Florida preacher Terry Jones says he'll go ahead with burning a pile of Korans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — despite protests from the White House, the Vatican, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and several evangelical Christian groups. President Obama called Jones' "International Burn a Koran Day" a "recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda," but Jones said "backing down" would only show to terrorists that America is weak. [Update: Jones has called off the event.] Will a bonfire of Muslim holy books strike a blow against terrorism, or for it?
Burning Korans is terrorism: This is America — "no one should burn anyone’s holy book" here, says Leslie Marshall in U.S. News & World Report. Lighting a bonfire of Korans sends a scary message to all Muslims — that Americans hate them, and blame them all for 9/11. If you go along with Jones' attempt to strike fear in the hearts of innocent Muslims, "you’re acting like terrorists yourselves."
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