The Straits Times - Cleric working to resolve mosque row
14 September 2010
Imam behind NY project says all options 'on the table', rejects talk that site is sacred ground
WASHINGTON: The Islamic cleric behind plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York says he is working on a solution to resolve the debate over whether it should be moved.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said yesterday that all options were being explored towards a solution 'that will resolve this crisis, diffuse it'.
He was addressing a gathering at the Council on Foreign Relations, a day after he told ABC's This Week programme that moving the location of the project might feed extremist sentiments.
Speaking in New York yesterday, Mr Feisal said matters were still 'on the table' and rejected suggestions that the proposed site was sacred ground.
He added that the location - two blocks from the World Trade Center site - had a strip joint and betting parlours nearby, and that it was 'absolutely disingenuous' to suggest it was 'hallowed ground'.
But he said the location was important because it will serve as a platform where the voice of moderate Muslims can be amplified.
There is a need for the centre to provide a place for all faiths to come together and achieve mutual understanding, he added.
The imam said 'the world is watching what we do here' and that it was important to 'live up to our ideal'. The plan would 'bring honour to the city of New York' and to Muslims around the world, he added.
Critics say building a mosque close to Ground Zero is offensive to the memory of the nearly 2,800 people killed when Al-Qaeda hijackers steered two planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers on Sept 11, 2001.
Thousands marched through New York last Saturday on the ninth anniversary of the attacks, as they protested both for and against the mosque project under a heavy police presence.
The row was inflamed in the run-up to sombre Sept 11 ceremonies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania by threats from an evangelical pastor to burn hundreds of copies of the Quran unless the mosque was moved.
Mr Terry Jones, the pastor of a tiny Florida church, later relented and promised not to proceed with the Quran burning, but not before his incendiary threats had triggered violent demonstrations across the Muslim world.
He flew to New York at the weekend to meet Mr Feisal, but the imam has so far snubbed him and vowed not to barter.
'How can you equate the burning of any person's scripture with an attempt to build inter-faith dialogue?' Mr Feisal had said to ABC on Sunday.
The imam said he would never have conceived the mosque project had he anticipated the trouble it was going to cause.
'I'm a man of peace. I mean the whole objective of peace work is not to do something that would provoke controversy.'
Now, he said, the 'discourse has been, to a certain extent, hijacked by the radicals', making the decision on whether or not to move the mosque 'very difficult and very challenging'.
'The radicals on both sides, the radicals in the United States and the radicals in the Muslim world, feed off each other. And to a certain extent, the attention that they have been able to get from the media has even aggravated the problem.
'My major concern with moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be Islam is under attack in America,' he said.
'This will strengthen the radicals in the Muslim world, help their recruitment.'
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is an avowed backer of the mosque, while President Barack Obama has been more circumspect, saying only that Muslims have the right to build it because America is a land of religious freedom.
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TODAY - US Ambassador on threat to burn Quran
14 September 2010
by S Ramesh
SINGAPORE - For the US Ambassador to Singapore, Mr David Adelman, the strong condemnation by "mainstream America" to a pastor's attempt to burn the Quran has helped to enhance the United States' international image.
Muslim leaders here have also expressed appreciation for US President Barack Obama's approach towards the threat to burn the Muslim holy book by Pastor Terry Jones, Mr Adelman said.
The American pastor's decision to call off the burning of the Quran over the weekend - which had threatened to create an anti-American backlash in parts of the Muslim world - brought much relief to the international community.
In an interview with MediaCorp yesterday, Mr Adelman said: "The highest levels of American society, the highest levels of our government, from our President to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defence, the highest levels of opinion leaders have all condemned all those types of activities."
And the good news is the burning did not happen - and that is the best part of the story, said Mr Adelman.
"There is a funny twist to this story - and that is the experience of seeing how mainstream America reacted and condemned the idea of burning the Quran caused it to not happen actually increased our standing in the world."
The Ambassador said that he had been approached by Muslim community leaders in Singapore who had expressed "nothing but appreciation and gratitude for the President's approach towards this issue".
"We have had a great relationship with the Malay-Muslim community here. I find them very appreciative of President Obama, very appreciative of the outreach from the United States, it's a very positive relationship," Mr Adelman added.
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TODAY - Is this America?
14 September 2010
Extremist views undermine democracy in the US, risk violence and empower jihadis
by Nicholas D Kristof
For a glimpse of how venomous and debased the discourse about Islam has become, consider a blog post in The New Republic this month.
Written by Mr Martin Peretz, the magazine's editor-in-chief, it asserted: "Frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims."
Mr Peretz added: "I wonder whether I need honour these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment, which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse."
Thus a prominent American commentator, in a magazine long associated with tolerance, ponders whether Muslims should be afforded constitutional freedoms.
Is it possible to imagine the same kind of casual slur tossed off about blacks or Jews?
How do America's nearly 7 million American Muslims feel when their faith is denounced as barbaric?
This is one of those times that test our values, a bit like the shameful interning of Japanese-Americans during World War II, or the disgraceful refusal to accept Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe.
It would have been natural for this test to have come right after 911 but it was forestalled because President George W Bush pushed back at his conservative ranks and repeatedly warned Americans not to confuse Al Qaeda with Islam. Now that Mr Bush is no longer in the White House, nativists are back on the warpath.
Some opponents of President Barack Obama are circulating bald-faced lies about him that are also scurrilous attacks on Islam itself. One email bouncing around falsely accuses Mr Obama of lying and adds: "His Muslim faith says it's okay to lie."
Or there's the email I received the other day from a relative, declaring: "President Obama has directed the United States Postal Service to remember and honour the Eid Muslim holiday season with a new commemorative 44-cent first class holiday postage stamp." In fact, it was Mr Bush's administration that first issued the Eid stamp in 2001 and that issued new versions after that.
