Costello: A Fool Works To Fan The Flames

We seem to have slipped into one of those vortices in which people are trying to surpass one another in oafish behavior. I would have found it difficult to imagine anything that could do more to aggravate the already strained relations between Islam and Christianity than building a mosque at New York’s Ground Zero. But then, I don’t have Terry Jones’ imagination. Jones is the senior pastor at the ironically misnamed Dove World Outreach Center, a puny fundamentalist church in Florida. This otherwise inconsequential man has drawn considerable attention to himself by declaring today, Sept. 11, 2010, “International Burn a Quran Day” — although it would be more accurate to say that the mainstream news media have focused considerable attention on him by weaving him into their “America is Islamophobic” narrative. He intends to recognize the anniversary of 9/11 by burning a stack of Qurans/ Michael Costello , Lewiston Tribune. More here .

Question: Who’s more to blame for the fervor surrounding Terry Jones’ threat to burn the Quran — the mainstream media or the online media?