For all the clear-minded, innovative scholars who study in Gainesville, the town has drawn the international attention of the Associated Press and the top commander in Afghanistan because of the grossly ignorant, misguided gestures of the Dove World Outreach Center, which plans to burn the Quran Sept. 11. Spare the idle criticisms of the Quran. The overarching consideration is millions of people across the world have an interpretation of Islam that they say influences them to live peacefully and productively.
The Bible, too, can be criticized on literal grounds. For centuries, its literal adherents militantly opposed the scientific teachings of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Darwin, among many others, and claimed the Bible justified such things as slavery, massacres against Jews and discrimination against women. That’s OK though, because millions of Christians hold an interpretation of Christianity that leads them to live peacefully, productively and tolerantly toward those with differing beliefs.
I, along with many other Gainesville residents, wish the Dove World Outreach Center would fit that description.