Astonishingly, a Newsweek poll finds that 52 per cent of Republicans believe that it is "definitely true" or "probably true" that "Barack Obama sympathises with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world".
So a majority of Republicans think that our President wants to impose Islamic law worldwide. That kind of extremism undermines our democracy, risks violence and empowers jihadis.
Newsweek quoted a Taliban operative, Zabihullah, about opposition to the mosque near Ground Zero: "By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favour. It's providing us with more recruits, donations and popular support."
Zabihullah added: "The more mosques you stop, the more jihadis we will get."
In America, bigoted comments about Islam often seem to come from people who have never visited a mosque and know few if any Muslims. In their ignorance, they mirror the anti-Semitism that I hear in Muslim countries from people who have never met a Jew.
One American university professor wrote to me that "every Muslim in the world" believes that the proposed Manhattan Islamic centre would symbolise triumph over America. That reminded me of Pakistanis who used to tell me that "every Jew" knew of 911 in advance, so that none died in the World Trade Center.
It is perfectly reasonable for critics to point to the shortcomings of Islam or any other religion.
There should be more outrage, for example, about the mistreatment of women in many Islamic countries, or the oppression of religious minorities like Christians and Ahmadis in Pakistan.
Europe is alarmed that Muslim immigrants have not assimilated well, resulting in tolerance of intolerance, and pockets of wife-beating, forced marriage, homophobia and female genital mutilation.
Those are legitimate concerns but sweeping denunciations of any religious group constitute dangerous bigotry.
If this is a testing time, then some have passed with flying colours. Hats off to a rabbinical student in Massachusetts, Ms Rachel Barenblat, who raised money to replace prayer rugs that a drunken intruder had urinated on at a mosque. She told me that she quickly raised more than US$1,100 ($1,475) from Jews and Christians alike.
Above all, bravo to those Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders who jointly denounced what they called "the anti-Muslim frenzy".
"We know what it is like when people have attacked us physically, have attacked us verbally, and others have remained silent," said Rabbi David Saperstein. "It cannot happen here in America in 2010."
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick put it this way: "This is not America. America was not built on hate."
"Shame on you," the Reverend Richard Cizik, a leading evangelical Christian, said to those castigating Islam. "You bring dishonour to the name of Jesus Christ. You directly disobey his commandment to love your neighbour."
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TODAY - Anger taints a day of sorrow
13 September 2010
Conflicting protests over proposed Islamic centre near Ground Zero overshadow 911 anniversary
NEW YORK - First came the tears, the solemn bugle call and the recital of the names of the dead. Then came the chants, speeches and angry shouts.
It was a 911 anniversary unlike any other. A morning ceremony in New York on Saturday in which relatives of the victims placed flowers in a reflecting pool and read the names of their loved ones gave way to an afternoon of protests and counter-demonstrations over a proposed Islamic centre near Ground Zero.
Some called the rallies a disgraceful intrusion. Indeed, some of the people attending the protests came from far away, and appeared to be drawn only by a passion for liberal causes.
At the protest against the Islamic centre, speeches were filled with bellicose rhetoric against Islam and against President Barack Obama, who on Saturday told the country not to blame Islam as a religion for the 911 massacre.
About 2,000 people cheered as speakers told them that the Islamic centre was a covert plan by Jihadists to conquer the United States and erect a monument honouring terrorists.
"It's a victory mosque they want to build," New Yorker John said, refusing to give his full name.
No one burned the Quran at the rally, as Florida pastor Terry Jones threatened to do this week, triggering worldwide Muslim protests. But one protester paraded around ripped pages from the Muslim holy book.
Just over a block away - though separated by multiple rows of police - more than 1,000 supporters of the Islamic centre project denounced what they called their compatriots' discrimination and fear-mongering.
"Racists, bigots: Out of New York!" they chanted.
"People are afraid because there's such a campaign against Muslims in our country," protester Jane Toby, 70, said.
The centre - to be built with prayer rooms for Muslims, Jews and Christians - was proposed by a well-known progressive Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in New York.
Mr Rauf warned yesterday that retreating on the project would only strengthen the hand of Muslim extremists around the world and help in their recruitment.
He has so far refused to meet pastor Jones, who used his threat to burn Qurans as a bargaining chip to try and get the mosque moved and flew to New York to meet the imam.
Mr Rauf aims to give Islam a new face in the United States, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had warmly endorsed the idea.
But critics have said that even if organisers have a First Amendment right to build the centre where they want, putting it near the site would be a show of disrespect.
"It just can't be. It's a disgrace," said Ms Arlene Tipping, who lost her firefighter son, John, on 911.
Her husband John said the controversy made it the hardest anniversary for the family yet.
At the other 911 attack sites, elected leaders sought to remind Americans of the acts of heroism in 2001 and the national show of unity that followed.
Mr Obama, speaking at the Pentagon, declared that the US could not "sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust".
"As Americans we are not - and never will be - at war with Islam," the President said. "It was not a religion that attacked us that September day - it was Al Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion."
In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, First Lady Michelle Obama and her predecessor, Mrs Laura Bush, spoke at a public event together for the first time since last year's presidential inauguration.
At the rural field where the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93 lost their lives, Mrs Obama said "a scar in the earth has healed".
Mr Gerald Bingham, 67, who lost his son, Mark, in the crash, said it meant a lot to him to have both Mrs Obama and Mrs Bush there.
Asked about the controversy over construction of a mosque near Ground Zero, Mr Bingham said he had no time to worry about such things. "We're trying to move forward here," he said. AGENCIESNo Quran burning, but activists Face off outside Florida church
United States police sent reinforcements on Saturday to separate angry activists gathered outside the church where Qurans were to be burned, even though the church's controversial pastor called off the event.
After a back-and-forth lasting several days, pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach evangelical church said on Saturday his church will not burn the Qurans. "Not today, not ever," Mr Jones told NBC television.
