Group Plans Koran Reading on Capitol Hill on 9/11

The Hill notes that a Virginia man has planned a visible response to all the Koran-burning talk this week: A reading of the Koran on the west lawn of the Capitol.

The reading will proceed even though Jones has backed off. A Facebook page about the planned 4 p.m. quiet reading says it is designed to “counter the forces of ignorance and intolerance.”

“This event is not about religious proselytizing, but about furthering understanding and tolerance (in fact, the people organizing it are all either Christians or Agnostics). Please join us for a few hours of quiet reading in the name of brotherhood and peace,” the website states.

Here's the full description from the Facebook page:

To counter the forces of ignorance and intolerance, we are gathering near the US Capitol Building on Saturday, Sept 11 2010 to sit and quietly read from The Qur'an. This event is not about religious proselytizing, but about furthering understanding and tolerance (in fact, the people organizing it are all either Christians or Agnostics). Please join us for a few hours of quiet reading in the name of brotherhood and peace.

But one poster on the page's Wall asks this:

I'm curious.. is there a possibility, of appearing insensitive and anti American, by reading only the qur'an? Why not read, from all religious holy books?

The organizer, by the way, turns out to not be exactly religious:

He said he has obtained some English-language copies of the Quran from an Islamic center in Virginia, and late Saturday morning was still seeking more elsewhere. Tribby – who describes himself as “basically agnostic” – said he’s unsure how many people will attend or how much press coverage it will receive.