Blowback from Florida pastor hits Christians in Kashmir [John Allen]

[Catholic_Press]

Fallout from the threat by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Qur’an on the 9/11 anniversary has reached into the faraway province of Kashmir in India, where Muslim separatists have seized the occasion to launch violent protests directed both against the government and the province’s tiny Christian minority.

A Christian school in the town of Tangmarc in Kashmir has been burned down, fortunately with no one inside and no injuries. At least 19 people reportedly have lost their lives, however, in the broader wave of violence currently gripping Kashmir.

Today the Italian daily La Stampa carried an interview with Bishop Peter Celestine Elampassery of the Diocese of Jammu and Kashmir, which numbers 16,260 faithful.Elampassery spoke about the threats Christians in his corner of the world face, and how the Qur’an-burning crisis has aggravated them. The following is an NCR translation of the interview.

Are the Christians of Kashmir a target because of Pastor Jones?

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[timotheos]

Are the Christians of Kashmir a target because of Pastor Jones?

The Christians are a target because the Muslims engage in or condone violent behavior far out of proportion to the perceived insult, directed in a bigoted fashion toward anyone who is deemed to share the beliefs of the insulter, no matter how delusional the connection may be. Pastor Jones cannot be held responsible any more than a couple of wimpy kids could be held responsible for their beating at the hands of a 200 pound bully, simply because one of them chose to call him a bully. Muslims need to be held responsible for their own actions or tacit approval thereof. Anything less is completely and entirely unacceptable. There can be no compromise here.

 

[viveret]

This is a key difference between the East and West.
In the East, there is another understanding of personal responsibility.
These societies are collectivistic, and so they interpret the act of one pastor in Florida as representative of the Christians living close to them also.
Jones did not burn the Koran.
It doesn’t matter.
Their neighbors did not burn the Koran.
It doesn’t matter.
All that matters to them is that they are high on the wonderful drug known as righteous rage.