Burning Qurans

The pastor at the Dove church in Florida has announced that the planned Quran burning has been called off. This after everyone from the local dog catcher to the President has weighed in on the idea.

He says Imam Rauf has agreed to relocate the New York Victory Mosque to a less controversial location. Imam Rauf has issued an official statement, saying that the memo to that effect has, alas, not yet reached his desk.

Meanwhile the Westboro Baptist church has offered to fill in for the wobbly faithful in Florida if necessary. Imam Rauf has also suggested that he would not be held responsible for the actions of the more fervently devout if any burning goes ahead.Not that we expected him to take any in any case.

My first thought here is that this could be a win-win situation in the making; Rauf's people look like violent whack-jobs, and Westboro disappears in a cloud of car parts. Alas, probably not. Typical Islamic reaction will more likely be a general strike of cab drivers in New York, bringing the city to its knees, and the ritual burning of a McDonald's in Karachi.

If I were Prime Minister of Pakistan, I'd have an all-concrete effigy of a McDonald's build in a park, safely apart from surrounding structures, and encourage all hate-America rallys to be held there. It gives the rioters something to take their frustrations out on, and with a quick wash and paint job, it's ready for the next mob.