The Pastor and the Koran

The ninth anniversary of the attack by al-Qaida on the World Trade Center in New York City, which is being commemorated today in the United States, has been preceded by a heated controversy around the world. A few weeks ago, Terry Jones, an unknown Pentecostal pastor in Gainesville, Florida, threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the bloody attack.

After some maneuvering back and forth, where the pastor announced that he would not proceed, it is still unclear as I write these lines whether Jones will light his bonfire using the sacred text of Muslims.

That the leader of a tiny extremist church with no more than 50 followers has put the White House on the defensive and unleashed violent protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia is another example of the explosive global sensibilities aroused by the treatment of Islam nine years after Sept. 11, 2001. Furthermore, for the first time, the anniversary of the attack and the end of the holy month of Ramadan coincide. The difficulties for democratic governments and the media to address the distinct aspects of the Muslim religion, in both its moderate and fanatical forms, are not new: In 2005, the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper caused riots in Islamic countries, leaving 100 dead. The French government and other European countries have banned Islamic women from wearing the burka – which covers the entire body – in public spaces and schools.

A few weeks ago, the plan to build a mosque and cultural center a few blocks from the ruins of the attack triggered a noisy debate in the United States over religious freedom and respect for the victims of the attack. The condemnation of the pastor’s threat has been widespread. The United Nations, the Vatican, the White House and other leaders have denounced this act of intolerance and unnecessary provocation, which recalls the fascism of the past. President Obama, whom 25 percent of Americans incorrectly believe to be Muslim, declared that, “we may call [our] God by different names, but we remain one nation.” In addition to constituting a serious wrong that offends every religious faith, the burning of Korans on U.S. soil would immediately create a powerful weapon of recruitment for extremist groups like al-Qaida and for suicide bombers in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Although Pastor Jones is no more than a fanatic who represents only a handful of racists, it would be naive to deny the existence of a feeling of rejection of Islam, at least in the United States. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in August showed that only 30 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of the Muslim creed, and 55 percent acknowledged knowing nothing, or almost nothing, about the followers of Muhammad. Thus it comes as no surprise that xenophobes like Jones emerge who are willing to exploit this high level of fear and ignorance.

Nine years after the horrific images of the collapse of the two towers, the global consequences have been more profound and drastic than the analysts initially predicted.

Several European countries have not only suffered attacks but have also modified their tolerant stances towards Islam. A U.S. military presence continues in Afghanistan, the center of bin Laden’s operations in 2001, and is today considered “Obama’s war.” And the vast majority of Muslims in Western countries, who are law-abiding and practice their religion in peace, are being watched by the populists and intolerants.