The mere threat of torching the Muslim holy book attracted supporters and opponents to his church in Florida.
To maintain order, police surrounded the church on Saturday and flooded the streets with patrol cars, checking all vehicles seeking to enter the area.
Police briefly detained and interrogated two men who tried to enter the area in a pickup truck. They found several rifles, pistols and boxes of ammunition, but eventually released the men.
Another man pulled out a Quran and tried to burn it, but police snatched the book away.
Nevertheless, copies of the Quran were desecrated in three instances - one behind a Christian compound in Kansas, one at a park in front of the White House and a third near ground zero.
In Afghanistan, two protesters were killed by the Afghan army as it broke up a 300-strong crowd demonstrating over plans to burn the Quran. AFP
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The Straits Times - Obama to Americans: Don't turn on each other
12 September 2010
Enemy is Al-Qaeda and not Islam, he says as US commemorates Sept 11 terror attacks
By Chua Chin Hon
Washington: On the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11 terrorist strikes that killed nearly 3,000 people, US President Barack Obama urged Americans to show greater unity and tolerance instead of 'turning on each another'.
The United States was not at war with Islam, he said, but with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Speaking at a memorial service at the Pentagon yesterday, Mr Obama said: '(The terrorists) may seek to spark conflict between different faiths but as Americans we are not and will never be at war with Islam.
'It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was Al-Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion.'
At a White House press conference on Friday, he also made an impassioned plea for religious tolerance, urging Americans to reaffirm their deepest values in a difficult time for the country.
'We have to make sure that we don't start turning on each other,' he added.
Mr Obama's remarks carried particular resonance this year given the tension stirred up by two religious controversies in the run-up to yesterday's Sept 11 anniversary.
In New York, the planned construction of an Islamic centre near Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell, stirred an angry debate about religious freedom, constitutional rights and the sensitivities of the victims' families.
In Florida, the pastor of a tiny church drew worldwide condemnation for his plan to burn copies of the Quran during the Sept 11 anniversary. The plan was eventually called off, with reports quoting the pastor in the centre of the controversy, Reverend Terry Jones, saying that he would 'never' burn a Quran.
But observers said the damage had been done, pointing to the anti-US protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
The two controversies became entangled on Thursday when Rev Jones claimed that he halted the planned burning in exchange for the developers of the New York Islamic centre moving their project.
It emerged later that no such deal had been made, though that did not stop Rev Jones from flying to New York to meet Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the key figure behind the planned centre.
While the two controversies provoked the usual media circus, Islamic scholars said the consequences for the Muslim community in America were no laughing matter.
Professor Ebrahim Moosa of Duke University in North Carolina said: 'The current rhetoric is worse than the one after the Sept 11 attacks. Then, people were criticising Al-Qaeda and the ugly things they did.
'Now, people seem to think that there's only one form of Islam and that's terrorism. Even the moderates are considered bad people. This is a scary situation.'
At Friday's press conference, Mr Obama felt compelled to point out, without prompting, that he was 'somebody who relies heavily on my Christian faith in my job'.
But he also weighed in with a strong defence of the Muslim American community, which he said is not only part of the country, but also a part of war efforts in places such as Afghanistan.
'When we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?' Mr Obama asked. 'I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us.'
This message of unity and service was repeated by many US leaders at Sept 11 ceremonies across the country yesterday.
Mr Obama observed a moment of silence at the White House at 8.46am, the moment when the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. In New York, houses of worship throughout the city tolled the bells at the same moment as well.
The First Lady, the Vice-President and his wife flew to New York and Pennsylvania to attend remembrances and participate in community service activities.
Prof Moosa of Duke University urged Muslim Americans to get involved in these activities as well, adding: 'The community cannot afford to crawl into a shell right now. This is a moment to act, and to act wisely.'
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The Straits Times - Afghans hit out at Quran burning bid
12 September 2010
They set fire to tyres in protest; most unaware event in US cancelled
Kabul (Afghanistan) - Afghans set fire to tyres in the streets and shouted 'Death to America' for a second day yesterday despite a decision by an American pastor to call off plans to burn the Islamic holy book on the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.
The Florida firebrand preacher, Reverend Terry Jones, told NBC yesterday that 'we feel that God is telling us to stop' the Quran burning, which stirred outrage among Muslims and others worldwide.
'We're not going to go back and do it,' Rev Jones said, referring to the planned burning. 'It is totally cancelled.'
But in a country where most people have limited access to newspapers, television and the Internet, most Afghans were unaware of Rev Jones' decision.
The Taleban has been distributing pamphlets decrying his plans, claiming they showed Americans were in Afghanistan to wage war against Islam.
In Logar province near Kabul, police fired warning shots to prevent protesters from storming the governor's residence in the provincial capital of Puli Alam.
Villagers set fire to tyres and blocked the main highway to neighbouring Pakistan, said provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish.
Mr Nabi Charkhi, the deputy provincial police chief, estimated the crowd at more than 10,000. Witnesses said Taleban agitators were in the crowd. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety.
At least four people were injured, police said.
'All these youth and elders have gathered here because of the Quran,' said Mr Amir Gul, a Logar protester. 'We will continue our protest until they change their decision about burning our holy book and we will not keep silent.'
Several hundred protesters also rallied yesterday outside the Bagram Airfield, a major Nato base north of Kabul. The protest ended peacefully after about an hour.
At least 11 people were injured in similar protests across Afghanistan last Friday.
In Johannesburg, a South African court blocked a Muslim businessman's plan to burn Bibles yesterday in response to the Quran burning plan, the lawyer who brought the case said.
The Johannesburg High Court issued an urgent interdict late last Friday blocking Mr Mohammed Vawda from burning Bibles at a square in the centre of the city, said Mr Zehir Omar.
Mr Omar said his clients had brought the case to stop the burning of a book which is also considered sacred by many Muslims.
