Quran burning in East Lansing: Hate crime or free speech?

I was glad to see an individual turn himself in this week for burning a Quran and scattering its pages around the Islamic Center in East Lansing. But as reprehensible as that act is, I'm a little concerned at the possibility that authorities might file a hate crime charge against the person.

A hate crime seems like a pretty major charge for what some may consider an expression of freedom of speech -- similar to, say, burning the American flag. Many Americans see that act as reprehensible as well, but I think many realize that burning the flag in protest is one of our most basic freedoms.

Without that, many of our other freedoms crumble.

At the time, I thought ‘charge the Quran-burning guy, but with trespassing or vandalism.’ That seemed more reasonable.

Since that initial reaction, though, I’ve learned more about hate crime charges. A colleague explained to me that burning a Quran as an act of protest in public -- as a Florida pastor threatened to do this week -- is very different than burning a Quran or cross outside someone’s home or business in the dead of night.

It’s not a public protest; it’s a secretive act designed to intimidate a very specific minority. In this time of rising Islamophobia, Muslims who frequent the East Lansing center certainly had reason to be concerned about their safety after the Quran burning incident.

So now, I have a clearer idea of the balance between freedom of speech and hate crime enforcement. And, for the time being, I’ll have faith that our authorities have a clear idea of that balance as they decide how to charge this person.