Terry Jones Update: The Latest Video Proves That Righteous Arrogance Kills People and Breeds Stupid Pastors

The last words: "This man is insane!"

A Methodist Minister, a Muslim Imam and a Fred Phelps Impersonator walk into a bar...

OK, I'm straining to be light about the whole thing, but the video of Terry Jones going toe-to-toe with Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini and Rev. Ed Rowe - Pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit would be hysterically funny if peace and safety didn't hinge on it. All the talking points are there, but Jones' insistence that his actions are not harmful and that they have a point hold no correlation to those points.

SPECIAL NOTE: You may well be reading this after Jones' attempt to protest, but to get a good look at simple reasoning being thrown at someone like Jones, you really must watch the video. The idiom "Pearls Before Swine" will surely pop into your head. If you have any problems viewing it, go HERE to the site. And, yes, it's that important. 

Comic Update: As if in some old sitcom (discontinued after 4 episodes), this happened to Jones after the interview:

Controversial Pastor Terry Jones made a name for himself after burning a Koran to protest radical Islam.  On Thursday, Jones fired bullet into the floorboard of his car.

Southfield Police say the gun accidentally discharged.  No one was hurt.  No Charges were filed.  Police gave the gun back to Jones and sent him on his way.

Jones was born 90 years too late: he could have been a star in Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops comedies.

Where was I? Ah, yes, the talking points: Jones swatted them off like flies, not knowing that he looked totally cold and callous throughout the entire discussion. He was introduced as "the most controversial man in America - maybe the most controversial man in the world!" and that may have set his ego flying. He definitely studied under Fred Phelps. 


He spoke in even tones from a scowl-covered face how he had been "around the world" and spent 30 years as a "missionary " in Europe, omitting the fact that his last "sect" in Europe (Germany) had ousted him with the help of the German government. Evidently the 800-member church could not stand his dictatorial ways. When asked pointedly "What are you trying to prove?" he said it was to "raise awareness" about growing "radical" Islam, Jihad and Sharia law. 


He also compared himself to Rev. Martin Luther King. 


In reference to his burning the Quran: "The Quran is a book, I do not care how holy it is. It is not flesh and blood." Others chimed in that Jones had "blood on his hands" in knowing that burning the sacred scripture of Islam would cause violence. 


"Absolutely not." He reasoned that what people did 7,000 miles away was not related to the burning because radical Muslims always react violently. (I almost interjected at this point: "Get yourself out of the 14th century: today, one word - in any part of the world - can set off a holocaust against any group." The image of me screaming at the computer screen, however, made me look almost as ridiculous as Jones.)


Both the Imam and Rev. Rowe were, in effect, stonewalled by stupidity. Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini's reasoning, while not flawless, was direct and to-the-point: Jones did not know anything about the Quran, Islam or even Christianity. He calmly pointed out that the Quran honors and mentions Jesus Christ numerous times and that Jones dishonored Jesus as well as Mohammad. Pastor Rowe, however, was extremely agitated: "I don’t own your vision of Christianity at all." And later: "He’s lying about Christianity, he’s lying about Martin Luther King and he’s lying about Islam." 


Working On Paranoia

It is ironic that the discussion was held on FOX News channel WJBK-2 Detroit: Rev. Rowe is definitely what can be called a "progressive" Christian, not at all in line with Christian Right leaders like Pat Robertson, James Dobson or Tony Perkins. The Imam's comment about "fringe" groups in Christianity as well as Islam would have been hotly contested. 

Towards the end of the third segment, the Imam was asked why people in America feared Islam. The Imam's answer was simple: "I think they fear Islam because of people like Pastor Terry Jones...he works on their paranoia."


Yes, he does. And this video - a spectacle of stubbornness and stupidity - proves that he will continue to do so. At the end, the viewer will cry or laugh defensively:

A Methodist Minister, a Muslim Imam and a Fred Phelps Impersonator walk into a bar...