Mr Vawda said: 'Applicants in their papers brought to my attention verses of the Quran I was not aware of. In other words, the Quran is saying the Gospel is part of the Quran, and that if I burn the Bible, I'm also burning the Quran. Luckily, they stopped me from doing it.'
Last Tuesday, the top US and Nato commander, General David Petraeus, warned that images of the burning of the Quran 'would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan - and around the world - to inflame public opinion and incite violence'.
Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen echoed those sentiments, saying it 'would be in a strong contradiction with all the values we stand for and fight for'.
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The Straits Times - In support of mosque building
12 September 2010
About 2,000 people, many holding lit candles, rallied in New York on Friday to support the building of a proposed mosque, the subject of a national debate over the role of US Muslims.
Protesters said those trying to stop construction of the mosque near the site of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center were demonising Muslims and undermining fundamental US rights.
The attempt to prevent the planned Islamic cultural centre and mosque from being built two blocks from Ground Zero meant equating all Muslims with the Islamist terrorists involved in 9/11, they said.
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The Straits Times - Muslim groups here concerned
12 September 2010
The Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas) has said it 'strongly reviles' the threatened burning of copies of the Quran by a Florida pastor.
Rev Terry Jones announced on Friday that he was calling off his plan but uncertainty lingers over his intentions.
'We echo the statement made by US Attorney-General Eric Holder, who is calling the planned burning idiotic and dangerous,' said Mr Hajah Mohaideen, the assistant director of Pergas, in a press statement issued yesterday.
'We urge all inter-faith groups to come together to express disapproval,' he added.
Other Muslim groups in Singapore, including the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and Jamiyah Singapore, have also expressed dismay.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore has called the act 'un-Christian'.
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The Straits Times - Twists and turns in Quran burning saga
11 September 2010
US pastor suspends plan, but there is confusion over whether Islamic centre near Ground Zero in NY will be moved
By Chua Chin Hon
WASHINGTON: A controversial US church has suspended plans to burn copies of the Quran to mark the Sept 11, 2001 anniversary, following worldwide pressure and chaotic attempts at defusing the explosive situation.
Pastor Terry Jones, whose Dove World Outreach Centre has fewer than 50 members, initially agreed to cancel his protest in the belief he had secured an agreement with an imam to move a planned Islamic centre farther from Ground Zero, the site of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001.
When it emerged that no such agreement had been made with the centre's developer, he said he would re-consider, but later reiterated he would suspend his plans. However, he did not make it clear if he would cancel the burning altogether or just put it off for now.
In an interview with ABC News yesterday, he said: 'Right now, we have plans not to do it. 'We believe that the imam is going to keep his word, what he promised us.'
His remarks capped a dramatic chain of events on Thursday that began with United States President Barack Obama urging the pastor to heed his 'better angels' and cancel the planned burning.
'This is a recruitment bonanza for Al-Qaeda,' Mr Obama warned in an interview on ABC News. 'You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities.'
Dozens of top civilian and military leaders in the US and around the world have criticised Dove World's inflammatory plan in recent days, though they appeared powerless to stop the church given its constitutionally protected right to free speech.
At around 4.15pm, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates personally called Mr Jones and reiterated the government's plea for him to cancel the stunt.
At that time, the pastor was in a meeting with Imam Muhammad Musri, the head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida. Imam Musri had travelled to Dove World's premises in Gainesville city, Florida, to try to persuade Mr Jones to give up his plan.
Less than an hour later, the two men emerged from their meeting, with Mr Jones making the unexpected announcement he was scrapping the plans for today, the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 2,752 people.
The pastor said he changed his mind because of a promise by the imam to move the Islamic centre near Ground Zero to another location. Mr Jones added that he would travel with Imam Musri to New York today to discuss the deal in greater detail with the developers of the centre.
The planned centre had been in the centre of controversy due to fierce opposition to its location - about 180m north of the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed.
While the two incidents in New York and Florida were seen as examples of uneasy ties between non-Muslims and Muslims in the US, they were not directly linked - until yesterday.
It was initially unclear which imam Mr Jones was referring to when he spoke about moving the Islamic centre - whether it was Imam Musri or Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf - the religious leader behind the New York centre.
But it soon emerged that neither man had brokered any deal nor made plans to meet in New York. In the ensuing confusion, Imam Musri clarified he merely told Mr Jones he personally did not think the Islamic centre should be near Ground Zero, and he would do everything he could to make sure it was moved.
Soon after, Imam Rauf and the developer of the Islamic centre issued statements to confirm that the centre would not be moved.
'We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter,' said Imam Rauf. 'We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony.'
Adding to the day's drama, property tycoon Donald Trump weighed in with an offer to buy out the major investor involved with the 13-storey Islamic centre in order to end what he called 'a very serious, inflammatory and highly divisive situation that (will) only get worse'.
But his offer was swiftly rejected as a publicity stunt.
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The Straits Times - 9/11: Nine years later
11 September 2010
FOR Muslim Americans, this year's anniversary of Sept 11 may be the most stressful one yet, and possibly the most consequential. A confluence of events and political developments has produced a situation more volatile than any since the immediate aftermath of the horrific terror attacks of 2001.
Back then, with America in shock, it was to be expected that some might react in anger or out of fear. There were marches on mosques, acts of violence and a flood of vile threats (I know because I received many, including the one from Zachary Rolnik who called me a 'rag head' and threatened to 'slit your throat and murder your children' - a hate crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to prison).
But something else happened in the days after 9/11. While some reacted in anger, others recoiled from these acts of hate, reaching out to Arab Americans and Muslim Americans offering understanding and even protection. It was important that then-president George W. Bush helped set a positive tone by going to a mosque and, together with other elected officials and prominent entertainers, challenged all Americans to remember that if we struck out blindly against Islam or blamed all Arabs or Muslims. then we were letting 'the terrorists win'.
