The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property—TFP categorically condemns the Sept 11, 2010 advertised burning of the Koran by the pastor of a Gainesville, Florida church and its congregation.
The act is wrong for several reasons. However, we call the public’s attention to a perspective we believe has not been sufficiently emphasized in the widespread outcry.
This Koran burning fails to take into account the asymmetrical war al-Qaeda and its cohorts are waging against America. This terrorist war is based, above all, on revolutionary psychological warfare, and in this psywar, pictures and accounts of the planned Koran burning will be used by the al-Qaeda to prove the “righteousness” of its jihad against America, facilitating the recruitment of new terrorists and the execution of new attacks. In the fanatical groupthink of Islamists, America as a whole (not simply the perpetrators), will bear responsibility for the act, and denials and reasoning to the contrary will be of no avail.
Accordingly, the Koran burning results in more than “disturbing the peace.” Indeed, while the pastor and his congregation may become the targets of Islamist retaliation, such criminal acts would only be the beginning.
Seen within the context of worsened conditions for pursuing the war on Islamism, arguments that this Koran burning is lawful, because it is “protected free speech” under the First Amendment, appear to be misplaced.
While the American TFP applauds those media outlets who have stated they will not carry images or the story of this Koran burning, we charge all media involved in generating sensationalism with gross irresponsibility, for they turned an unfortunate idea that was local into a world-wide cause-célèbre.
Lastly, the American TFP calls upon Florida local and state authorities, as well as Federal ones, to use all lawful power invested in them and which can be called upon, to prevent the advertised Koran burning from taking place, so as to contain the harm already done to America as much as possible and prevent it from becoming worse.
September 9, 2010
The American TFP