What Will Come (Again) From One Pastor's Insanity? Terry Jones' Plan For Good Friday And The Largest Mosque In America

   ISN'T $100,000 A SMALL PRICE TO PAY 

      FOR MURDER AND MAYHEM?

Pastor Terry Jones has had the longest-running 15 minutes of fame in history, and he won't let up: his plans to protest in front of the country's largest mosque this Friday has re-ignited alarms throughout the country. And nowhere in the country is there more cause for alarm than Dearborn, MI:

DEARBORN, Mich., April 19 (UPI) -- Terry Jones, the Koran-burning Florida pastor, says Detroit-area police and prosecutors are trying to silence him by demanding a $100,000 bond.

Jones plans to visit Dearborn, Mich., which has one of the biggest Muslim populations in the country, on Good Friday, The Detroit News reported. Prosecutors filed a motion Friday requesting he put up a "peace bond" and saying he could cause a riot "complete with discharge of firearms."

The Dearborn police said he should put up $100,000 to cover the cost of overtime, Jones said. He called the move unconstitutional and said he does not plan to pay.

So it has come to this: Jones will have his day come hell or ...


The irony of Jones' latest attempt at publicity has not gone unnoticed simply because Jones intended it to be a rather twisted way of declaring Christianity to be superior to Islam: Good Friday is a day for remembering the ultimate sacrifice. Jones has been disillusioned into thinking that HE is making some kind of sacrifice: his taste of power, coupled with death threats made against him, have goaded him into a self-image as a savior of sorts. No matter that even the group that initially enabled him in his efforts pulled out of the event at the last minute: a group called the Order of the Dragon planned to protest at Dearborn's City Hall on Friday, but canceled after they met with city officials. The group is dedicated to protecting "our country from the rise of radical Islam." They withdrew their request to protest after being told that Dearborn did not in any way practice Sharia Law.


Jones certainly cannot take any comfort in the fact that his planned protest has actually brought religious leaders together:

Metro Detroit religious leaders plan prayer vigils Thursday and Friday to show solidarity against Jones. A prayer event is planned Thursday at the mosque, while another vigil is planned at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn on Friday before Jones' protest.

It is indeed rare when Christian communities come together to chastise one who is seemingly their own: The Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit has collected almost 1000 signatures on a petition condemning Jones. The petition reads in part:

We, as caring neighbors in southeastern Michigan, stand together in condemning the actions of those who spew hate and fear, and who misuse and desecrate holy books of faith. Instead we call on people to carry out the best traditions of all religious faiths, embodied in the idea of doing to others as we would have them do to us.

Too Little Too Late?

The sentiments of the petition, although sincere, serve to point out the fact that religious groups rarely, if ever, police their own. In this case, it may have been because no one has come to think of Terry Jones as one of their own. The outcry by the rest of America last September came well after Jones and Fred Phelps had announced that they were burning Qurans. The meme of "he's not one of us" was such a poor slap on the wrist to Jones that he must have perceived - in his arrogant righteousness - that God was surely on his side. 

And he continues to think that way. Remember, Jones is a man who, with an honorary doctorate (from an unaccredited college) parlayed a stay in Germany into a cult which eventually kicked him out because of his un-Christian, dictatorial and arrogant ways, a man who "made himself the center of everything." By now, his self-image is virtually impregnable. 

It may seem disingenuous at this time to place responsibility on anyone else besides Jones. Or moot. But I really must point out that the Joneses and Phelpses of the country are home-grown by the very culture that allows its religious leaders to do whatever they want without sanction. Or, I should say, without REAL sanction. Any form of effective excommunication is considered a sin. 

Now, Jones has the nation once again trembling in fear as to what he will do, when he will do it and how he will do it. He evinced little remorse at the mayhem and deaths related to his last incident. His righteous arrogance has him entrenched and immutable. Jones has been entreated by world leaders before and brushed them aside. Jones has determined if and when people will be hurt and killed. 

"Nothing has changed. Nothing will change," Jones said. "We will definitely be there." 

So what do we do now? 

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.