Terry Jones’ threat to stage a Quran-burning event this past week as a means of protesting a potential Muslim Community Center in Manhattan provoked serious controversy, both domestic and international. Thankfully, Pastor Jones and his small church did not follow through with the threat to turn a pile of Qurans into a bonfire, but only after enormous pressure from all directions. It really struck me that this entire episode has some real implications regarding fundamental American rights.
Most obviously, for me, is the debate it sparked regarding the First Amendment. You may recall the portion of the amendment which I am referencing. It is the one that enshrines freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press as fundamental American rights. No matter where you might stand in regards to building a Muslim Center somewhere near Ground Zero, the fact remains that it is well within the right of any religious group to construct a house of worship at a location of their choosing. Ironically (in this case), the same amendment which protects the freedom of religion also upholds the right to peacefully assemble. This means that it is perfectly legal for a group of people to nonviolently protest the construction of a religious building, if they choose to do so.
Pastor Jones was clearly invoking his right to free speech when threatening to set fire to a mound of religious texts. It is reasonable to assert that he has such a right. But with freedom of speech comes great responsibility. There are literally billions of people in this world who hold the Quran to be the word of God. Considering that thousands of our servicemen and women are serving our country in a region of the world predominated by the Muslim faith makes Jones’ threat more than provocative.
As NATO commander in Afghanistan General David Petraeus said, this threat put American lives in danger by inciting the same religious extremism the U.S. military is trying to root out. As a Christian, it is reasonable to assume that Pastor Jones would be disturbed if the tables were turned and it were the Bible, rather than the Quran, being tossed into a blaze. Personally, the thought of any book on fire, for whatever reason, always brings to my mind the image of the book burnings staged by Nazi Germany. It’s not a pleasant image.
The bombardment of media coverage surrounding Pastor Jones in the past week was a little alarming. Again, the First Amendment gives the press the right to cover any story they find newsworthy. But this right also carries a responsibility, and it seems that the news media did the world a disservice by giving one man, who is certainly on the fringe, so much attention. If the press had not chosen to usher Pastor Jones into the spotlight, it is very unlikely that his threat to burn the Quran would have been noticed at all. A week-long controversy could have been avoided, and our members of the armed forces would be just a little more safe in a foreign land.
In the end, Pastor Jones backed down after the collective voices of reason (and even a few threats) softened him up. The fact that this issue settled out the way it did speaks well for the First Amendment, which remains relevant even after over two centuries of the American experiment in republican government.