the day as Burn Quran Day.

The Peninsula, as a news organisation dedicated to fostering peace and understanding among people of different cultures, races and religions, would like to propose that September 11 be observed as an International Day for Peace. Currently, September 21 is observed as a day of peace, but there can’t be a more suitable day to promote peace than September 11.

The Peninsula