The tide began to turn. Hate crimes which had spiked in the first month following the attacks showed a significant decline. And across the country, change was in evidence. Churches offered protection to neighboring mosques, the Ad Council of America sponsored TV, radio and newspaper ads urging Americans to reach out to support their fellow citizens, other offices in my downtown Washington building offered to make lunches for my staff, knowing that some were afraid to leave the building, and the flood of e-mail and letters we had been receiving changed in tone from accusation to support.
In a way, though welcome, these developments were rather bewildering. As unwarranted as the attacks had been, we felt undeserving of the gestures of support. What we came to realise, however, was that it was all part of a healing process, as the values of goodness and generosity at the heart of our people were reasserted, defining our national character.
Now, nine years later, the hate and anger are back and it is not only Muslim Americans who are at risk, but the very soul of America. I've written before about the precipitators of this transformation: economic stress and social dislocation; preachers of hate (both neo-conservatives with their anti-Muslim and anti-Arab axes to grind); irresponsible mass media (including Fox News and a whole host of talk radio shows); and politicians (some eager to exploit fear for political advantage and others too afraid to demonstrate leadership). All have combined to create the current situation described in a recent New York Times story headlined 'American Muslims ask, will we ever belong?'
What is most disturbing is not just the current state of affairs; rather it is what, if left unchecked, all this portends for the future of America.
About five years ago, I was invited to speak in a number of European capitals about the difference between the experiences of Arab and Muslim immigrants in America and Europe.
What I observed, in my remarks, was that what has made America unique is that, despite the periodic ranting of bigots, it is not a nation defined by a single ethnicity or faith. Rather it has, in its history, demonstrated a remarkable absorptive capacity that has brought scores of immigrants to its shores making them all Americans. On the other hand, I have spoken to third-generation Kurds in Germany or Pakistanis in the United Kingdom or Algerians who have complained that while they may, with difficulty, become citizens, they remain 'Turk', 'Ay-rab', or 'Paki' immigrants.
In the United States, it is a different story. Not only does one become a citizen, but one becomes fully American and, in the process, the very concept of 'American' becomes transformed.
This is what has defined America's character and made it the vibrant nation it has been - though not without a struggle as it confronts its demons. Americans were, for example, born plagued by our 'original sins' of slavery, the dispossession of indigenous peoples, and the conquest of the south-west. Americans endured waves of anti-Asian backlash and campaigns of discrimination against new immigrants from Ireland, Eastern Europe and the southern Mediterranean. But through it all, the genius of America was affirmed and it became a better, stronger and more unified nation.
The election of Mr Barack Hussein Obama for many represented the triumph of this vision. Racism had not been defeated, but the America that promised 'e pluribus unum' had asserted itself.
What Americans did not know then was that this victory would, when combined with pressures confronting the electorate, only add fuel to the fires of discontent. And so here we are, nine years after a devastating attack that both shocked and then unified the nation. And Americans are engaged in a debate, not about building a mosque or its location, but whether or not Muslims will find a place in America. Some may argue that that is not their intention. But reading the responses to my past columns and the signs of the protesters, or listening to the vile rhetoric from shameless politicians (some 'respected' national leaders with aspirations for higher office) and the disgraceful discourse that fills the airwaves - and one might easily conclude otherwise.
Americans are, in fact, facing a critical choice and need leadership, now more than ever, to remind us of who we are as a nation and the consequences in store for us should we forget.
jjz@aaiusa.org
The writer is the president of the Arab American Institute.
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The Straits Times - S'pore groups call for calm
11 September 2010
MUSLIM groups in Singapore yesterday called on Muslims here to respond calmly to controversial plans to burn the Quran, even as they registered their objections to the Florida church's idea.
Pointing to the mutual respect present between the different faiths in Singapore, they stressed the need to maintain the relations despite the much-criticised plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran.
Jamiyah Singapore called the planned provocation 'insensitive and disgraceful', but urged Muslims to respond calmly.
'Muslims should be extremely careful in not falling into the traps of such provokers. We shall respond to such provocations... not through acts of vendetta,' the Muslim welfare organisation's president, Mr Abu Bakar Maidin, said in a statement.
Stressing that Islam was a religion of peace, moderation and compassion, he added: 'In Singapore, we have nurtured and built a culture of peace and understanding among people belonging to different races and faiths. We should continue to live in this spirit of harmony despite certain unfortunate events taking place outside Singapore.'
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) also issued a statement saying that the Florida church's 'stunt' did not represent the views of faith organisations in the United States, which have roundly condemned it.
It was heartened, it added, to hear the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) deplore the plan on Thursday. The NCCS had condemned the planned act as 'unchristian'.
Muis said of this statement: 'Such words of clarity and assurance bear testimony to mutual respect between Christians and Muslims, and indeed the strong relations among all various faiths in Singapore.'
The council also noted that institutions like the Hartford Seminary in the US had done much to promote interfaith ties.
Yesterday's news of pastor Terry Jones' latest decision to suspend the planned burning was welcomed by religious and political leaders across the Muslim world, but some said the damage had already been done.
'I am of course aware of the reported cancellation,' Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reported by Agence France-Presse as saying in a nationally televised address.
'However, none of us can be complacent until such a despicable idea is totally extinguished.'
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: 'Although we have heard that they are not doing this, we tell them they should not even think of it.'
Mr Jones' turnaround also appeared to have failed to stem the tide of anger.
Yesterday, in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, an estimated 10,000 people poured out onto the streets after special prayers marking the end of Ramadan to stage protests against the US.
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TODAY - Will he or won't he? Pastor sends conflicting signals
11 September 2010
GAINESVILLE (Florida) - The Imam of Mecca yesterday said an American pastor's threat to burn the Quran was an incitement to "terrorism", even as pastor Terry Jones wavered confusingly on whether he would cancel his controversial burning of Islam's holy book.
