FLA Church being asked to call off Quran Burning on September 11

[Dave]

US officials say Quran burning endangers troops

By MATTHEW LEE (AP) – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday weighed in against a Florida church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book, with the State Department calling the plan "un-American" and officials saying it could threaten U.S. troops, diplomats and travelers overseas.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration hoped Americans would stand up and condemn the church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We think that these are provocative acts," Crowley said. "We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values; in fact, these actions themselves are un-American."

"We hope that between now and Saturday there will be a range of voices across America that make clear to this community that this is not the way for us to commemorate 9/11," he said. "In fact, it is consistent with the radicals and religious bigots who attacked us on 9/11."

Crowley defended his choice of the term "un-American" to describe the planned Quran burning, saying it was "a divisive potential act of disrespect to one of the world's great religions."

"While we support (and) defend our freedoms, including freedom of expression, this is an action that has potential serious ramifications," he said.

He said U.S. diplomats had already reported small-scale demonstrations against the 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."

Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton may address the controversy, as well as the uproar over plans to build a mosque near ground zero in New York, at a dinner Tuesday evening in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs echoed concerns raised by Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, about the plans. Petraeus said earlier that images of the event would be used by extremists "to inflame public opinion and incite violence."

"Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," Gibbs told reporters.

Meeting Tuesday with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning of the Quran both idiotic and dangerous, according to a Justice Department official. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he also was concerned about the effect the planned Quran burning may have. "Of course there is a risk it will also have a negative impact on the security for our troops," Rasmussen told reporters in Washington, ahead of a meeting with Obama at the White House.

The Christian minister 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 with an anti-Islam philosophy in Gainesville, said he had gotten more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a pistol on his hip.

Associated Press writers Anne Flaherty and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
(this is the type of article that will soon be illegal to copy/paste if ACTA passes)

NYC mayor defends minister's right to burn Quran

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg says a minister's plan to burn the Muslim holy book on Sept. 11 is "distasteful" but says the minister has a right to do it.

Bloomberg was asked Tuesday about Pastor Terry Jones' announced plan to burn the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks, amid a national debate about a planned Islamic center near ground zero. The mayor is one of the center's strongest supporters.

The mayor says that he doesn't think Jones would like it if someone burned a book that Jones thinks is holy.

But he says Jones' planned act is protected by free speech rights, and "we can't say that we're going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement."

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[Dave]

Terry Jones Burn A Quran Day

Terry Jones Burn A Quran Day: Dove World Outreach Center Pastor – Terry Jones, the pastor of Dove World Outreach Center, who is behind the call to burn copies of the Quran on September 11th,spends a great deal of his time operating a furniture business near the church. In his 2006 tax return for the church, he claimed that 30.5 percent of the money that went to the church went to “program services.” Meanwhile, administrative services accounted for nearly 70 percent of the budget.

Jones and his wife operate their store by selling used furniture through their eBay.com store. The profits of the store supposedly go to the church’s food pantry which helps out people in need. Jones has declined to disclose how much his company makes, and how much of that money is funneled back into his church.

Jones is also known for authoring the book “Islam is the Devil,” which is available online. The tax return information has prompted many to question exactly where all of the money that is donated to the church is going. Now, he is attempting to sell the dove World Church for a total of 2.9 million, but the listing claims that the property has been reduced to 1.1 million “for a quick sale.”

Is this Jones’ attempt to get the church out from under him after he has come under fire for calling for a national burning of the Quran? He has been the focus of a number of media reports that do not paint him, or his business practices, in all that flattering of a light. It will be interesting to see what happens to Jones, and what further details make their way to the media.

_____________________________________________________________
this is unfortunate. hopefully it will be called off.

 

[Black Cloud]

Pray for rain.

 

[billy scissors]

for a second,I thought you said pray for iran

 

[Mars_Rover]

This backwoods church has 50 members, maybe less. The media has whipped up a non-event (in the great scheme of things) and created a worldwide clamor. All sound and fury, signifying nothing...

