Pak editorial says pastor Quran burning as sacrilegious as Muslims desecrating temples

ISLAMABAD - An editorial in a leading Pakistani newspaper while condemning radical Florida pastor Terry Jones’ proposal to burn copies of the Holy Quran, has also highlighted the intolerance of Muslims, both in Pakistan and globally, against other faiths.

“Muslims the world over, including Pakistan, have been denying and abusing the rights of people from other faiths,” an editorial in the Daily Times said.

The editorial raised the issue of intolerance against minorities in Pakistan where fanatic Muslims had at times tried to harm the religious sentiments of Hindus and Christians.

“Whether it was the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban or the murderous rampage against minorities in Pakistan where churches, temples and houses of worship have been targeted, we have all acted like the pastor at some time in our history,” it said.

In the context of the Quran burning issue that has sparked an outcry across the world, it said, “Like the extremists that the US is battling at home and abroad, Mr Jones is a Taliban of another faith; he is fuelling anger and rage in a world that could do without it.”

“President Obama cited Mr Jones’ act as “completely contrary” to American values. General Petraeus - who knows better than anybody what Muslims can become bloodily capable of when provoked - said that the book burning would “endanger” American troops,” it said, adding that following international protests, the pastor had to call off the burning act, and this was “a message to Muslims that the world is on their side.”

Had stern action been taken against the sacrilegious acts like that of caricaturing Prophet Muhammad by a Danish cartoonist in 2005, “today an unknown, fame-hungry backwoods pastor might not have had the ability to hold the world’s sentiments hostage,” said the editorial. (ANI)