Don't burn Quran: General David Petraeus

[Xeric]

The United States commander of the Afghan war, General David Petraeus, has warned that troops' lives will be endangered if a Florida evangelical church goes ahead with a planned burning of the Quran on the 911 anniversary on Saturday.

Gen Petraeus said the planned torching by the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, would be a propaganda coup for the Taliban in Afghanistan and stoke anti-US sentiment across the Muslim world.

It has already triggered outrage in Indonesia. About 100 people demonstrated outside the US Embassy in Jakarta last month and threatened jihad if the group went through with the event. AFP

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September 7, 2010 (GAINESVILLE, Fla.) -- A Christian minister vowed Tuesday to go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Quran to protest the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks despite warnings from the White House and the top U.S. general in Afghanistan that he would endanger American troops overseas.

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, which has about 50 members, said he understands the government's concerns but plans to go forward with the burning Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

He left the door open to change his mind, saying he is still praying about his decision, which was condemned Tuesday by an interfaith coalition that met in Washington to respond to a spike in anti-Muslim bigotry.

Gen. David Petraeus warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan -- and around the world -- to inflame public opinion and incite violence."

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley echoed that, calling the plan to burn copies of the Quran "un-American" and saying it does not represent the views of most people in the U.S.

"While it may well be within someone's rights to take this action, we hope cooler heads will prevail," Crowley said.

Jones told the AP in a phone interview that he is also concerned but wonders how many times the U.S. can back down.

"We think it's time to turn the tables, and instead of possibly blaming us for what could happen, we put the blame where it belongs -- on the people who would do it," he said. "And maybe instead of addressing us, we should address radical Islam and send a very clear warning that they are not to retaliate in any form."

Jones, who runs the small, evangelical Christian church with an anti-Islam philosophy, says he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip.

The threats started not long after the 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn a Quran Day." Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Dove World Outreach Center to be incinerated in a bonfire that evening.

The fire department has denied Jones a required burn permit for Saturday, but he says he is going ahead with his event. He said lawyers have told him his right to burn the Quran is protected by the First Amendment whether he's got permission from the city or not.

Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive.

The interfaith group of evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim leaders meeting in Washington condemned Jones' plan to burn the Quran as a violation of American values and the Bible. Among the participants was Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and top officials from the Islamic Society of North America, the group that organized the gathering.

"This is not the America that we all have grown to love and care about," said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "We have to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters and say, "This is not OK."'

In this progressive north Florida town of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus, the lanky preacher with the bushy white mustache is mostly seen as a fringe character who doesn't deserve the attention he's getting.

Still, at least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in Gainesville have mobilized to plan inclusive events -- some will read from the Quran at their own weekend services -- to counter what Jones is doing. A student group is organizing a protest across the street from the church Saturday.

The Vatican newspaper on Tuesday published an article in which Catholic bishops, including Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan, criticized Jones' plan.

"No one burns the Quran," read the headline in Tuesday's L'Osservatore Romano.

Jones gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church proclaiming "Islam is of the Devil." The church is independent of any denomination but follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.

Jones' Quran-burning scheme, after it caught fire on the Internet, brought rebukes from Muslim nations and an avalanche of media interview requests just as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the Ground Zero site in New York.

The Quran, according to Jones, is "evil" because it espouses something other than the Christian biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

"It's hard for people to believe, but we actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth," he said last week. "And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down."

FBI agents have visited to talk about their concerns for Jones' safety, as multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as either a hero or a dangerous pariah.

His plan has drawn formal condemnation from the world's pre-eminent Sunni Muslim institution of learning, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, whose Supreme Council accused the church of stirring up hate and discrimination and called on other American churches speak out against it. Last month, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if Jones goes through with it.



(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[marshal453]

US pastor has 'no intention' of stopping Koran bonfire
Terry Jones Terry Jones says he doesn't think backing down is the "right thing"

A US pastor says he is not "backing down" from plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11, despite international outrage.
"We are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Terry Jones of 50-member Florida church, the Dove World Outreach Center.

The group's plan has sparked condemnation from Muslim countries, Nato and the top US Afghan commander.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the plan "disgraceful".

On Monday, General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan, warned troops' lives would be in danger if the church went through with its bonfire.

The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, called the idea "idiotic and dangerous". is that it?


