International Burn a Koran Day

"International Burn a Koran a Day" is an event planned for September 11, 2010 by Dove World Outreach Center to protest militant Islam aggression by burning copies of the Qur'an. The event was announced in July 2010 by pastor Terry Jones of the non-denominational charismatic Christian church in Gainesville, Florida to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the event has been widely condemned by politicians, religious groups, and various people.
Background
Dove World Outreach Center is a small congregation in Gainesville, Florida with approximately 50 members. The church is led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church gained notoriety in the late 2000s for its displays of anti-Islam and anti-LGBT messages. In 2009, Dove World posted a sign on its lawn which stated in large red letters "Islam is of the Devil". Members of the church have also sent their children to the new school year with T-shirts saying on the front "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me. I stand in trust with Dove Outreach Center." and on the back "Islam is of the Devil"..
Reactions
Early protests
Local
The Gainesville fire department refused to grant the church a burning permit, stating that open burning of books is not allowed in the city due to fire hazard. Regardless, the church plans to proceed with the event despite the potential of being fined if it proceeds with the event.
A Gainesville Interfaith Forum which was established in November 2009 in response to earlier anti-Islam activities of the church requested for the declaration of September 11 as "Interfaith Solidarity Day", a request that was honored by current mayor Craig Lowe. The Forum scheduled a "Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope" at Trinity United Methodist Church on the day before the planned burning. Mayor Lowe referred to Dove World as a "tiny fringe group and an embarrassment to our community".
Twenty local religious leaders gathered Thursday, September 2, 2010 to call for citizens to rally around Muslims “in a time when so much venom is directed toward them.” .
Terry Jones has said that he hopes the event does not lead to violence. He says he regularly receives death threats since the event was announced.
Worries also emerged that the event could spark events of terrorism after an England-based Islamic group has incorporated the Qur'an-burning event in a YouTube video which makes a call to Muslims to "rise up and act".
Shortly after the event was announced the National Association of Evangelicals recommended that the event be canceled.
The German Evangelical Alliance which Terry Jones had led until 2008 formally dissociated itself from the proposed Qur'an burning.
The Al-Falluja jihadist web forum threatened a bloody war against America in response to the burning of the Qur'an..
The head of Iran's Islamic Culture and Relations Organization labeled the Qur'an burning proposal a "Zionist" insult..
John Rankin, President of the Theological Education Institute in Connecticut, has started a "Yes to the Bible, No to the Burning of the Qur'an" effort. Also Jennifer Bryson is advocating Christian intra-faith dialogue and Christian rejection of "Burn a Koran Day" .
Protests have ensued against the church in places such as Indonesia. However, when death threats directed against Jones were mailed to The Gainesville Sun in a letter postmarked from Johnstown, Pa., the American Muslim Association of North America issued a statement signed by 15 imams including Ahmed Al Mehdawi of the Islamic Center of Gainesville condemning the death threats.
Various other Muslims, such as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have argued that the Dove World Outreach Center is not following the true teachings of Christianity of tolerance and love. They quote Jesus: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..."(Gospel of Matthew 5:44-45). The Head of the Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has stated that "Religious extremism, be it Christian extremism, Muslim extremism or any other kind, is never a true reflection of the religion".
Other critics include
* the International Humanist and Ethical Union
* the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Week prior to the event
Indonesians took to the streets to protest the event on September 4, with thousands, mostly Muslims, taking part in events across the country. Rokhmat Labib, chairman of the Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir that organized the protests, called the planned book burning a provocation and predicted that Muslims would fight back should it take place. Lahib said that Muslims must not stay silent when their faith is threatened.
On September 6, the current commander of the allied (ISAF) and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus said, "It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community." On the same day hundreds of Afghans protested in Kabul against the planned Qur'an burning event, chanting "death to America" and throwing rocks at a passing military convoy. Military officials also expressed fears that the protests would spread to other cities. Military officers at the Pentagon consequently said they hoped the rare incursion into politics by a military commander would convince Pastor Jones to cancel his plans. The pastor responded to Petraeus' statement that, "We understand the General's concerns. We are sure that his concerns are legitimate. e must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats."
The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the plans.
September 8
On September 7 and 8, a barrage of high-level international leaders independently weighed in, condemning the book burning event, urging that Pastor Jones and the Gainesville, Florida church group step down from their plans. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "It's regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida with a church of no more than fifty people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world's attention." She also said, "It doesn't in any way represent America or Americans or American government or American religious or political leadership," and she emphasized the hope of the U.S. Government that the church would not go through with their plans.
The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue also on September 8 issued a statement saying that the book burning would be "an outrageous and grave gesture," with a headline in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, reading "No one burns the Koran."
In Jordan the country's powerful Islamist opposition on September 8 condemned the event and added that it would be be “a declaration of war.” The Islamic Action Front which is the political arm of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood issued the statement that “Claiming that burning the Koran is a part of freedom of expression is ridiculous and does not make any sense.” The statement also insinuated that the U.S. Government was inciting people against Islam using 9/11 as a pretext.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued his concern on September 8 that he was "deeply disturbed" and also asserted his belief that such a gesture would be intolerable by any religion.
Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel also denounced the Qur'an-burning at an awards ceremony honoring controversial Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard to defend freedom of speech. While speaking in defense of Westergaard who in 2005 angered Muslims worldwide with his satirical Muhammad cartoon she said of the planned Florida event that "t is plainly disrespectful - even abhorrent. It's simply wrong."

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