An evangelical priest's plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks will put soldiers' lives at risk, the US has warned.
Terry Jones, minister of the Dove World Outreach Centre in Florida, says the event will "remember those who were brutally murdered" and send a warning "to the radical element of Islam".
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the idea a "disrespectful, disgraceful act". Others in the Obama administration weighed in against the proposed burning, including attorney general Eric Holder, who called it idiotic and dangerous. [Sky News] Read more
Barnabas Fund on the Koran burning Yes, let's insult Islam, and mock Mohammed. But not this way. Some good points in an emailed statement from the Barnabas Fund:
A church in Gainsville, Florida, USA, the Dove World Outreach Centre, has announced that it will burn copies of the Qur’an on Saturday 11 September to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The stated purpose of this action is to raise awareness of the ideology and teaching of Islam and to warn against its dangers. Barnabas Fund condemns the proposed action, for the following reasons: [The Iconoclast] Read more
Far From Ground Zero, Obscure Pastor Is Ignored No Longer If building an Islamic center near ground zero amounts to the epitome of Muslim insensitivity, as critics of the project have claimed, what should the world make of Terry Jones, the evangelical pastor here who plans to memorialize the Sept. 11 attacks with a bonfire of Korans? For local Muslims like Saeed Khan, the collective rejection of Mr. Jones represents the America they want to believe in.
Mr. Jones, 58, a former hotel manager with a red face and a white handlebar mustache, argues that as an American Christian he has a right to burn Islam’s sacred book because “it’s full of lies.” And in another era, he might have been easily ignored, as he was last year when he posted a sign at his church declaring “Islam is of the devil.” [The New York Times] Read more