It doesn't really matter what they say or how they react.... if they cant stop its just abetting, Ladies and gentlemen this appalling behavior is draconian rather inimical for any other inter religious harmony or peace process. i feel qualms in context future course of action at least in my case, a normal life and plans for it would be shredded off if they go ahead with this plan.
Pakistan on its behalf should warn of not only breaking up all its diplomatic ties in response if God forbid such action takes place, no more wait and watch attitude

[Dasht-e-tanhai]

again we will act as an onlooker

[Invincible]

A Positive Development:





Regards

[Naveed Badar Memon]

The act is highly condemnable but as far as i remember a truck full Quran copies were burned near Sanghar, Sindh, after Benazir's death. Was America involved in it??

[friend101]

if we Act according to Teaching of Quran , no one can't ever even think about this

[Naveed Badar Memon]

:@friend101 agree wid u ...many of us including myself doesn't even know how to read quran in TAJWEED..I mean we even can't read it then how 1 expects to understand it?If we,muslims, respect Quran, then offcourse non-muslims will respect it as well.( our respect mean keep it in a cupboard,covered with piece of cloth and to kiss it thats it!!!).Scholars say respect means to read it properly,understand it n then act upon it!!How many of us read quran in a day,week,month or a year!!

[Xeric]

Welldone President Asif Ali Zardari - He came forward with harsh words to convey the sentiments of Muslims.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed grave concern over the threats to burn copies of the Quran. According to spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Zardari said anyone who even thought of such a despicable act must be suffering from a diseased mind and a sickly soul. He said it will inflame sentiments among Muslims throughout the world and cause irreparable damage to interfaith harmony and world peace. Zardari called for doing all it takes to stop such a "senseless and outrageous act."

CNN

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Florida pastor Terry Jones, who had planned a mass burning of copies of the Islamic Quran for Sept. 11, has canceled the event in the wake of international outcry, according to media reports late Thursday. Jones, who heads a tiny congregation outside of Jacksonville, became a lightning rod for international criticism overnight after scheduling the event News Report.

[aliusama]

Originally Posted by Naveed Badar Memon

The act is highly condemnable but as far as i remember a truck full Quran copies were burned near Sanghar, Sindh, after Benazir's death. Was America involved in it??

i as being citizen of Sanghar Sindh highly condemn this news never happen this type of Event near sanghar or in sanghar still there is little bit of shame in muslims. Sorry for this but i highly object this news and i am sad to hear this.

[khuhro]

Global Condemnation Of Qur’an Burning Plan


Compiled by Javad Mohammad Ali

An evangelical pastor insisted his plans for a mass torching of the Qur’an would go ahead after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the planned burning ceremony in Florida as “disgraceful”.
Clinton was the most senior US official to speak out against the torching scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, saying she was “heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths”, AFP reported.
The White House also added its voice to warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.
“It puts our troops in harm’s way. And obviously any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm’s way would be a concern to this administration,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday.

Propaganda for Insurgents
He was reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who warned burning the holy book of Islam would provide propaganda for insurgents.
But a small church, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has vowed to mark Saturday’s ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by burning Qur’an as they remember the almost 3,000 people killed by Al-Qaeda hijackers.
Jones said the Qur’an torching aimed “to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11,” and to send a warning “to the radical element of Islam.”
The move comes against a backdrop of Islamophobia driven by plans to build an Islamic cultural center in New York close to Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Center stood before it was destroyed in the 2001 attacks.
Saturday’s anniversary is set to coincide with festivities for Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting for nearly 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.
An umbrella group representing aid groups in Afghanistan said on Wednesday civilians and its members in the war-wracked country could be killed if US evangelists go ahead with a plan to burn the Qur’an.
The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), an agency coordinating the work of NGOs in Afghanistan, called on the “organizers of this irresponsible initiative” to drop their demonstration.

Fanatic Pastor
Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Wednesday dubbed a Florida pastor a ‘fanatic’ and urged Americans to oppose his plans.
Mussa, who heads the 22-member pan-Arab body based in Cairo, said: “There is an increasing majority in the United States against this fanatic.
“We want to see the reaction of the educated in the United States against this fanatic’s destructive approach,” he said.

EU’s Stance
The European Union roundly condemns the church’s plan, a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday.
“The High Representative respects all kinds of religious beliefs and this is not the right way to go,” the spokeswoman told reporters.

Vatican Concerns
The Vatican added to world condemnation of plans by a Florida church.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Vatican said it had heard with great concern of the planned commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001 hijack attacks.
“These deplorable acts of violence, in fact, cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community,” it said.
In Lebanon, President Michel Suleiman denounced the plans.
“The president condemns the announcement of a religious group in the United States of its intention to openly burn copies of the Qur’an,” said a statement released by the office of the Christian president.
Burning Islam’s holiest book “is a clear contradiction of the teachings of the three Abrahamic religions and of dialogue among the three faiths,” Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the statement said.