Saturday, September 11, 2010

One "stunt" down, one to go.

Pastor Terry Jones had every right in the world to burn the Koran. For the most part no one denies that. But there were other considerations. There were potential consequences.

In the end, Jones decided not to go through with his "stunt", as the President of the United States characterized this one citizen's proposed exercise in free expression.

On the Today Show (today, September 11, 2010) Terry Jones stated, "We will definitely not burn the Quran, no. Not today, not ever ... Even though we have not burned one Quran, we have gotten over 100 death threats. We feel that God is telling us to stop, and we also hope that ... maybe that will open up the door to maybe be able to talk to the imam."

In addition to the death threats, Jones has also had his church's website taken down by Rackspace, the webhosting company they used. According to a Rackspace spokesperson, the church had "violated the Offensive Content section of its Acceptable Use policy."

Despite Jones' announcement, followers of the Religion of Peace in Afghanistan continue to "protest" the Koran burning that didn't happen by setting fires, throwing stones, and attacking shops, police stations, NATO troops and government offices.

Meanwhile, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf continues to demonstrate that a "moderate" Muslim Sufi mystic can be more pigheaded that even a reactionary fundamentalist yahoo like Jones.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For insight into this "black swan" event in fourth-generation warfare, see the discussion occurring on Global Guerrillas:

" ... An unexpected global event occurs. What caused it? The event was produced by an individual, relatively powerless by traditional standards. However, since this is the 21st Century, this individual is able to use unfettered access to a global super-network to leverage and amplify his actions. The event he creates disrupts established global social networks and puts them into turmoil. That turmoil creates the opportunity and sustenance needed to activate dozens of small subnetworks/groups. As these groups interact, a new dynamic is formed."

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2010/09/journal-koran-burning.html

For an excellent view of Islamism as fourth-generation warfare, see John Dziak's six part article on Gates of Vienna.