Protests Reach Kandahar - School Bus Attacked

The riots created by Terry Jones continue. How many more lives they will take is speculation, but Jones is not phased in the least.

Zalmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the governor, said the rioters attacked the Zarghona Ana High School for Girls, burning some classrooms and a school bus. The school is supported by the United States Agency for International Development. The Taliban have opposed education for girls.

Creating a New Quandry for the Christian Right

Something to think about: the Christian Right had a hard enough time keep the likes Fred Phelps at bay, so how are they going to doing it with Terry Jones? Phelps' actions had severe emotional reactions, but Jones' actions resulted in DEATHS. Who be stoned this time? The media was certainly not at fault this time because it didn't sufficiently cover the Quran burning - the time lapse proves that. Karzai? He's only a politician some anti-American sentiment in order to keep the troops there (via reverse psychology). 

With world events being as quick (and atrocious) as they are, it will be easy to forget about this incident, but beware:

1. Afghan Muslims won't forget.

2. Islamophobes will use it to their best advantage.

3. Jones' supporters will be coming out of the woodwork (e.g. they already have - sponsoring his appearance at an anti-Islam rally)

UPDATE: The death toll for the riots is now up to 12 and the injuries are up to 83.

Keep an eye out for everything that happens in Afghanistan and the rest of the Muslim world.

Update: Jones Unrepentent, Islam Unforgiving, Christians And Muslims Continue To Suffer ... As Death Toll Mounts

As of this writing, riots continue throughout Afghanistan. Anti-American and anti-Christian furors have sprung up, injuring more people. The death toll is now at 10, with 83 wounded.


What hath Jones wrought?

It is said that Pastor Terry Jones virtually studied his hatred at the feet of Fred Phelps. Phelps has not spoken to Jones after Jones' plans to burn the Quran last Sept. 11 became public, primarily because his efforts received more attention (the Phelps clann had actually burned the Holy Book before). I wonder how Phelps is reacting to his former student's fatal publicity grab. 


To the nation and the world, Terry Jones looks like Fred Phelps on steroids: with his deliberate act to cause mischief and strife, Jones has now run past Phelps in the race to be the Most Hated Man In America. Let us not miss the irony that both hold the title of "Reverend." That title alone would have forced Jones to feign shock and dismay at the results in Afghanistan. However, he showed neither, thus relegating him to the status of  self-righteous, cold-blooded killer. His ubiquitous statement to ABC News ...

“Of course we were very saddened and devastated by that,” he told ABC News. “It is of course a terrible thing anytime anyone is killed.” relayed not even the least amount of sympathy or regret. 

Afghanistan's indignation has sparked terror and criticism around the world:

Endangering Christians

Last week, St Thomas church in Wah Cantt (Afghanistan) was attacked by a group of Muslims who tried to break through the front door and set fire to the building.
The church’s pastor, Father Yousaf, said: “This is a reaction of the desecration of the Koran in Florida. Although the Catholic Church has officially condemned the incident and we have also displayed a banner outside the church condemning the incident, still the innocent people are facing the consequences.”

Pakistan has released official letters to the Vatican and to Interpol, beseeching both to take appropriate action and calling Jones a blot on the name of humanity.


The city of Dearborn, MI is hoping to dissuade Jones from a scheduled protest. A northern Michigan Militia group invited Jones to help protest outside of Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in North America.


Ethiopia: 

... Muslim extremists burned dozens of churches near Jimma town in the western Oromia region over the past several days. Even though the census show that about 60 % of the Ethiopia is Christian, still the sever reaction of the Muslim extremist couldn’t not be controlled or stopped.

More than 11 countries so far have condemned the Quran burning by Terry Jones: India, Bahrain, Indonesia, Pakistan, Britain, Canada, Malaysia, Lebanon, Germany, Vatican City, Kuwait. Note that they have condemned JONES and not the afghans who rioted.

WE ARE NOT ALONE

According to Examiner.com "Close to one million bloggers responded, providing reports, comments and analysis to these tragic events." Most of them are kinder than this writer by not attributing the violence entirely to Jones, but statements of "idiot" and "lunatic" abound. 

The matter of Jones' accountability, however, will be on everyone's mind in the weeks to come. It engenders the same angst we suffered during the Phelps vs. Snyder case and its treatment by the Supreme Court: freedom of speech vs. accountability. This time, however, people will suffer both emotional and physical anguish - including death - because one man chose to spurn humanity in deference to his own ego, an ego which was fostered and enlarged by a section of our religious society that did little to silence him.

Murder Is Popular

It seems that the last post was more popular than most. Check out the treatment on OpEdNews. Note that they didn't publish the photo (AP might have objected - I couldn't get permission in time). Feel free to comment there as well as here.