I would like some help applying emerging standards of outrage in connection with reported desecration of Qurans. Apparently, fixed guidelines exist for expressions of outrage when the alleged perpetrators wear the uniform of United States’ soldiers: any unsubstantiated report that some anonymous soldier’s imagined Quran desecration may have happened somewhere shall suffice for rioting, condemnation and expressions of disgust, at our military’s expense.

But a ruling, please, on the following: In Pakistan, Sunni purists throw grenades and fire automatic rifles into a mosque full of Shiites, whom the Sunnis label as infidels. Panic ensues. Qurans get trampled.

Who becomes the target of my righteous and aroused indignation at this case of Quran abuse? Regrettably, the link to our military remains too tenuous to easily generate a real good rant at their expense. Rats!

Do I sympathize with the Shiites and blame the Sunnis for instigating the riot? Do I join the Sunnis in blaming the Shiites for their thoughtless trampling of their commonly adored holy book?

The silence of our news media in addressing this issue may reflect a shared confusion about identifying the culprit here. Their silence may also reflect a busy preoccupation with finding some way to blame our military. (Hmmm, maybe we desensitized the Sunnis?)

Perhaps some Muslim cleric can clear up this mystery for me. I stand ready to join the chorus of outrage against the rising tide of Quran abuse, but who gets the blame here.

Leonard Hoy, Greenwood

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