 

[Dave]

Sarah Palin calls Koran burning unnecessary provocation.

Her comments came as Terry Jones, the pastor behind the event, said he still planned to go ahead with the ceremony, but indicated he was praying for guidance.

Mrs Palin, the former governor of Alaska, said: "Book burning is antithetical to American ideals.

"People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation - much like building a mosque at Ground Zero."

Mrs Palin urged Pastor Jones to reconsider the possible effects of their planned gesture, which has drawn expressions of outrage from around the globe.

"It will feed the fire of caustic rhetoric and appear as nothing more than mean-spirited religious intolerance. Don't feed that fire," she said.

"If your ultimate point is to prove that the Christian teachings of mercy, justice, freedom, and equality provide the foundation on which our country stands, then your tactic to prove this point is totally counter-productive."

haha, you have to give her credit for that mosque comment. She's coming across as statesmanlike and still getting in her shots for her core audience.

Angelina Jolie said something about it, too, but I didn't read it.

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

Why is it acceptable for the US military to burn bibles, but not for that church to burn the Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur'ān, Coran, al-Qur'ān?

That church's burning of the Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur'ān, Coran, al-Qur'ān is pointless and will not accomplish anything favorable IMO.

 

[Black Cloud]

It's the 21st Century and we haven't even progressed past burning things.

 

[Worm]

Why is it acceptable for the US military to burn bibles, but not for that church to burn the Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur'ān, Coran, al-Qur'ān?

That church's burning of the Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur'ān, Coran, al-Qur'ān is pointless and will not accomplish anything favorable IMO.

The U.S. military has burned bibles? I missed that.

And, uh, theoretically the U.S. military has burned plenty of Korans, too...

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

The U.S. military has burned bibles? I missed that...

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/index.html

(CNN) -- Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.
The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.
Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.
"The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims," Wright told CNN on Tuesday.
Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said.
The Bibles were written in the languages Pashto and Dari.
This decision came to light recently, after the Al Jazeera English network aired video of a group prayer service and chapel sermon that a reporter said suggested U.S. troops were being encouraged to spread Christianity.
The military denied that earlier this month, saying much in the video was taken out of context.
"This was irresponsible and dangerous journalism sensationalizing year-old footage of a religious service for U.S. soldiers on a U.S. base and inferring that troops are evangelizing to Afghans," Col. Gregory Julian said.
The military says a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and didn't realize he wasn't allowed to hand them out. In the Al Jazeera video, which shows the Bibles at the prayer service, an unnamed soldier says members of his church raised money for them.
The chaplain later corrected the soldier and confiscated the Bibles, Wright said.
Military officers considered sending the Bibles back to the church, he said, but they worried the church would turn around and send them to another organization in Afghanistan -- giving the impression that they had been distributed by the U.S. government.
That could lead to violence against troops or U.S. civilians, Wright said.
Al Jazeera English, a Qatar-based international news service, said its reporters tried to get a response from military officials for its story but were unable to do so.
The U.S. military air base at Bagram is home to thousands of troops from all branches of the U.S. military. The vast majority of the troops do not leave the base and are in various support roles for U.S. troops across Afghanistan.

 

[Dave]

So basically they were prevented from trolling Afghanistan with bibles because it's against the law, but the minister in Florida is allowed to troll because of freedom of speech, which is the law.

 

[Dave]

He's called it off.

Pastor Terry Jones to call off Koran-burning, says he made deal with 'Ground Zero mosque' Imam

The claims of a backwoods preacher who had threatened to stage a Koran burning went up in smoke Thursday when the developers of the controversial Islamic Center near Ground Zero denied they'd agreed to move it to another site.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said he hasn't even spoken with the fanatical Florida pastor, Rev. Terry Jones.

"I am surprised by their announcement," Rauf said in a statement. "We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony."

Islamic center developer Sharif El-Gamal echoed Rauf in a brief interview with The Daily News.

