Opposition to burning of Quran mounts

The pastor of a tiny, fringe evangelical church in Florida rebuffed a plea for restraint Tuesday from U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who warned that a plan to burn 200 Muslim holy books could provoke violence against American troops and citizens overseas.

"Instead of possibly blaming us for what could happen, we put the blame where it belongs — on the people who would do it," the Rev. Terry Jones, of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., told The Associated Press. "We should address radical Islam and send a very clear warning that they are not to retaliate in any form."

Jones also said he still was praying over his decision and hinted he might change his mind. "We understand the general's concerns and we are taking those into consideration," he told WOFL-TV in Orlando.

A coalition of Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders held a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to condemn Jones' statements and other slurs aimed at Muslims nationwide.

"The threatened burning of copies of the Holy Quran this Saturday is a particularly egregious offense that demands the strongest possible condemnation by all who value civility in public life and seek to honor the sacred memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11," said a statement by religious leaders organized by the Islamic Society of North America.

Religious leaders warned that Muslims overseas will misinterpret extremists such as Jones as reflecting mainstream American attitudes toward Muslims.

As an example, protesters in Afghanistan on Monday made a point of wrapping an effigy of Jones in an American flag before burning both the effigy and the flag. In Indonesia, Muslims have demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if any Qurans are burned.

Reaction in the Arab news media was more muted, with most commentators and government officials calling on U.S. citizens to honor religious freedom and condemn Jones.

Petraeus, who directs U.S. forces in Afghanistan, seemed concerned that Jones' insults would enrage ordinary Afghans whom his soldiers are trying to win over as they battle Taliban religious extremists.

The general said Monday that images of burning Qurans "would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence."

Jones' antics also have fed into a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment nationwide as the Sept. 11 anniversary approaches and U.S. troops continue to die in two wars waged in Muslim nations.

His threat follows angry protests against a proposed Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero in New York. Other protesters in recent weeks have objected to planned mosques or Islamic centers in several states, calling them threats to local security.

Gainesville's new mayor, Craig Lowe, who during his campaign became the target of a Jones-led protest because he is openly gay, has called the Dove World Outreach Center "an embarrassment to our community" and vowed to try to prevent Jones from burning anything Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

Jones has been denied a burning permit, but said his lawyers have advised him that his First Amendment right to express his beliefs supersedes any local ordinance.

The pastor also said he has received more than 100 death threats and now wears a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip. FBI agents have visited him to voice concerns for his safety, according to AP.

All the attention has caused other problems for Jones. He said he believes it's the reason his mortgage lender has demanded full payment of the $140,000 still owed on the church property.

He's seeking donations to cover it, but recently listed the property for sale with plans to move the church from Gainesville.

For Muslims, the Quran is the word of Allah. The holy book is treated with deep reverence, and any defiling of it is considered a grave offense.

"The holy Quran is sacred, just like the Bible is to Christians," said Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, director of community outreach for the Islamic Society of North America. "Desecration of this book is something people will not tolerate."

In 2005, after a report in Newsweek — later amended — that U.S. guards at the Guantánamo Bay prison had flushed a Quran down a toilet, deadly riots broke out in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Elsanousi said his organization has asked Muslims worldwide not to react violently if Qurans are indeed burned.

The White House said Tuesday it agreed with Petraeus that burning Qurans could endanger U.S. troops overseas, and the State Department called Jones' threat "un-American."

Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent but 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.

The Quran, according to Jones, is "evil" because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

Jones has written a book, "Islam is of the Devil," and his church has distributed T-shirts bearing the same message.

On the church's website, a "Ten Reasons to Burn the Koran" list discusses the plan to burn Qurans:

"We are using this act to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful. The world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam."

According to the church, supporters have mailed in Qurans to be burned.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.