Terry Jones Koran Burning

The Koran-burning fixation of Florida pastor Terry Jones is so deranged and irresponsible that he stands as a one-man excuse for contemplating the downsides of the First Amendment.

Jones has turned freedom of speech into a provocation for murder. He has done so knowingly and with reckless disregard for human life. He shares responsibility for the deaths yesterday of at least 12 at a United Nations compound in Afghanistan.

Yes, guilt lies first with the members of the mob that attacked the facility as a symbol of the non-Islamic West. They were fanatics and acted with unspeakable savagery.

But, clearly, Jones knew bloodshed was likely somewhere in the Muslim world after he burned a Koran on March 20 at his Gainesville church.

Having seen well-known episodes of violence in response to perceived insults to the Koran, Jones believes the Islamic holy book is the root of all evil. He wanted to make his point - and he did so at the cost of human life.

Under worldwide pressure, including from President Obama, Jones backed down from a pledge to commemorate last year's 9/11 anniversary by burning a Koran. He was warned then that he would endanger U.S. troops. Now, he has committed that offense as well.

In an ideal world, the faithful of all religions would respond to sacrilege with peaceful condemnation. This is not an ideal world. This a world in which some Muslims view violent revenge as the more fitting action.

That being the unfortunate reality, freedom of speech regarding Islam and the Koran must be exercised with due responsibility - and defended to the hilt. Courage will be required.

The key is responsibility. It was appropriate, for example, for Pope Benedict to discuss the Prophet Muhammed even though the pontiff's remarks proved to spark killings. But Jones is not in any way, shape or form speaking responsibly.

His goal is purely to provoke violence.

True to form, in the wake of the Mazar-i-Sharif slaughter, he pronounced that "Islam is not a religion of peace."

What he did is worse than falsely crying fire in a crowded theater, the oft-cited example of freedom of speech gone haywire. He sought death - and he got it.