Florida Church Determined to Burn Qurans Despite Warnings
An extremist Florida church says it will go ahead with plans to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 by setting copies of the Quran on fire, even though authorities have warned that such actions would endanger Americans fighting, serving and traveling abroad.
The White House said the event “puts our troops in harm’s way,” while the State Department called it “un-American.”
The Dove World Outreach Center is led by a man named Terry Jones, pictured, who wrote a book called “Islam Is of the Devil.” Jones’ raving can be witnessed in the video below.
There is currently a debate raging on his “International Burn a Koran Day” Facebook page. — PZS
Washington Post:
[State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley] said U.S. diplomats had already reported small-scale demonstrations against the talk of Quran burning in several countries “where anxiety levels are building because of the publicity surrounding this proposed action. It does put the lives of ordinary Americans at risk, as well as diplomats, as well as soldiers,” he said.
The Christian minister who is organizing the Quran burning says he will go ahead despite the government’s concerns. Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, a small, evangelical Christian church in Gainesville with an anti-Islam philosophy, said he has gotten more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a pistol on his hip.