Excerpt:
Two dissidents, an Iranian and an Afghan, have posted a video to YouTube in which they burn a Koran. In the United States, the act would spark a debate about freedom of speech versus tolerance. In their countries, it is a criminal offense that could bring a death sentence.
In the American context, some say burning a Koran is a legitimate act of free expression, while others charge it is an act of bigotry that needlessly incites anger and violence abroad. Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, went so far as to say that, "anytime we can push back here in America against actions like this that put our troops at risk, we should do it." That is a dangerous capitulation to anti-progressive forces. It is wrong to limit American freedoms based on the violent propensities of foreign extremists. And it would be a strange manifestation of freedom in which burning a Koran was illegal but burning the American flag was protected speech. Osama bin Laden would certainly approve.