In a turbulent start to the festival of Aidilfitri, when Muslims worldwide mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, at least 11 people were injured in clashes with the police as thousands of Afghans pelted rocks at a military outpost of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Elsewhere in Pakistan, hundreds of protesters rallied in the city of Multan, burning American flags.
Imam Saleh bin Humaid said that burning the Quran would be "aggression against Islam", and called for "more solid relations, bonds of understanding, mutual respect and cooperation among people". His comments came as radical evangelist Jones, who pastors the 50-strong Dove World Outreach Center in Florida, renewed threats that the torching ceremony could still take place.
Mr Jones first announced, after a meeting with Imam Muhammad Musri on Thursday, that he would cancel his demonstration because he had won a promise to move the proposed Islamic centre near Ground Zero to a new location.
Then, hours later, after learning that the project's leaders in New York had said that no such deal existed, Mr Jones backed away from his promise and said the bonfire of sacred texts was simply "suspended".
His disagreements with Mr Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, later dissolved in acrimony, with Mr Jones saying Mr Musri had "lied", while the Imam said the pastor had "stretched" his words about the agreement.
In an interview with NBC on Friday, the pastor again reversed his statement, saying he would not follow through with the burning if he was able to meet on Saturday with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is behind the controversial project to open a mosque near Ground Zero in New York. He was to fly to New York on Friday afternoon, his son Mr Luke Jones said.
President Barack Obama on Friday called on Americans to observe religious tolerance, and said Mr Jones' plan to burn Qurans could cause" profound damage" to US troops and interests around the world.
Leaders of several countries also issued dire warnings against the provocative act.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak warned that the act would "ignite the feelings of Muslims throughout the world" and would lead to "costly" consequences.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the act would threaten peace and international security, a day after he called on Mr Obama to intervene.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Mr Jones "should not even think" of burning the Quran.
Iraq's top Shia cleric called on "concerned parties in the US" to stop the horrible act, warning of "terrible" consequences if it took place. Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani called on Muslims to exercise restraint in their reaction to the "shameful" plans.
In Indonesia, cleric Rusli Hasbi told 1,000 worshippers during Friday morning prayers that whether or not Mr Jones burns the Quran, the pastor had already "hurt the heart of the Muslim world". AGENCIES
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TODAY - Jones' Quran-burning threat a 'publicity stunt': MUIS
11 September 2010
Calling the intention of Pastor Terry Jones to burn copies of the Quran a "publicity stunt", the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said it was heartened by the statement from the National Council of Churches of Singapore which deplored Mr Jones' planned act.
Responding to media queries, Muis said such words of clarity and assurance bear testimony to mutual respect between Christians and Muslims and the strong relations among all various faiths in Singapore.
Muis added that it enjoys warm relations with reputable institutions in the United States such as the Hartford Seminary to promote interfaith ties. It added that Mr Jones' action in no way represents the views of US faith organisations.
Meanwhile, Jamiyah Singapore president Abu Bakar Maidin urged all Muslims to be careful not to fall into such traps and to live in peaceful ways according to Islam's teachings.
The Young Sikh Association (Singapore) also issued a statement strongly condemning Mr Jones' plan.
Calling it "a dangerous act", its president Hernaikh Singh said: "All of us must take a stand to show that the planned act by the pastor is not welcomed by all races and religions."
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The New Paper - 'Ignore irresponsible acts of provokers'
11 September 2010
MUSLIM BODY'S CALL TO FOLLOWERSNO VENDETTA, please. That's the call from a Muslim organisation in Singapore. It has asked Muslims to refrain from reacting in such a way to the irresponsible acts of misguided people.Jamiyah Singapore urged Muslims not to fall into the "traps of provokers".
Its president, Mr Abu Bakar Maidin (right), said in a statement yesterday: "It is unfortunate that time and again there are small groups of misguided people...provoking followers of different faiths, especially Islam, by their irresponsible acts.
"The least we can do is to ignore (these) and carry on with our lives in peaceful ways. Islam is a religion of peace, moderation and compassion."
The statement comes amid growing condemnation over plans by a US pastor to burn copies of the Quran to mark the anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove Outreach Center in Florida said he had suspended plans to burn copies of the Quran, but threatened to "rethink" his decision.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore slammed the planned act as "unChristian".
Mr Abu Bakar said: "In Singapore we have nurtured and built a culture of peace and understanding among people belonging to different races and faiths.
"We should continue to live in this spirit of harmony, despite certain unfortunate events taking place outside Singapore."
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QURAN BURNING
The Straits Times - Pastor: I may cancel bonfire if Obama asks
10 September 2010
First sign that he may back down as censures continue
PARIS: A Florida pastor at the centre of a global storm over plans to burn hundreds of copies of the Quran said yesterday he would likely call off the event if asked to by the Obama administration.
Reverend Terry Jones, head of Dove World Outreach Centre, told USA Today he had not been contacted by the White House, Pentagon or State Department about tomorrow's planned ceremony on the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks.
If he was contacted, he said, 'that would cause us definitely to think it over'. 'That's what we're doing now. I don't think a call from them is something we would ignore,' he said.
It was the first sign that the gun-toting pastor has given in recent days of any chance of backing down.
Until yesterday, Mr Jones, 58, had brushed aside global outrage, despite growing fears that his plan would ignite a global wave of Islamic rage.
On Wednesday, he had told a news conference: 'As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing.'
While the United States has come under tremendous pressure to stop the burning, its authorities have said there is little they can do to stop the event from going ahead, as the country's Constitution guarantees freedom of speech.
But it did not stop President Barack Obama from slamming the Florida church's plans as 'destructive' yesterday.
Exhorting its leader to reconsider, he said: 'I hope he listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act he's engaging in.'
In an interview with ABC, Mr Obama urged Mr Jones to listen to pleas to call off the plan.
'If he's listening, I hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,' he said. 'That this country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance.'
