Halal & Hypocrisy V: From Inferno to Ember…

So he called it off? I must say, I’m disappointed.

When I first heard that Florida pastor Terry Jones planned to create a Koran bonfire to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, I felt a visceral revulsion; as something of a bibliophile (despite binning a few exceptionally useless books a month or so back), the thought of incinerating books generally sours my mental palate…

However, initial repulsion soon gave way to a certain anticipation as the “international condemnation” came flooding in to pre-emptively douse the coming flames: Barack Obama; the FBI; Afghan protestors; even the folk in downtown Pakistan took a break from crying over their deluged countrymen to join in the fun.

Accordingly my view went from “Guh!” to “Hope he sets those motherfuckers aflame….”

Why? Several reasons, really. Mainly I wanted to see TJ give a big, fiery Fuck You to all the naysayers, alarmists, finger-waggers and other sanctimonious cunts jumping on the condemnation train; I especially wanted him to send an infernal, infidel Fuck You to those Muslimfolk who insist on non-Muslims playing by their rules.

Besides, with only fifty members, his little Dove Outreach Church clearly needs all the publicity it can get!

But then, on Thursday night/Friday morning, the plot thickened, crushing the dream in the process: all available news sources announced the pyro pastor had put the matches down in favour of a chat with Feisal Abdul Rauf, the bloke behind the infamous (two blocks from) “Ground Zero mosque”.

So that’s what it’s all about! I thought at the time. It seemed that this muttonchopped minister had been riding a bandwagon himself; the whole thing had been a bold blackmail attempt to bend American abdullahs to their countrymen’s moral indignation. The talk of a relocation deal seemed to back up that thought:

“The American people do not want the mosque there, and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Koran,” he said.

“If it’s not moved, then I think Islam is a very poor example of religion. I think that would be very pitiful. I do not expect that.”

However, statements from Rauf himself just had to go and piss on the parade:

“We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony.”

Good for him, I say. Whatever else one may think of that Imam, he at least refuses to kowtow to his haters. Democratic discontent be damned!

If only the same could be said for TJ, who seems to have gone from boldness to bullshitting in the space of forty-eight hours:

He says that his Gainesville, Fla., church’s goal was “to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical.”
He tells NBC that “we have definitely accomplished that mission.” He says no meeting is planned with the imam leading the center but he hopes one will take place.

He couldn’t even keep his story straight— didn’t his holy book warn against men with forked tongues?

The synopsis from the Telegraph probably gets us closer to the reality of things:

he had abandoned his “International Burn a Koran Day” after worldwide outrage and a telephone call from Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary

The Rev Jones stated that he had been double-crossed by a Florida imam but it was apparent that he had been shaken by the level of outrage at his planned actions and was seeking a way out.

Looks like that First Amendment the Statesiders swear by isn’t worth that much to them after all—such a shame!

At the end of it all, there was no inferno—only a man reduced to ember.

Oh well—perhaps America’s favourite hate group will pick up the slack:

Westboro Baptist Church, the small Topeka, Kan., church that pickets funerals of American soldiers to spread its message that God is punishing the country for being tolerant of homosexuals, has vowed to hold a Quran burning if Gainesville’s Dove World Outreach Center calls its off.
WBC burned the Koran once – and if you sissy brats of Doomed america bully Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center until they change their plans to burn that blasphemous tripe called the Koran, then WBC will burn it (again), to clearly show you some things,” the church announced in a news release this week.

Commence the countdown: those crazy Christlings may cause a conflagration yet!

~MRDA~