What happened to separation of church and state? The government is trying to coerce this poor minister in a matter of faith.
FBI urges minister to call off Koran burning
Pakistani lawyers carry a burning US flag during a protest in Multan on September 9, 2010 to denounce the plans to burn the Koran by a U.S. church.
Reverend Terry Jones is ‘not convinced’ Florida church should cancel Koran burning, says church has supporters
Last updated on Thursday, Sep. 09, 2010 2:54PM EDT
FBI agents visited Thursday with a minister of a small Florida church that plans to burn the Koran on Sept. 11, as public safety became a paramount concern and President Barack Obama added his voice to the chorus of opposition.
Elsewhere, hundreds of angry Pakistanis burned an American flag and chanted “Death to the Christians” to protest the planned burning of Islam's holiest text.
Mr. Obama urged the Rev. Terry Jones to “listen to those better angels” and call off his plan.
In an interview with ABC television, Mr. Obama said what Jones proposes “is completely contrary to our values as Americans. This country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance.”
U.S. Federal Officers identified as being with the FBI leave the Dove World Outreach Center after meeting with Pastor Terry Jones on September 9, 2010, in Gainesville, Florida.
The FBI spent about a half hour talking with Mr. Jones, but church spokesman Wayne Sapp would not disclose what they discussed. Agents leaving the church wouldn't talk to an Associated Press reporter.
Mr. Jones said earlier this week that agents have visited him twice since he announced his plans in July, the last visit about two weeks ago.
Mr. Jones will make a statement later Thursday that will address the FBI visit and the president's statement imploring him to cancel the burning and calling it a “stunt,” his spokesman said.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist said he would closely monitor what happens Saturday at the Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville to try to ensure people are safe. U.S. embassies around the world will be doing the same after being ordered by the State Department to assess their security. Officials fear the burning could spark anti-American violence, including against soldiers.
The international police organization Interpol issued a global alert to its 188 member-countries determining “strong likelihood” of violent attacks if the burn goes forward. Interpol said in a statement that Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, called the organization and asked it to warn other police forces around the world of an increased terror threat.
In Afghanistan, local officials in Mahmud Raqi, the capital of the Kapisa province some 100 kilometers northeast of Kabul, estimated that up to 4,000 people protested the planned burning. But NATO spokesman James Judge said there were between 500 to 700 people. Mr. Judge added that the Koran burning is “precisely the kind of activity the Taliban uses to fuel their propaganda efforts to reduce support” for coalition forces.
Despite the mounting pressure to call off the bonfire, Mr. Jones said he has received much encouragement and supporters have sent him copies of the Koran to burn.
“As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing,” said Mr. Jones, 58, who took no questions at a news conference Wednesday.
Mr. Jones said in an interview with USA Today that he had not been contacted by the White House, State Department or Pentagon. If such a call comes, he said, “that would cause us to definitely think it over. That's what we're doing now. I don't think a call from them is something we would ignore.”
At Wednesday's news conference, Mr. Jones was flanked by an armed escort and said he has received more than 100 death threats since announcing in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Koran Day.” The book, according to Mr. Jones, is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behaviour among Muslims.
Standing next to English-translated copies of Muslim's holy Korans, Council on American-Islamic Relation (CIAR) national executive director Nihad Awad answers question during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on September 9, 2010 in response to a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Korans.
Muslims consider the Koran the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect. At least one cleric in Afghanistan said it is the duty of Muslims to react and that could mean killing Americans.
Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe condemned the church's plans and asked residents to watch for suspicious behaviour. At least one counter-protest was planned by a University of Florida student group.
City officials were increasing security, but wouldn't go into detail about how many extra officers will be used, saying only that they were co-ordinating with other cities and tallying expenses.
“We are sending a bill for services to the Dove World Outreach Center. We're tracking our costs,” said city spokesman Bob Woods. “I'm sure the cost will be substantial.”
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, emailed The Associated Press to say “images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence.” It comes as an emotional debate continues over a proposed Islamic centre near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the pastor's plans were outrageous, and along with Defence Secretary Robert Gates, urged Mr. Jones to cancel the event.
The foreign ministries of Pakistan and the Gulf nation of Bahrain issued some of the first official denunciations in the Muslim world, with Bahrain calling it a “shameful act which is incompatible with the principles of tolerance and coexistence.” Bahrain is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
The president of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has also sent a letter to Mr. Obama asking him to stop the bonfire.
Pakistani Christians shout slogans during a protest in Lahore on September 9, 2010 held to denounce the plans to burn the Koran by a U.S. church.
In Pakistan, about 200 lawyers and civil society members marched and burned a U.S. flag in the central Pakistani city of Multan, demanding that Washington halt the burning of the Muslim holy book.
“If Koran is burned, it would be beginning of destruction of America,” read one English-language banner held up by the protesters, who chanted “Down with America!”
Mr. Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. It follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.
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