His words echoed those of many leaders, as worldwide condemnation of Mr Jones' plans continued to pour in yesterday.
From Indonesia and India to the Vatican and Britain, leaders of the world's biggest Muslim populations and beyond slammed the plans and urged Mr Obama to intervene.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wrote to the US President to express his fears that if the burning went ahead, efforts by both countries to build a bridge between the Western world and Islam 'would be useless'.
'There is a deep concern over the planned Quran-burning ceremony as it could spark conflict among religions,' his spokesman said.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari called the plan 'despicable', and warned that it could inflame Muslim sentiment across the world. 'Anyone who even thought of such a despicable act must be suffering from a diseased mind and a sickly soul,' he said.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram urged the US authorities to take strong action, and called on Indian media to impose a blackout on images of the event.
The Vatican said the burning would be 'an outrageous and grave gesture'.
In France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim community, Paris Grand Mosque rector Dalil Boubakeur called on fellow Muslims 'not to succumb to provocation, and to respond wisely by expressing their compassion' in reaction to the plan.
The global police agency Interpol also warned yesterday that burning the Quran would probably trigger terrorist attacks around the world.
Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said he had warned member states that ' there will be tragic consequences'.
US embassies worldwide are meanwhile bracing themselves for a possible violent backlash.
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The Straits Times - 'Unchristian', say S'pore churches
10 September 2010
THE National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) has come out to condemn a Florida church that has said it will burn copies of the Quran tomorrow, calling the planned act 'unchristian'.
A statement issued yesterday by Bishop Robert Solomon, president of the council, said: 'We... join Christians around the world in deploring the intention of Pastor Terry Jones of Dove Outreach Centre in the United States to burn copies of the Quran.
'This act would be both offensive and hurtful to Muslims around the world and in Singapore. Such an act would be unchristian and a departure from the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ who tells His followers to love their neighbours and pray for all, including those who hate them, and to live in peace with all.'
The Dove World Outreach Centre in the United States has stirred up a storm after it announced plans to burn some 200 copies of the Quran to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.
Political and religious leaders around the world have protested against the plan.
Military leaders have also warned that the act could trigger outrage and endanger the lives of US troops stationed around the world.
In Singapore, the NCCS - which represents some 200 Protestant churches here - also appealed to the various religious communities here not to let the act affect the peace and harmony here.
'We hope all of us will work harder to overcome religious extremism and gross disrespect of religions in all their forms,' said the NCCS.
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The Straits Times - Quran Burning
10 September 2010
EFFORTS WILL GO TO WASTE
'In the letter, President Yudhoyono wrote that Indonesia and the US are building or bridging relations between the Western world and Islam. If the Quran burning occurs, then those efforts will be useless.'
Indonesian presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had written to his US counterpart Barack Obama ATTACK ON MUSLIMS
'That is the most heinous crime and action, it's unthinkable. There is no doubt whatsoever that it is an attack on Muslims; it will anger the Muslims in Malaysia and throughout the world. The Christians also don't condone this kind of action.'
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman APPEAL TO MEDIA
'While we await the actions of the US authorities, we appeal to the media, both print and visual media, to refrain from telecasting visuals or publishing photographs of this deplorable act.'
India Home Minister P. Chidambaram
ABHORRENT ACT
'If a fundamentalist evangelical pastor in America wants to burn the Quran on Sept 11, I find that - in a word - disrespectful, also abhorrent and false.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel CANNOT BE CONDONED
'Such actions cannot be condoned by any religion. They contradict the efforts of the United Nations and many people around the world to promote tolerance, intercultural understanding and mutual respect between cultures and religions.'
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
EVERY RELIGION DESERVES RESPECT
'Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection.'
The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
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The Straits Times - Why the US authorities can't do much
10 September 2010
WASHINGTON: Freedom of speech is so deeply enshrined in the United States Constitution that there is no way to stop a Florida church from burning copies of the Quran in public.
The First Amendment prohibits the making of any law which infringes on the right of American citizens to express themselves freely or assemble peaceably.
It is jealously guarded as an inviolable tenet of American society, and the US Supreme Court has in the past protected flag-burners and even the right of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan to torch crosses.
So while many Americans are angry and have expressed outrage at Pastor Terry Jones and his small band of evangelicals, there is nothing the authorities can do to stop the event taking place.
Ms Farhana Khera, executive director of the San Francisco-based Muslim Advocates, said after meeting Attorney-General Eric Holder: 'The act itself is not a violation of federal law, the act of burning.
'While it may not be a violation of the law - it may be an act of free speech - it certainly violates our sense of decent faith,' she told journalists after a gathering of interfaith leaders earlier this week.
In several previous rulings, the Supreme Court has made it clear that while certain acts and speeches are offensive to the public, the government cannot intervene unless they are intended to intimidate or incite violence.
In 1989, for example, in a five-four decision, it ordered 48 states to abolish laws forbidding the burning of the American flag, an emotive act strongly offensive to the sensibilities of most Americans.
Justice William Brennan had written at the time: 'If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.'
In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled against the state of Virginia because its law on banning the burning of crosses erected in public places, a favoured pastime of the Ku Klux Klan, did not spell out the motive of intimidation.
In the current case, where a pastor intends to publicly torch 200 copies of the Quran, the only legal resort available to the authorities is to intervene after the blaze, especially if it gets out of hand.
Having been turned down by the fire department for a permit to hold an open-air burning, the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, would be in contravention of local ordinance.
However, this is considered only a misdemeanour, which means the police would be unable to arrest anyone and could only issue a citation or warning.
Gainesville city spokesman Bob Woods said he believed the church would be slapped with a US$250 (S$335) fine, but added cryptically: 'We have a plan for contingencies.'
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TODAY - We pray Terry Jones will recognise error of his ways: Council of Churches
10 September 2010
by Loh Chee Kong
SINGAPORE - The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) has joined the global chorus of condemnation against American evangelical pastor Terry Jones' plan to stage a mass torching of the Quran this weekend - on the ninth anniversary of the 911 attacks.
