Church vows to go ahead with Koran-burning

Pastor Terry Jones, who heads the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville Florida,
has vowed to go ahead with plans to burn the Koran.

A Florida evangelical church has vowed to go ahead with plans to burn the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary despite fears it may fuel an angry backlash and endanger US and allied troops in Afghanistan.

The White House lent its voice to growing concern from military leaders that the incendiary move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world, as well as stoke a growing anti-Muslim tide of feeling in the United States.

"It puts our troops in harm's way. Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.

General Petraeus said that burning the holy book of Islam would provide propaganda for insurgents and fuel anti-American sentiment.

But Pastor Terry Jones, who heads the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville Florida, remained defiant, saying his group was taking General Petraeus's words seriously, but "we have firmly made up our mind" to go ahead.

"Instead of us being blamed for what other people will do or might do, why don't we send a warning to them? Why don't we send a warning to radical Islam and say, don't do it. If you attack us, if you attack us, we will attack you," he said.

Mr Jones said the Koran torching aimed "to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11", and to send a warning "to the radical element of Islam".

US attorney general Eric Holder plans to meet religious leaders from across all faiths to discuss how to stem a wave of Islamophobia which has risen since plans were unveiled to build an Islamic cultural centre close to Ground Zero in New York.

Saturday's anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in which the World Trade Centre was destroyed is also set to coincide with the festivities for the Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

But the US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley insisted freedom of religion was a pillar of American society, adding "the potential act of burning a Koran... is contrary to our values, contrary to how civil society has emerged in the country".

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen also warned during a visit to Washington "there is a risk that it may also have a negative impact on security for our troops."

Source :- http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/08/3005464.htm