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| Florida Pastor - Terry Jones |
An Islamophobic pastor in Florida is playing with fire once again. Terry Jones, who sparked international outrage in 2010 when he vowed to burn copies of the Koran, ignited copies of the Islamic holy book outside his Dove World Outreach Center Saturday night, according to the Gainsville Sun.
The pastor — who once promised he would "not ever" burn a Koran — also burned an image depicting the prophet Muhammad, the newspaper reported.
Jones carried out the incendiary act along with about 20 others to protest the imprisonment of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian jailed in Iran since 2009 for his religious beliefs, according to the Christian Post.
“Our end result is we would like to have these things brought in front of the United Nations,” Jones told the newspaper.
“We would like Islam-dominated countries to adapt at least some form of human rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion rights; individual rights [and] civil rights. That would be the outcome that we would desire.”
Pentagon officials had asked Jones not go through with the Koran burning over fears it would endanger the lives of American troops in Afghanistan.
“The last time Pastor Jones burned a Koran, back in March of 2011, more than 16 people died and more than 90 people were injured from the resulting protests,” Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Speaks told the U.K.’s Guardian. “We hope Pastor Jones will take into account the safety and welfare of deployed U.S. military personnel before engaging in such an activity again.”
Jones has denied his actions were responsible for any violence.
The Gainsville fire department and police quickly arrived after Saturday's incident. Jones was fined nearly $300 when fire officials said he did not have the proper authorization to burn books, the Gainsville Sun reported.
Jones, a former hotel manager turned preacher, first gained notoriety two years ago for placing “Islam is of the Devil” signs outside his church.
He then sparked headlines, and condemnation, when he organized “International Burn-a-Koran Day.”
The move drew anger throughout the Muslim world, as well as from military officials and President Obama himself.
Jones eventually called off that Koran burning event.
“We feel that God has told us to stop,” he said at the time.
However, in 2011, a member of his church burned a Koran and streamed it live via the Internet. That incident was blamed for fueling violent protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
Source: Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Credit: New York Daily News
By Michael Sheridan | April 29, 2012
Read original post here: USA: Florida pastor Terry Jones burns copies of Koran outside church
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| Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove Outreach Church |
Pastor Terry Jones said at a press conference that he has received a lot of encouragement, with supporters mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers. He proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn-a-Quran Day" to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
"As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Jones, who took no questions.
Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started carrying a .40-caliber pistol since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect. Jones, 58, was flanked by an armed escort Wednesday
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Kabul, took the rare step of a military leader taking a position on a domestic matter when he 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.”
Petraeus spoke Wednesday with Afghan President Karzai about the matter, according to a military spokesman Col. Erik Gunhus. "They both agreed that burning of a Quran would undermine our effort in Afghanistan, jeopardize the safety of coalition troopers and civilians," Gunhus said, and would "create problems for our Afghan partners ... as it likely would be Afghan police and soldiers who would have to deal with any large demonstrations.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the pastor's plans were outrageous, and along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, urged Jones to cancel the event.
"It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world's attention, but that's the world we live in right now," Clinton said in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Jones gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his church declaring "Islam is of the Devil." But his Quran-burning idea attracted wider attention. It drew rebukes from Muslim nations and at home as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.”
(AP News)
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