National Burn a Qur'an day Thankfully Canceled

I'm sure that you've all heard about Florida Pastor Terry Jones' misguided attempt to create "National Burn a Qur'an Day" on the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The drama has been a sordid one. First, Jones declared the event as a protest against the religion of Islam. After a brief promise to consider the pleas and criticism of President Obama and General Petraeus, Jones stated that he and his congregation would not
back down from their goal, and would burn 20 of the holy books. After a massive public uproar, entreaties from religious and government leaders around the world, and even allusions to secret meetings with the Imam of the proposed Ground Zero Mosque, Jones finally canceled his book burning. Although this is certainly a good thing for the United States (or at least better than if Jones had gone through with it), it could be said that the damage has already been done. There is a great deal of anger around the globe, and the US flag has already been burned in Afghanistan in retaliation. According to reporters, some cries of "Death to the Christians" could be heard.

While going through our readings for this week, I thought about how this scandal would fit into IC theory. I believe that in some way, it is related to the two models of communication that Carey discusses in "A Cultural Approach to Communication." Carey describes two models or modes of thought regarding the use of and reason for communication systems. The first, the so-called Transmission Model, defines Communication as a tool of control and influence, where one entity transmits its own message or set of information to another, where it is absorbed. This is the most common and traditional mode of thought concerning communication in the US, Carey states (Carey, 15), but it is not the model that I am particularly interested in, despite the distinct lack of focus in the US' international media that would indicate that the Transmission Model has broken down here.

The second model that Carey discusses is the Ritual Model, which concerns the use of Communication as a method not of control, but of societal preservation. Consider this: Terry Jones, along with his followers, felt that the United States was slipping away from its proper place in the world, or at the very least needed to assert itself. This idea is not uncommon in the US, and our country has in many ways slipped out of "First Place," as far as our overall standing in the world. To Terry Jones and his congregation, their book burning was an act of protest, and was intended to show the world that the United States was not taking any insult lying down. To much of the rest of the world, of course, this appeared to be a provocation for further violence. Arguments that Jones' intent was to provoke violence from the start should look to his hesitation in the face of criticism.

Of course, the latest reports on this story have revealed that Jones has a history of abuse and exploitation in Germany, where he established a mission in 1982. It is certain that this story will continue to unfold over the coming weeks, and it remains to be seen how "pure" Jones' intent was; did he intend to preach a particular brand of Christian faith, bolster the ego of the United States, or was he longing for notoriety and influence, as Andrew Schaefer and the Rhine Protestant Church claim?

For further reading, cehck Ewen MacAskill, Richard Adams in Washington and Kate Connolly, and Matthew Weaver and Tim Hill in the Guardian.

Edit: As of right now, Jones has stated that the event is only suspended, not canceled. He believes that he was lied to about the possibility of the Ground Zero Mosque's location being moved. It remains to be seen what is true.