Editor's Note: At the time of this posting, the Rev. Terry Jones in Gainesville, Fla., was undecided about whether he would go through with his threat to burn copies of the Qur'an.
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September 11, 2001 -- a day most people will never forget.

I can remember where I was: in my backyard cutting grass. While I was cutting grass, people in Washington, D.C., and New York ran for their lives. Firemen ran toward flames that would consume their flesh; businessmen jumped from windows; policemen arrived to protect and ventured to that unknown land where no born traveler has returned.

We heard the stories of strangers who helped one other to safety, acting out of human instinct… and I was cutting my grass. While I was cutting grass, a person of the Islamic faith somewhere was working in his yard, shopping for groceries, cleaning their homes, earning a day’s pay, or praying to Allah.

An examination of any major religion finds that all are built upon the same truths: love your fellow man, be kind to your neighbor, deal honestly, and deal truthfully. So when I hear about this extremist preacher planning to burn Qur’ans in Florida, I say to my Islamic brothers: This terrorist does not represent my faith or my God.

As Christians we know where such hate originates. It is the same hatred that fueled Jim Crow, slavery and lynching; it is the same originator of murder, rape and gang violence. Are none of the proponents of these terrorist activities professed Christians?

If the faith of my Islamic brothers is as strong as my Christian faith, I know burning a Qur’an is not going to decimate the power of Allah. In fact, this extremist act may actually increase interest in Islamic thought. I know God is two things: Love and Truth. Where there is truth, there is God. Where there is love, there is God. God is the sum total of us all.

We as American Christians should strip this preacher of anything associated with the name of our Christ. He is a mockery to the example of Christ.

Maybe Christians should go to the proposed burning and throw in the Bible he is preaching from, because whatever he is reading does not represent us.
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John Hicks is associate pastor of First Fellowship Ministries and President of Synergy Farms International.

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