On Saturday September 11^th 2010 I will be printing one copy of the Koran on 8.5” x 11” bond paper. The version I will be printing is hosted by the University of Southern California’s Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, and was chosen because is was the first result returned on a Google search for “English translations of the Koran”. For all my social media people out there, I’ve created an event page on Facebook. When translating from a poetic language in which words may have many context-dependent meanings, fidelity is never going to be perfect. There’s a more detailed article on this issue onWikipedia. Accepting that, I continue.

As we all know by now, Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center announced that on September 11^th 2010 he would host a public burning of the Koran. In response President Obama condemned the activities, stating “We have to make sure that we don’t start turning on each other…” (Reuters). That is an extremely scary quote to hear from your commander in chief. Perhaps as a result of this and other public pressures Jones has since stated “We are, of course, now against any other group burning Qurans. We would right now ask no one to burn Qurans. We are absolutely strong on that. It is not the time to do it.”

While this seems like a positive step, it’s troubling that Jones’ statement suggests that there is some appropriate time to burn the Koran. Jones then brought in the controversial issue of a mosque proposed to be built at Ground Zero. My feelings on this were best summed up by New York Magazine’s blog-headline earlier today: By the Way, There Was a Muslim Prayer Center in the World Trade Center While It Still Stood. Anyhow, Jones suggested that a deal had been struck with the Islamic center’s project leader Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf - in which the mosque would be moved in return for the book burning cancellation. Rauf responded saying that no such agreement had been reached. So does the burning take place once the no-deal is confirmed?

I am nervous that the pastor intentionally lied about a deal to raise more attention to his anti-mosque cause. In the event he honestly misunderstood some aspect of his conversations with Musri, I am still nervous because the media hype that now surrounds this issue has created a very volatile atmosphere in which copycat burnings, widespread riots, etc feel much more likely than I’m comfortable with. (For the record the number of riots and Koran burnings I am comfortable with is zero.)

I live in New York City, and am not against this mosque being built. I have never believed that Islam is at war with America and as such this structure poses no threat other than to intolerance itself. If the mosque doesn’t go up due to anger that stems from fears rooted in misinformation, it is a win for those terrorist organizations who’s power is dependent on instability and confusion. Islam is not America’s enemy. Plus, and this is just my aesthetic opinion here, mosques are really beautiful buildings.

I am printing one copy of the Koran. I’ve never read it. I’m not myself religious but, it’s a free book and in this economy, with tuition prices at all time highs, free-anything sounds good. It’s my hope that this small counter gesture to promote tolerance and understanding will have some slight calming effect for those who have been offended. Maybe others follow suit and print copies to show their support for peace as well. And to anyone who’s wrongly under the impression that America is a land of intolerance and bigotry, I invite you to visit New York City. It’s really nice here in the fall. We can go to the park and I’ll make you an apple-cider.

Peace (Srsly!),
Ben Sisto

Update on Saturday, September 11, 2010 

At about 6pm today I had one copy of the Koran printed over near Ground Zero. Thank you to everyone who supported on Facebook with likes & event attendance. Also thank you FedEx Office. You may have changed the ol’ Kinko’s name - but you still offer that same unpredictable mix of late turnarounds, questionable customer service, and high prices that we’ve all come to know and love.