Auto-da-fé

A small fundamentalist group from Florida intends to publicly burn copies of the Qur’an on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This plan has spawned reactions around the globe. Warnings from Muslim authorities have not been wanting. Iran signaled that this act would lead to “uncontrollable” reactions. Refusing to enter the bidding game, the Secretary General of the Arab League denounced the actions of a “fanatic.” For its part, the White House expressed “apprehension” over a gesture that will only feed anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world and increase the risk for the troops in Afghanistan. In the same vein, the Secretary General of NATO condemned this act, which will “have a negative impact on the security for our troops.”

It is not certain if these arguments will persuade the 50-odd members of the inaptly named “Dove World Outreach Center.” However, even if this act doesn’t imperil the life of a single soldier, the auto-da-fé of the Qur’an is nonetheless despicable. That’s why in the Vatican, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialog expressed its “worry” in the name of religious liberty. Hillary Clinton, the head of American diplomacy, and Catherine Ashton, the head of European diplomacy, both condemned this plan in similar terms, that of respect for religious beliefs. This is not without reason. Western democracies are founded on the concept of freedom of religion — all religions — and lack of respect for any one religion brings into question this fundamental right. Respecting and demanding respect for religious symbols and opposing the destruction of the Qur’an as well as the Bible is to deny those fanatics, sometimes near us or even among us, the right to tread on the fundamental liberty to follow and practice one’s religious conscience — a liberty at the root of all others.