I would like first and foremost to unequivocally condemn the act of the Florida Atlantic University professor who instructed his students to write the word “Jesus” on a piece of paper, and then to stomp on it.
I also believe that we, whatever our political or religious views may be, should not allow such acts to pass unmarked.
In an earlier issue of the Daily Mississippian, however, a column written by Mr. Trenton Winford suggested we contrast such an act with that of Pastor Terry Jones’s call for his followers to burn the Quran, the Holy Book of Muslims, on the anniversary of 9-11.
This far-fetched juxtaposition desperately attempted to show that the liberal media, allegedly motivated by a hidden agenda, unfairly put the spotlight on the issue of burning the Quran, yet turned a blind eye on that of disrespecting the name of Jesus.
And at the end, we are left prepared to sympathize with the “unsung hero,” Pastor Jones.
This sympathy constitutes a blatant contradiction of thought.
Here’s how:
The Quran reveres Jesus.
In fact, the Quran mentions Jesus by name 25 times.
The following is one of those mentions: “When the angels said, ‘Mary, God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God.”
If you think about it, the sympathy expressed by the article for Pastor Jones is counter-productive to the very purpose of the article itself. On the one hand, it stands up for a pastor who calls upon his followers to burn the Quran, a book that glorifies Jesus. And on the other hand, it condemns the FAU professor for disrespecting the name of Jesus.
The two positions are hardly reconcilable.
I must also add that it is completely false to say that Islam, as a faith, orders the death of homosexuals and considers a miscarriage a crime. Here it could be seen that Mr. Winford himself practices double-standards, the very same thing he criticizes.
The extreme position that he unfairly attributes to Islam is precisely the same position taken by Pastor Jones whom he champions.
Pastor Jones himself is notoriously anti-gay and anti-abortion. He stated publicly that all “homosexuals are going to hell.”
In another statement the pastor says that gay people wearing the military uniform “bring discredit” and “disgrace” to the Armed Forces. The same pastor hanged an effigy of President Obama for his endorsement of same-sex marriage rights, and abortion.
Another example of religious radicalism is Pastor Charles Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C.
He stated sarcastically in a recent ceremony that he wanted to build an “electrified fence” and put all the “lesbians, queers and the homosexuals” behind it “so they can’t get out.”
My one and only intention behind mentioning these horrifying details is to pose the following questions: Do we hold Christianity responsible for such radical stances? Do we say these pastors are representative of all Christians?
The answer to both questions is no.
Just as we never associate Christianity or Judaism with regressive interpretations or radical behavior in their names, we should not associate Islam with regressive interpretation or radical behavior in its name.
We are entitled to our opinion, but definitely not our facts. And the fact is there is no religion “stuck in the Middle Ages,” as it was erroneously and arrogantly stated in the article.
Only radical “interpretations,” made by Islamic preachers, Jewish rabbis or Christian pastors alike are medieval.
Ahmed Seif is a graduate student in the modern languages department.
