LEWISBURG — A Florida minister’s plans to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks illustrate how the United States, as a nation, is struggling to make sense of what happened.
Alexander Riley, an associate professor of sociology at Bucknell University whose research focuses on the cultural symbolism of the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, calls it a constant study.
“There are competing ideas of the meaning,” he said. “It shows a cultural struggle as we try to decide what’s the correct meaning of this event. What’s the story we should tell about it, the symbols we should use to enshrine it?”
The Rev. Terry Jones’ plan to burn copies of the Islamic holy book on Saturday is one side of the narrative — one that is nativist and sheds light on a recurring theme in America.
That theme: How does the “majority” deal with the “other” in society? Typically, Riley said, that “other” is marginalized or made the scapegoat.
He would argue that is the case with Jones, of Gainesville, the pastor of Dove World Outreach Center.< /p>
Jones, whose congregation numbers about 50, has told The New York Times recently he has the right to burn the Quran because it is “full of lies.” The 58-year-old said recently he was going ahead with “International Burn-a-Quran Day” despite pressure from the White House and military personnel in Afghanistan, who state the action would only incite violence against Americans.
Religious leaders in the Valley surveyed by The Daily Item also condemn Jones’ plans.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples never did anything like that,” said the Rev. Ferd Madara, the pastor of Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Shamokin. “As Christians, we are interested in spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ without incurring the condemnation of any other religion.”
Bishop Robert L. Driese, head of the Upper Susquehanna Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which has offices in Lewisburg, called Jones’ actions puzzling.
“It’s something, frankly, that I don’t understand,” Driese said. “To me, there is nothing to be gained by burning the holy books of others.”
Driese also said the action flies in the face of the First Amendment’s protection of religion.
“Here in the United States, we treasure the principle of religious freedom,” he said. “I would not want anyone burning my Bible and I wouldn’t want to burn the holy book of someone else, even if their point of view was different than mine.”
The Rev. Lisa Stine, associate pastor at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Sunbury, quoted the first letter of St. John.
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness,” she said, adding that Jones’ actions would cast Christianity in a bad light around the world.
Even some of those who don’t believe in God said they think Jones’ plan is wrong, if only from a philosophical point of view.
“I don’t think you should burn books,” said Chris Feaster, a member of the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers. “Even if don’t agree with the idea, there is still information in there.”
He added: “I’m for his right to burn the book, but I wouldn’t do it myself.”
Jones’ plans conjure images that Riley, the Bucknell professor, called an “unfortunate and sadly recurring part of American culture.”
Muslims, as well as Mexicans in terms of illegal immigrants, are just the latest targets.
To illustrate this, he said he often shows his students racist cartoons from the late 1800s and early 1900s depicting the Irish as the source of all America’s problems.
The fear of Catholics is another example, he said.
“It is amazing to my students that, when (John F.) Kennedy was running for election, it was a legitimate issue for (some Americans) that this guy was going to be taking orders from the Vatican,” Riley said. “It seems laughable now. By and large, we’ve been able to overcome it. It is no longer a point of division.
“We’ve now substituted other insider-outsider issues.”
-- E-mail comments to jdeinlein@dailyitem.com
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