Elder: Beheading a Dutch Politician?

Larry Elder

What happens when an Australian Muslim cleric calls for the beheading of a Dutch politician? Not much. What happens when an American pastor no one ever heard of threatens to burn a Koran? It ignites an international outcry. Terry Jones, pastor of a 50-member church in Gainsville, Fla., threatened to burn the Koran as a protest against the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center. Democrats and Republicans denounced Jones. Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, warned that Jones' action would put American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan at risk, and he personally telephoned the pastor to dissuade him. Those who would desecrate the Koran or who would draw a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad or who would otherwise "disrespect" Islam run the risk of being murdered. This is quite a response from followers of what President George W. Bush called a "religion of peace," the "hijacking" of which motivated the 9/11 hijackers. Bush repeatedly distinguished between a war against Islamofascism and a war on Islam. But the distinction apparently collapses if one pastor doesn't get the memo. Read more here:

Elder: Beheading a Dutch Politician?