"It is untrue that the community center known as Park51 in lower Manhattan is being moved," he said. "The project will proceed as planned."

The conflicting claims left the ball in the court of Jones, whose vow to burn the Muslim holy book on Saturday whipped up an international outcry and condemnation to religious leaders the world over.

Jones had been under increasing pressure to call it off when he suddenly announced that he'd gotten a "sign from God."

The pastor said he cancelled the book burning scheduled for Saturday after he was assured that Rauf would move the Islamic Center.

"We are, of course, now against any other group burning Korans," Jones said, during his first press conference Thursday. "We would right now ask no one to burn Korans. We are absolutely strong on that. It is not the time to do it."

The preacher also announced he was flying up to New York Saturday, on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, to meet with Rauf.

"The American people do not want the mosque there, and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Koran," said Jones, who heads the Dove World Outreach Center. "The imam has agreed to move the mosque. We have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday."

Shortly after Jones spoke, Rauf denied there was any such agreement.

Jones responded to Rauf's denial by saying he feels he was "lied to" but still wants to meet with the Imam on Saturday.

The pastor's surprise announcement came after he met with Florida-based imam Mohammed Musri.

Musri, who is president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said it appears something got lost in translation during his talk with Jones.

"I told the pastor that I personally believe the mosque should not be (in Lower Manhattan), and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is moved," Musri said. "But there is not any offer from there (New York) that it will be moved. All we have agreed to is a meeting, and I think we would all like to see a peaceful resolution."

Jones made his statement shortly after President Obama joined a chorus of critics from across the political spectrum - and including the Pentagon - to denounce the preacher's proposed "stunt."

Obama said burning the Koran would be "a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda."

Jones' declaration also followed a visit from the FBI to his church in Gainesville, Fla.

The publicity-loving preacher's turnaround was applauded by Sarah Palin, who had also urged Terry to reconsider.

"Good!" Palin tweeted.

"Now, followers of (the) book who want to kill innocents bc [sic] some people do things you don't agree with: Stand Down," she wrote, apparently referring to Islamic fanatics who use the Koran to justify terror attacks.

Even evangelist Franklin Graham, who has demonized Islam in the past, told Jones he was going too far.

"It's always wrong to deface or destroy any religion's holy writings, even those someone disagrees with," he said in a statement.

[email protected]

 

[Worm]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/index.html

(CNN) -- Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.
The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.
Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.
"The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims," Wright told CNN on Tuesday.
Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said.
The Bibles were written in the languages Pashto and Dari.
This decision came to light recently, after the Al Jazeera English network aired video of a group prayer service and chapel sermon that a reporter said suggested U.S. troops were being encouraged to spread Christianity.
The military denied that earlier this month, saying much in the video was taken out of context.
"This was irresponsible and dangerous journalism sensationalizing year-old footage of a religious service for U.S. soldiers on a U.S. base and inferring that troops are evangelizing to Afghans," Col. Gregory Julian said.
The military says a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and didn't realize he wasn't allowed to hand them out. In the Al Jazeera video, which shows the Bibles at the prayer service, an unnamed soldier says members of his church raised money for them.
The chaplain later corrected the soldier and confiscated the Bibles, Wright said.
Military officers considered sending the Bibles back to the church, he said, but they worried the church would turn around and send them to another organization in Afghanistan -- giving the impression that they had been distributed by the U.S. government.
That could lead to violence against troops or U.S. civilians, Wright said.
Al Jazeera English, a Qatar-based international news service, said its reporters tried to get a response from military officials for its story but were unable to do so.
The U.S. military air base at Bagram is home to thousands of troops from all branches of the U.S. military. The vast majority of the troops do not leave the base and are in various support roles for U.S. troops across Afghanistan.

Thanks, I didn't see that.

It seems to have been a strategic decision rather than one based on intolerance of Christianity. You can't really argue with the logic. The U.S. military is trying to win "hearts and minds" and they're doing what they can to limit the perception that the U.S. is fighting a holy war against Islam.