September 9, 2010
Raynard Jackson
Am I the only one in the U.S. who is amazed by the media coverage of the person in Florida who wants to have a Koran burning party on Saturday, September 11th? Unlike the media, I refuse to name him because I will not contribute to his getting 15 more minutes of fame!
Even conservative media and talk show entertainers like Laura Ingraham have contributed to this circus. They have been very critical of the media coverage. So, what do they do? They have guests on their shows talking about the media coverage, thereby giving this person more exposure to the public. Can you say duh?
But, the most interesting part of this story is the rationale of the opponents of the Koran burning. According to their thinking, if an American(s) burns the Koran, it will lead to violence against our citizens around the world.
Am I the only one that feels a strange eeriness over this issue? There are over 1 billion Muslims worldwide. So, a few of the more radical elements have the world held captive to the point of paranoia.
If you burn a Koran (which is considered a Holy book in Islam), it’s going to lead to the death of Americans is the rationale of the opponents. So, one can then reasonably extrapolate that if you don’t burn the Koran, these same radical Muslims will not kill Americans.
We all know that this corollary is not true. I am at a loss for the lack of logic to this argument. Radical elements of Islam are going to murder Americans regardless of what we do. So, for a whole religion to cater to such a fringe element is nothing short of mind-blowing.
I am having great difficulty reconciling Islam (religion of peace), with the constant waging of war against the fringe elements of its own religion.
It’s very reminiscent of how Republicans went apoplectic over someone burning the U.S. flag. The Republicans in Congress tried to make burning the U.S. flag a felony offense. Like with the U.S. flag, burning the Koran is not a slight to Islam. The Koran is but a mere physical symbol of Islam.
Islam is about how you live your life, not about the physical book that provides the instructions. If a thief forces you to remove your wedding ring and begins to desecrates the ring, that has absolutely no bearing on the state of your marriage. The ring is simply a manifestation to the world that you are married. The state of your marriage is in the way you treat and relate to your spouse.
The ring is not your marriage nor is the Koran Islam.
The Koran is your personal roadmap to your religion—it is not your religion. Your religion is about the manifestation of the principles of your faith in your everyday life. Nowhere in the Koran does it say to kill a person who burns the Koran or someone who speaks ill of Muhummad. People burn Christian Bibles and no one pays any attention to it. But, let one person threaten to burn a single Koran, and it’s a global news event.
Remember, meanings are in people, not in words. Holy is anything you ascribe to be holy. In India, cows are considered holy. That is strange to Americans, but who are we to judge?
All the controversy about the Koran, Muhummand, and mosques are distractions. Equating violence against Americans because of these controversies is to empower the extremists and give them perceived influence that they should not have.
Those Muslims who are predisposed to violence will not change their views because we don’t burn Korans. The only way to defeat them is for true Muslims to be just as radical in their portrayal of real Islam.
Humans have polluted true Islam. True Islam is wholly Holy!
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com) & U.S. Africa Magazine (www.usafricaonline.com).
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