My bookshelf

I heard this on NPR and read it on CNN – a pastor wants to burn Qurans on the anniversary of 9/11.  I mean, really…seriously?  How does that solve anything?  How is this a stand about being American and supporting America?  Being American should mean that you value the freedom of religion and that being a Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Buddhist or not believing in anything is okay.

As a Christian, should I turn my back on my fellow people, burn their holy books because I don’t agree with them?  No.

Although the terrorists of 9/11 did terrible things under the banner of a religion, the fault in the event is not the religion itself.  It’s the terrorists who committed their crimes, twisting a faith held by a majority of good people who deserve to practice their religion without stigma.  Should we counter people who have done equally terrible things under a Christian God by burning Bibles?  No.  Do you know who burned books?  The Nazis.  Do we remember them well?  No.  Why?  Because they did bad things to the Jews.

We need to stop this cycle of blame and negativity and spend our time and energy doing good – learning about other religions, understanding commonalities, accepting differences.  And most of all, working together to be something better than what happened at 9/11, not be something worse because of it.

As pictured, I own a Quran – it sits next to my Bible, and I don’t understand why the world can’t work a little bit more that way.

-cct