Various political and religious leaders here also deplored the planned event but called for a calm and rational response.
The NCCS called the planned torching "both offensive and hurtful" to Muslims everywhere.
"We pray that Terry Jones will recognise the error of his ways," NCSS said in a statement, "Provocative acts such as the burning of sacred texts of religious communities achieve nothing except to fan further hostility and violence."
It added: "The various religious communities in Singapore have worked hard to create harmony, and mutual respect and understanding. We should not let what happens elsewhere affect our friendship and peace. We hope all of us will work harder to overcome religious extremism and gross disrespect of religions in all their forms."
Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed described the stunt - which was scheduled to take place a day after Muslims celebrate Aidilfitri - as "not only ridiculous but runs counter to the various efforts worldwide to build better understanding and harmony".
A "very unhappy and disturbed" Mr Zainul told MediaCorp: "I am however reassured that there have been many voices, both from the religious and secular groups, in and outside America, who have expressed disbelief and unhappiness at Pastor Terry Jones' intolerant and divisive act."
Mr Zainul added: "We have to remind ourselves though, that no matter how upset we are with that proposed outrage, we should not act irrationally."
Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua reiterated that the pastor's act "is not consistent with what Christianity preaches".
She pointed out that Singaporeans were unlikely to retaliate "as they will be rational and know adverse action will only take us backwards".
Concurring, Ustaz Firdaus Yahya - a member of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) fatwa committee - felt Muslims here will neither overreact nor condone violence, as these will fan radicalism further.
The Quran, which defines the belief and conduct for Muslims, is so important in the faith that Islamic teaching spells out how it should be handled, including directing anyone who touches it to be in a state of ritual purity.
GLOBAL CONDEMNATION
Around the world, religious groups - including the Vatican and Mr Jones' former church - and prominent political figures have denounced the planned torching.
Yesterday, Mr Jones, who claims to have received more than 100 death threats and has begun carrying a pistol for his protection, held a press conference to announce that he will not back down - although he was "still considering" commander of international forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus' advice that the planned torching would put American soldiers lives at greater risk and provide propaganda for the Taliban.
"As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Mr Jones, 58, who leads a 50-member congregation in Florida.
He took no questions and was flanked by an armed escort.
Across the Causeway, Malaysia Foreign Minister Anifah Aman described the planned event as "the most heinous crime and action."
The youth wing of Malaysia opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has urged Muslims to protest outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur if the ceremony goes ahead tomorrow.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who leads the world's most populous Muslim country, has written to US President Barack Obama asking him to personally intervene to stop irreparable damage to relations between the West and Muslims.
On his part, Mr Obama warned the "destructive" act could "increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities".
"This is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda," Mr Obama said, "And as a very practical matter, I just want (Mr Jones) to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform."
Religious groups across the US say they plan to protest the burning, with events that include readings from the Muslim holy book.
The US State Department has ordered its embassies around the world to assess their security in anticipation of anti-American violence.
Elsewhere, India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram called for a media blackout on the planned event. Mr Chidambaram said: "We appeal to the media, both print and visual media, to refrain from telecasting visuals or publishing photographs of this deplorable act."
In the Middle East, Bahrain dismissed the outrageous act as an affront to all religions. "Such a move risks to fuel tension and Islamophobic campaigns against Islam and Muslims", an official statement said.
In France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim community, Paris Grand Mosque rector Dalil Boubakeur urged fellow Muslims "not to succumb to provocation, and to respond wisely by expressing their compassion" while in Britain, the House of Commons tabled a motion to condemn the "the outrageous and disgraceful proposal".
The Vatican had earlier deplored Mr Jones' "outrageous and grave gesture".
The planned Quran bonfire has already sparked protests in places including Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan yesterday, 200 lawyers and civil society members marched and burned a US flag in the central city of Multan as they demanded that Washington halt the burning.
The controversy over Mr Jones' actions have heaped further pressure on the Obama administration, which is already dealing with a spate of anti-Muslim attacks as fears mount that a vitriolic debate over Islam is spinning out of control as the country remembers 9/11.
While statistics confirming a trend toward violence are elusive, analysts, religious leaders, and Muslim community activists say that anti-Muslim sentiment has reached a pitch not seen since Al Qaeda hijackers killed nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest attack on US soil.
An angry debate over plans to build a mosque near the site where the World Trade Center once stood appears to have fuelled the resentment, while Mr Jones' threat to carry out the Quran-burning ceremony has pushed it up by several notches.
The man at the centre of the storm said he could scrap his plans if he gets a phone call from Mr Obama or his aides. "I don't think a call from them is something we would ignore," Mr Jones told USA TODAY
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San Jose Mercury News Editorial
TODAY - He should be ignored
10 September 2010
The world would be a far better place if more people understood that the Pastor Terry Jones (picture) of the Dove World Outreach Center no more represents Christianity in America than Osama bin Laden represents Islam in the Middle East.
Both are extremists doing vast harm to their religions based on a whacked-out, hate-filled view of reality. And while Osama's approach is far bloodier, Jones - Florida's pistol-packing personification of religious bigotry - could eventually have blood on his hands if he carries out his plan to burn Qurans on Sept 11.
Jones is better at attracting publicity than followers. His Gainesville church has only 50 members.
Yet much of the world will see him as representative of America unless more of us raise our voices to drown out the flames.
Jones' ignorance about the Quran is boundless. He freely tells reporters: "I have no experience with it whatsoever."
In this he stands with book burners over the centuries, sharing the value of placing fear over knowledge.
By now - nine years after Osama's cowardly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon - Americans should understand that their enemies are terrorists.
Blaming all of Islam for the Taliban and terrorism is like equating the Ku Klux Klan - whose members claimed the sanction of the cross - with Christianity.
