Burning Faith

A religious lunatic in Florida, with the appropriately Pythonesque name of Terry Jones, plans to lead his minions in a ceremonial burning of two hundred copies of the Koran, in order to mark the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks. "Instead of us backing down" in the face of radical Muslimity, as has been our habit from Gaza through Iraq to Iran and points east, "maybe it's time to stand up", Jones said. "Maybe it's time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behaviour". It is not clear how well that message will be conveyed by the destruction of a few copies of a book which holds a certain importance not only for radical Muslims, but for the decent minority also. Lebanon's Daily Star, whose ideas of journalistic restraint appear encouragingly similar to those of its British namesake, hinted at "a fire of rage that could consume swathes of the globe", while a paper in the United Arab Emirates described the stunt as "rabid and insane"; so it is conceivable that Jones' call for a nicer, more civilised, more American Muslimity may fall on deaf ears.

Mainstream opinion, which in dealing with alien races tends to prefer robbery with violence to mere literary criticism, has condemned the auto da fé. Hillary Clinton, herself no mean provider of fuel for the fires of Islamic irritability, had a bit of a blather about reaching out, and about the common understanding and common respect which will inevitably burst forth in the coming months and years thanks to the Obama administration's near-seamless continuation of the Bush administration's Middle East policy. Christian and Jewish religious leaders stated that they were "appalled by such disrespect for a sacred text"; apparently none of them had the nerve to speak out against book-burning per se. Meanwhile Jones, in true Christian fashion, has declared that he and his followers are prepared to give their lives while confirming that he himself will be armed so as not to give his own unless absolutely necessary.