So now that the burning has been canceled will the extremists say.
a) Wow those Americans respect our beliefs there not so bad after all.
OR
b) Wow those people are so scared of us we burn a flag and make some noise and there head of state gets involved.

Back to lose lose.

A question: People have been arguing that Jones has a right to burn the Koran. This is supposedly his right to freedom of expression. However, what about my right to security:

"Where books are burned in the end people will burn." Heinrich Heine.

I would like to be able to follow my religion and go to work without fear of persecution or discrimination. I’d also like the same for others. This is only going to happen if we accept that with rights comes responsibility. If we don’t then we empower extremists like Jones.

People like Jones ...Muslims like Jones, Christians like Jones, Jews like Jones and Atheists like Jones...don’t like to express their opinions in a reasonable way. They do not have reason on their side. So they use inflammatory tactics. When inflammatory tactics are used people get hurt.

Jones actions will invite retaliation. Retaliation will result in deaths. Deaths will embitter both sides, leading to polarisation and further conflict. Extremists win, the rest of us lose. At least that is a reasonable prediction.

I think Jones has abused his right to freedom of expression.

Afterall, no-one accepts the unfettered right to bear arms or drive a car. If you do not handle your weapon responsibly or drive responsibly, the weapon/car can be taken away. Who doesn’t accept this? Those who own a weapon/car are expected to handle the weapon/car in a manner that minimises the chances of others being hurt. Otherwise they face charges.

The same applies to the right to freedom of expression. If you have something to say you say it in a way that maximising the chances of resolution of any grievance and minimises the chances of others being hurt. This means you have to think responsibly about your behaviour and the impact it can have on others.

That is what being civilised is all about.

Troposa,

Agreed,unfortunately 'b' is the most likely interpretation.

I wish the loony had actually burned the Quran,this apparent backdown will simply encourage more Islamic bullying and special pleading.

Many Moslems seem to have problems understanding liberal democracy and freedom of expression.To most people in the world the Quran is superstitious nonsense.

A see no problem with a Mosque being built at ground zero, since Muslims did not do the 911 controlled demolitions of the Towers or WTC 7. http://ae911truth.org/

MAC:
<<I wish the loony had actually burned the Quran,this apparent backdown will simply encourage more Islamic bullying and special pleading.

Many Moslems seem to have problems understanding liberal democracy and freedom of expression.To most people in the world the Quran is superstitious nonsense.>>

I do not believe the Qur'aan is "superstitious nonsense" and i do not have a problem "understanding liberal democracy and freedom of expression".

Most people are not in a position to express an opinion about the Qur'an because they have not read it.

Of those who have read it, the overwhelming majority would disagree with your accessment that it is "superstitious nonsense".

Mac, it seems to me you are suggesting most people in the world (i.e. the other 3/4) should gang up on the Muslims, and burn their Qur'aans. And if we object then we are behaving like bullies.

Zig heil!

Grateful asks:

"…what about my right to security:"

You have the same "right to security" as Salman Rushdie.

As Kurt Westergard:

See: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article6973966.ece

As Ayaan Hirsi Ali who has to be accompanied by bodyguards wherever she goes.

You have the same "right to security" as he LATE Theo van Gogh.

You have the same "right to security" as Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow "…who in Somalia in 2008, in front of a thousand people, was dragged to a hole in the ground – all the while screaming, "I'm not going – don't kill me" – then buried up to her neck and stoned by 50 men for adultery? After 10 minutes, she was dug up, found to be still alive and put back in the hole for further stoning. Her crime? She had been raped by three men and, fatally, her family decided to report the facts to the Al-Shabab militia that runs Kismayo."

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-crimewave-that-shames-the-world-2072201.html

And while you will claim that this last mentioned is "un-Islamic" the fact is that it was done in the name of Islam.

Understand this Grateful:

Your right to tell Christians their Bible has been corrupted and Jones' right to burn that compendium of seventh century garbage you call the koran all stem from the same source. You cannot curtail one without curtailing the other.

You quote Heine, a writer born Jewish. Here is what an imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca has to say about Jews:

"In Mecca two years ago, al Sudais described Jews as "scum of the earth", "rats of the world" and "monkeys and pigs who should be annihilated".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3618243/Where-is-the-Gandhi-of-Islam.html