A Clash of the Extremes

Pastor Terry Jones and the Claim to Absolute Truth

An effigy of the American pastor Terry Jones burns during a demonstration in the Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday.

04/06/2011 - Twenty people have died in the protests triggered by Pastor Terry Jones' burning of the Koran in March and more violence is likely. But both his action, and the reaction in the Muslim world share the same problematic roots: Claims to absolute truth have little place in the modern world.

The Russian head of the United Nations mission in the northern Afghanistan city of Masar-i-Sharif had fled with three colleagues into a safe room when the mob stormed their building. But it wasn't long before the assailants broke into the room.

"Are you Muslim?" one of the insurgents yelled. The Russian, who was familiar with the Koran, lied and said he was.

"What is the profession of faith?"

The Russian didn't hesitate. "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet."

It was a lie that saved his life, according to the story told by one of the Russian's UN colleagues. He got away with a severe beating. But the three UN workers he was with, a Norwegian, a Swede and a Romanian, were all killed. A report in the Wall Street Journal describes how a German barely escaped the massacre; four Nepali guards also fell victim. {continued}