CHRISTIAN AMERICA NEEDS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST KORAN BURNING

THE thought of a day of Koran burning make me sick to my stomach. I know the vast majority of Americans are better than that, but the fact that it is happening is wrong. All I can picture in my mind is the orgy of book burning in Nazi Germany, especially books by Jewish authors and about Judaism, and then books by unionist, and Christians, and foreigners.....and then I can see Kristalnackt, and then the smoking chimneys of the death camps. The increasing violence in the language against Islam, and now this planned day of violence against the Koran, a holy book.....what will be next? What will it take to stop this growing hate, this hate that has no Christian scriptural basis or backing? I fear for the religious soul of our nation.

As September 11th approaches, a wave of anti-Muslim bigotry is sweeping the country. Speak out against bigotry and hate!

The religion "of the Devil" ... practiced by "animals of Allah" ... worshipping a "monkey-god"...
Messages of hatred and discrimination are polluting our public discourse as we approach the anniversary of 9/11.
This Muslim-bashing follows on the heels of a debate about the "Ground Zero Mosque." Comments from fearmongers have been deeply discriminatory-and completely disregard what's really at stake: our Constitutional values, fundamental rights, and national security.
Cynically using the 9/11 anniversary to vilify Islam and Muslims trivializes the real tragedy of 9/11-the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians.
We've gotten to the point that a small group in Florida is supporting a "Burn a Koran" event on September 11th-sponsored by a church, of all places. Left unchallenged, their message of hatred is heard loud and clear across the globe.
Where is the sense in this situation?
The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville Florida has posted on its website "10 Reasons to Burn a Koran." We're making our own list. Send us your top reason NOT to burn a Koran-we'll select the top 10 answers, post them on our website, and distribute them near and far to make sure that your voice is heard in this debate.
This misguided and violent rhetoric only harms us by alienating the communities whose cooperation is essential to effectively combat terrorism. Let's show the fearmongers and the world that Americans don't support this kind of hatred!
Human Rights First has been fighting discrimination and intolerance wherever it occurs, monitoring situations all over the world where bias turns into violence and finding ways to combat it. Help us push back on those who are delivering messages of hate.
Sincerely,
Tad Stahnke
Director of Policy and Programs