The Qur’an-burning (or not burning, and then eventually burning) in Florida was a relative side issue in the broader struggle against the global jihad until it became an issue of double standards concerning the First Amendment right to free speech. After all, if pastor Terry Jones had burned a Bible, or an American flag, most of the world might have taken a momentary glance and gone about its business. Now, he’s finally done it, and it is as if most of the mainstream media has gotten the issue out of their collective system; the novelty has worn off, and coverage so far has been quite muted. And the resistance to the jihad goes on, having outlasted this and other stories that only hold the national attention span for so long.
At least one jihadist group has taken notice, though, offering an instructive bit of ranting about “Zionists” and “crusaders,” and against free speech. This, by the way, is the same Pakistani paper that suggested the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti was the work of a vast conspiracy by the U.S., Israel, and India. “Holy Quran desecrated in Florida church,” from The Nation, March 22:
Condemning the sacrilegious burning of a copy of the Holy Quran by devilish American pastor Terry Jones, Jamaat-ud-Dawa ameer Hafiz Muhammad Saeed on Monday called it a conspiracy of the zionists and the crusaders working in collusion to disrupt peace and order in the world.
Hafiz Saeed urged the Muslim world to unite against the intense sacrilegious act of the controversial pastor who, he said, acted at the behest of the US government and military. He called upon the government of Pakistan to take the initiative of mobilising all Muslim states to devise a collective strategy on the platform of the OIC.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference itself has expressed its desire for a “legally binding institutional instrument” at the UN to shield Islam from insults.
In a statement, the Dawa chief said the UN Security Council and other international organisations have double standards for Muslims. On the one hand they trumpet religious tolerance and coexistence, but on the other, they turn a blind eye to such blatant extremism. He said Pakistan must not be complacent in the face of such fanaticism carried out under the Obama administration.
Separately, addressing a Jihad Conference in Jamia Masjid, Qadisiya Town, the Dawa chief said America, India and Israel are scared of Jihad. The Muslim must understand that Jihad is the key to their survival.