Muslim group to distribute replacement Qurans in response to planned burning

[cosmo99]

(CNN) -- A major Islamic group will announce an initiative Thursday to distribute 200,000 Qurans to replace what it says are 200 copies that a Florida church plans to burn in a gesture that has sparked controversy worldwide.

The Rev. Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, said he will go ahead with plans to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Jones' plan comes amid increased pressure and warnings that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans worldwide.

On Wednesday, the Vatican joined a chorus of groups imploring the church not to burn Islam's holy book, saying it would be an "outrageous and grave gesture."

The president of the General Assembly also expressed concern about the planned Quran burning. Ali Abdussalam Treki said it will "lead to uncontrollable reactions" and spark tension worldwide.

Earlier this week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, warned that the plan "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.

Despite the growing pressure, Jones has rejected the pleas, saying his message targets radical Islamists.

"The general needs to point his finger to radical Islam and tell them to shut up, tell them to stop, tell them that we will not bow our knees to them," Jones said on CNN's "AC360."

"We are burning the book," Jones said. "We are not killing someone. We are not murdering people."

In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, plans to hold a news conference in Washington on Thursday to address the issue. The group's "Learn, Don't Burn" initiative includes the distribution of of 200,000 Qurans and other activities planned for Friday and Saturday.

"This educational initiative is designed for those who seek a proactive and constructive response to the church's very un-American actions," said Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director.

"The tiny group of extremists carrying out the book burnings clearly do not represent our society or its values and have been repudiated by all mainstream religious and political leaders."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is one of the few public officials who defended Jones' right to go ahead, even as he condemned the idea as "distasteful."

"I don't think he would like if somebody burned a book that in his religion he thinks is holy. ... But the First Amendment protects everybody, and you can't say that we are going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement," Bloomberg said, citing the section of the Constitution that promises freedom of speech.

The planned action has drawn sharp criticism worldwide.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting U.S. troops from religious intolerance, has promised to buy one new Quran and donate it to the Afghan National Army for each one burned in Florida.

Petraeus has warned that the burning will endanger the lives of the 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement.

Muslim group to distribute replacement Qurans in response to planned burning - CNN.com

[cosmo99]

Quran burning condemned, but Springfield minister to burn copy, too...

Conservative Christian leaders condemned a Florida pastor who plans to burn 200 copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, saying Wednesday that Christians don't burn other religions' holy books.

It's as simple as the "separation of church and hate," said the Rev. Rick Warren, a California megachurch pastor who prayed at President Obama's inauguration.

The National Association of Evangelicals, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Southern Baptist leaders all issued similar statements leading up to Saturday's anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history.

"Book burning is a cowardly act by those afraid that their beliefs aren't strong enough to attract people if they are allowed a choice," said Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life.

The Rev. Bob Old of Springfield, Tenn., doesn't care what they think.

The longtime Baptist minister says the Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove World Center Outreach in Gainesville, Fla., is doing the right thing by burning the Quran. So he's going to do likewise.

Old plans to set fire to a Quran on Saturday at his home and then post a video of the burning book online. And if he had his way, there would be no Muslims in America.

"If they want to have their religion, they can have it somewhere else," said Old, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Joelton and Academy Heights Baptist Church in Gallatin, which merged with another church. He no longer has a congregation and instead runs an evangelical ministry called Disciples of Christ.

News of the local Quran burning angered the Rev. Larry Herbert of Faith Covenant Church in Springfield. He dismissed it as a publicity stunt.

"The guy is a nut," Herbert said. "This is crazy. I am sorry that anyone who names the name of Christ would do this."

Herbert, who leads a nondenominational charismatic congregation of about 140, said that nothing in the Bible justifies burning another faith's holy book. He believes that planned Quran burnings will make it harder for other Christians to befriend Muslims and share their faith.

The Rev. Steve Freeman of Grace Baptist Church in Springfield said he disagrees with the teachings of Islam. But since Muslims revere the Quran, he said, Christians should respect it.

Freeman said Jesus taught his followers to love their neighbors and enemies. That includes Muslim extremists who commit terrorist acts such as 9/11. Quran burnings will undermine the work of Christian missionaries overseas and make evangelism harder, he said.

