On Friday, September 10, a South African high court banned a Muslim activist from organizing a “Bible burning day” at the Library Gardens in Jo-burg on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The event was meant to be a response to the planned Qur’an burning in Florida by bigoted hatemonger and faux Christian, Terry Jones.
The interesting thing is that the suit was filed, not by any Christian organization, but by an Islamic intellectual organization known as the Scholars of Truth.
Read the whole story HERE.
All of this raises an interesting question. In the article we learn that after the verdict had been reached plaintiff representative Zehir Omar said, “I’m very pleased the judge came to this decision. Not only did he ban this protest but he also banned other people from burning the Bible… Judge Kolbe ruled that freedom of expression is not unlimited if one exercises freedom of expression that is harmful to others…. We now hope American judges will see this decision and act accordingly by banning the burning of the Qur’an in America.”
Hmmm. Interesting observation, and I’m sure there are many who would love to squash the good reverend Jones under the heel of government, just as I’m certain that a sizable segment of the population would love it if somehow or another “the authorities” would step in and save Ground Zero from the threat of an Islamic center in the neighborhood.
Mr. Omar likely has no knowledge of our form of government. I certainly have no knowledge of South African laws, but I know full well that the burning of a Qur’an or a Bible or an American flag in this country is protected free expression under the First Amendment as much as the loons protesting the Islamic center in Manhattan are protected.
The fact that the laws of South Africa allow for this kind of prohibition makes me all the more aware of my pride in the fact that the laws of this land do not.
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