...and the band plays on while the fires burn uncontrolled... >From Jihad Watch today,
Here again, as in the case of cartoon controversy (which Rauf referenced) and the reaction this week to the Qur'an-burning in Florida, the response should be, If Muslims react violently and irrationally, they bear the full responsibility for doing so, and we will not change our actions in the face of threats of violence. "Imam fears moving NYC mosque could inflame tension," from AP, September 9 (thanks to all who sent this in): NEW YORK - The imam behind a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero cautioned Wednesday that moving the facility could cause a violent backlash from Muslim extremists and endanger national security. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told CNN that the discourse surrounding the center has become so politicized that moving it could strengthen the ability of extremists abroad to recruit and wage attacks against Americans, including troops fighting in the Middle East. "The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack," he said, but he added that he was open to the idea of moving the planned location of the center, currently two blocks north of the World Trade Center site. "But if you don't do this right, anger will explode in the Muslim world," he later said, predicting that the reaction could be more furious than the eruption of violence following the 2005 publication of Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.... He said money to develop the center would be raised domestically for the most part. "And we'll be very transparent on how we raise money," he said, adding that no funds would be accepted from sources linked to extremists. Rauf said that, in retrospect, he might have chosen a different location for what he described as a multifaith community center. "If I knew this would happen, if it would cause this kind of pain, I wouldn't have done it," he said. Bridge for sale! If he really cared about the pain he is causing, he would move it now, and appeal to his violent coreligionists not to react by shedding blood. Instead, we got his veiled threat. > > > > > Posted on Thursday, Sep. 09, 2010 > Afghans protest Quran burning plan, torch US flag > By AMIR SHAH > Associated Press Writer > > > John Raoux / AP Photo > Pastor Terry Jones, right, of the Dove World Outreach Center arrives at a > news conference with an armed escort in Gainesville, Fla., Wednesday, > Sept. > 8, 2010. Jones stated that he is going forward with a scheduled burning > of > copies of the Quran at his church on Saturday, Sept. 11. Hundreds of > angry > Afghans burned a U.S. flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" on > Thursday to protest plans by a small American church to torch copies of > the > Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. > > > Religious and political leaders across the Muslim world, as well as > several > U.S. officials, have asked the church to call off the plan, warning it > would lead to violence against Americans. Iraq, worried that it will > unleash a > backlash against all Christians, has beefed up security near churches. > International police organization Interpol warned its 188 member countries > that "there will be tragic consequences" and a "strong likelihood" of > violent attacks if the burning happens. > The Rev. Terry Jones, of the Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, > has vowed to go ahead with the bonfire on Saturday, even though he has > been > denied the required permit. > Local officials in Mahmud Raqi, the capital of Afghanistan's Kapisa > province, estimated that up to 4,000 people took part in Thursday's > demonstration. > But NATO spokesman James Judge said the protesters numbered between 500 > to > 700. > "The Afghan national police prevented the protest from overwhelming an > Afghan military outpost," and dispersed the demonstration, he told The > Associated Press. > A cleric in Afghanistan's largely peaceful Balkh province also warned > Thursday that, if the burning goes ahead, a protest will be held in the > provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif next Monday. Protesters could hurl > stones at > NATO-led troops stationed in the city - one of the country's main centers > of > the Islamic teaching. > In the central Pakistani city of Multan, about 200 people marched and > burned a U.S. flag. > "If Quran is burned it would be beginning of destruction of America," read > one English-language banner held up by the protesters, who chanted "Down > with America!" > Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has denounced the planned > burning > and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, > has said it could lead to attacks on international troops. > Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also warned of repercussions, > saying the burning would "face reactions by the world's Muslims as well as > followers of other religions," according to the official IRNA news agency. > In central Baghdad, security was increased around the Church of the Virgin > Mary, with military vehicles blocking the entrance to the church and Iraqi > soldiers standing guard. At two other churches in the capital, police cars > were parked outside and armed officers were deployed. > Canon Andrew White, the chaplain of an Anglican church in Baghdad, said > the > Iraqi military had warned him that his church had been threatened. > > > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