"The single act of burning the Quran could close the door of Muslims being reached for the Gospel," he said.

News of Old's plans also dismayed local Muslim leaders. Amir Arain, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Nashville, said he hoped Old might change his mind before Saturday.

"We will pray that God gives him wisdom," he said.

Arain fears that the proposed Quran burnings will tarnish America's reputation around the world. But he said that local Muslims won't be discouraged by those who oppose their faith.

"The Quran is not going to be banished by being burned," he said. "Millions of Muslims have memorized the Quran in their heart."

The Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, condemned the planned Quran burning in Florida and asked Muslims not to judge all Christians by the actions of a few.

"One person with 30 silent followers does not speak for 300 million Americans who will never burn a Quran," he said.

Old isn't buying it.

He believes America was founded as a Christian nation, and freedom of religion does not apply to Muslims or other non-Christians.

"I believe that other religions are a threat to our faith and our beliefs," he said. "People may say that I am crazy, but I am not."


Quran burning condemned, but Springfield minister to burn copy, too | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

[R13]

That's what they said they would do from the beginning, glad to see they aren't stooping to their level. That's what the christian group should be doing, handing out bibles instead of burning the other sides "holy book".

[1inStripes]

I agree. And more do that than burn Qurans thankfully.

[R13]

I agree. And more do that than burn Qurans thankfully.

Of course they do, but what get's played in the news? Everyday Christians handing out Bibles or this group having a mass burning of korans? It's what they see, what they know and hear about, which isn't what normally happens...it's this kind of thing right here.

[cosmo99]

Figures they would do this.....

Florida church may not burn Qurans, but Kansas church says it will
The Christian Science Monitor

By Brad Knickerbocker Brad Knickerbocker ? Fri Sep 10, 4:50 pm ET

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., may have ?suspended? plans to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11. But the controversial Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., says it will burn the Quran. In fact, it already has.

The Westboro Baptist Church (which has been disavowed by all Baptist conventions and associations) is led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, and most followers are members of his extended family.

The church is best known for its controversial protests at the funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan as well as at the funerals of those who have died from conditions medically attributed to AIDS. A central point in the church?s protests is that Americans are being punished because the US tolerates homosexuality.

State and federal laws have been passed keeping such church picketers several hundred feet away from funerals. Motorcycle clubs and others have protested the Westboro protesters by gathering around military funeral sites with American flags. Military families have tried to sue Westboro on the grounds that protests featuring highly offensive signs (?Thank God for dead soldiers?) are not constitutionally-protected speech. In March, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal from the father of a Marine killed in Iraq.

Westboro?s attitude toward Islam (as well as toward Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, Mormons, and other religions) is similarly harsh. Phelps has described the Quran as a ?300-page work of Satanic fiction.?

Although the church burned a Quran in Washington in 2008, it did not get much media attention. On its web site Friday, the church called Pastor Jones in Gainesville a ?false prophet ? bullied by sissy, intolerant rebels worldwide into cancelling plans to burn that blasphemous idol called the Koran.?

Westboro also declared that it ?will burn the Koran and the doomed American flag at 12:00 p.m. on September 11, 2010 at Westboro Baptist Church.?

Meanwhile, in the latest development in Jones?s off-again-on-again pledge to burn copies of the Islamic holy book at his small central Florida church, he says he?s going to New York Saturday to meet with Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Sufi Muslim imam leading the effort to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site known as ?ground zero? for the terrorist attack nine years ago.

But Mr. Rauf says there?s no such scheduled meeting with Jones.

"I am prepared to consider meeting with anyone who is seriously committed to pursuing peace,? he said in a statement Friday. But, he added, ?We have no such meeting planned at this time.?

And just to make it clear about the proposed Islamic center near ground zero, he said, ?Our plans for the community center have not changed.?

Earlier, Rauf had suggested that he might not have chosen that location if he'd known what trouble it would cause but that to change now would play into the hands of Islamic radicals. But he?s also made it clear that he would not be pressured by threats.
Florida church may not burn Qurans, but Kansas church says it will - CSMonitor.com