In October of 2023, in the Chicago suburbs of Naperville, Illinois, a familiar pattern of Islamic intimidation and disinformation reared its head. Islamic organizations, led by CAIR-Chicago and supported by the Islamic Center of Naperville, rushed to exploit an unverified video of Hindu-American high school students burning a book – immediately labeling it a “reprehensible Quran-burning” and linking the teens to “Hindutva extremism” and India’s RSS. The framing was designed to inflame tensions, demand concessions, and enforce blasphemy rules on American soil.
The reality? The burned book was not a Quran – it was an ordinary book burned after the students set off fireworks on the 4th of July. Independent verifications and subsequent fact-finding completely debunked the claim, confirming no Quran was burned.
But the main issue is being totally ignored here—and it legally makes no difference whatsoever whether a student burned a Quran, damaged one, or threw it around. It was his property (or the school’s/the owner’s). He has every right to destroy or alter it as he sees fit, just as Christian preachers in the 1960s and 1970s publicly burned Beatles records (or other materials they deemed offensive) without facing charges or mob intimidation—and rightly so.
Defending oneself by insisting “it wasn’t a Quran” already concedes too much: it implies that burning or damaging a Quran would justify outrage, suspensions, threats, or investigations. That’s an implicit acceptance of Islamic blasphemy rules (Sharia) on American (or Western) soil.
Like Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris, who in 2010 proposed “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” in protest of censorship threats—and was forced into permanent hiding by FBI advice after death threats—such acts are constitutionally protected expression. No one should have to apologize, grovel, or hide for exercising free speech, even if it offends. The real scandal isn’t the alleged act; it’s the mob-enforced submission to foreign religious sensitivities.
Yet, in true CAIR fashion, CAIR-Chicago issued no retraction, no correction, and no apology. They continued to fan the flames of Islamic law, while the victims suffered the consequences. This refusal to retract is not an oversight – it is a deliberate tactic to normalize Sharia blasphemy rules.
Mainstream media outlets amplified this hoax, parroting CAIR’s unverified talking points without basic fact-checking or waiting for confirmation. Outlets, including the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald, published stories framing the incident as a credible Quran burning, with legacy media once again serving as unwitting (or willing) PR outlets for Islamic groups.
The consequences for the innocent Hindu-American students were severe: bullying turned into physical assaults, doxxing of families, and death threats from people who believed the hoax. One report detailed a mob of around 40 students cornering a boy at school, while families lived under genuine fear for their safety – all triggered by a fabricated narrative pushed by Islamic organizations.
Just a few months earlier, a similar scenario played out in the UK, exposing how Islamic blasphemy enforcement is creeping into Western societies under the guise of “community harmony” and “sensitivity.”
