Monday, September 13, 2010

Koran Burnings and Reactions

There has been a lot of talk lately, both in the news and in my personal conversations, about the Islamic world, the proposed mosque site near ground zero, and the threatened Koran burnings in Florida.  I'm desperately trying to figure out what our response as American Christians should be.  I came across this article on BBC (it takes place in Kashmir, which is the state we visited this summer...not near the violence, but the same region) and it honestly scares me a lot.  There have already been 18 deaths in riots about the Koran burnings, and in the video accompanying this article they are burning Barack Obama in effigy.

So, no opinions really...just working to understand and process everything.  It all feels so crazy, and I think it's much more personal and impacting since coming back from India. 

Thoughts?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Nicole. Check out this great article from Abraham Piper - I think he hits the nail on the head: http://twentytwowords.com/2010/09/09/the-risks-involved-in-burning-the-koran-are-mainly-the-fault-of-islam/

k said...

My opinion is that as a Christian, the response has to these situations has to be love and tolerance. For me, it's really hard to love the less tolerant people in this situation--the man in Florida and those opposing the Islamic center in NYC, but that's my job. And even though I sympathize with them in some ways, it's also really hard to love the protesters in Kashmir (especially since they're not all that far away from here). Love, respect, and tolerance are always the best way to go.

--Kate