The storm is over now that the act of sacrilege against Quran planned by the fame-mongering pastor from Florida, Terry Jones, has been withdrawn. The mad man took not just the US but the entire world to the brink of an abyss by threatening to publicly burn Quran, the most revered and sacred heritage of some 1.3 billion Muslims of the world. Unfortunately, instead of the scorn he deserved so much, the man was successful in gaining free exposure in the American and western media. The concern on nature of threat and its round condemnation by all, including the American administration in Washington, was a good thing but one wounders why did it cause so much anxiety to President Obama and his handlers in the White House? May be because the plan was blasphemous in nature or could have aggrieved and infuriated Muslims all over the world beyond measure? May be they thought it could have caused an uncontrollable series of events in expression of the Muslim outrage or would have harmed further the already soured relations between the two communities of Muslims and Christians? Perhaps, they feared it would have fulfilled the fantasy of some about 'a clash of civilizations, or caused irreparable damage of trust between the US and Muslim countries? May be they simply thought of this as an act akin to rejecting the values of coexistence and acceptance of other faiths in the US? I think none of the above. The disapproval of American administration, as they had plainly asserted many times, was because they thought this one act would have seriously jeopardized the lives and safety of American soldiers and embassies all over the Muslim world. It would have incited extremism that would have helped Al-Qaeda in recruiting more ardent supporters for its destructive designs. This move would have also destroyed the golden principles of harmony and tolerance through ensuring peaceful coexistence that is the bedrock of civilization anywhere, including in America. In the West, all such profanities take place in the name of 'limitless freedom of expression that they so enthusiastically espouse. But like every thing else, freedom also has its furthest bound. Breaking this boundary in exercise of anyones freedom has disastrous consequences for freedom itself. Freedom with no limits is against the laws of nature. This recent threat of Florida clergyman has been just that, a disaster caused by excess of freedom that, fortunately, did not happen. -MUNIR AHMED KHALILI, Lahore, September 15.