Florida Pastor To Burn Qurans On 9/11

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Dealin' W/ Demons
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Any thoughts on this nutjob?
AP via Yahoo! News said:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere.
But the Rev. Terry Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders.
Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devil's religion, says the Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God.
Gen. David Petraeus warned Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence." It was a rare example of a military commander taking a position on a domestic political matter.
Jones responded that he is also concerned but is "wondering, 'When do we stop?'" He refused to cancel the protest set for Saturday at his Dove World Outreach Center, a church that espouses an anti-Islam philosophy.
"How much do we back down? How many times do we back down?" Jones told the AP. "Instead of us backing down, maybe it's to time to stand up. Maybe it's time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior."
Still, Jones said he will pray about his decision.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration hoped Americans would stand up and condemn the church's plan.
"We think that these are provocative acts," Crowley said. "We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values; in fact, these actions themselves are un-American."
Meeting Tuesday with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning both idiotic and dangerous, according to a Justice Department official. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private.
Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton may address the controversy at a dinner Tuesday evening in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs echoed the concerns raised by Petraeus. "Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," Gibbs told reporters.
Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip.
The 58-year-old minister said the death threats started not long after he proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn-a-Quran Day." Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his church to be incinerated in a bonfire.
Jones, who has about 50 followers, gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church declaring "Islam is of the Devil." But his Quran-burning scheme attracted wider attention. It drew rebukes from Muslim nations and an avalanche of media interview requests just as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
The Quran, according to Jones, is "evil" because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.
"It's hard for people to believe, but we actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth," he said last week. "And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down."
Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive.
Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. The church 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.
At first glance, the church looks like a warehouse rather than a place of worship. A stone facade and a large lighted cross adorn the front of the beige steel building, which stands on 20 acres in Gainesville's leafy northern suburbs. Jones and his wife, Sylvia, live on the property and also use part of it to store furniture that they sell on eBay.
A broad coalition of religious leaders from evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim organizations met in Washington on Tuesday and condemned the plan to burn the Quran as a violation of American values.
"This is not the America that we all have grown to love and care about," said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "We have to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters and say, "This is not OK.'"
FBI agents have visited with Jones to discuss concern for his safety. Multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as a hero or blasting him as a dangerous pariah.
The world's leading Sunni Muslim institution of learning, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, accused the church of stirring up hate and discrimination, and called on other American churches speak out against it.
Last month, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if Jones goes through with it.
In this progressive Florida city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus, the lanky preacher with the bushy white mustache is mostly seen as a fringe character who doesn't deserve special attention.
At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in Gainesville have mobilized to plan inclusive events — some will read from the Quran at their own weekend services — to counter what Jones is doing. A student group is organizing a protest across the street from the church on Sept. 11.
Gainesville's new mayor, Craig Lowe, who during his campaign became the target of a Jones-led protest because he is openly gay, has declared Sept. 11 Interfaith Solidarity Day in the city.
Jones dismisses the response of the other churches as "cowardly." He said even if they think burning Qurans is extreme, Christian ministers should be standing with him in denouncing the principles of Islam.
All the attention has caused other problems for Jones, too. 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 eventually move the church away from Gainesville.
The fire department has denied Jones a required burn permit for Sept. 11, but he said lawyers have told him his right to burn Qurans is protected by the First Amendment, with or without the city's permission.
The same would hold true, he said, if Muslims wanted to burn Bibles in the front yard of a mosque.
"Of course, I would not like it," Jones said. But "I definitely would not threaten to kill them, as we have been threatened."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100907/ap_on_re_us/quran_burning
 
I have some opinions about him, but none of which I can share here.
 
As I said in the "things you hate" thread, he has a right to burn them. I'm a muslim and ofcourse I find what he is planning to do reprehensible, sick and hurtful but he has a right to do it. And I personally don't believe that if he follows the law that he should be stopped from doing it.

*sigh*

On a personal note:

I don't care if people like my religion, I mean I really don't give a f**k but all of this anti muslim hatred, like the arson case in Tennesee and the so-called ground zero islamic center tripe that a political party started to win elections (most cowardly dems have backed the fearmongering so there is plenty of blame to go around) just...hurts my feelings and makes me more than a little afraid. Things are getting pretty f**king scary around here...the land of the brave my f**king ass.
 
Even though I'm not down with religion at all,this plan of his isn't a good idea,all he's going to do is create lots of trouble for himself.
 
There are so many problems with this moron's plan.
1. He isn't following what Jesus taught.
2. While he is free to express his thoughts however he wants thanks to the US Constitution, book burning is not a good idea. Hitler thought it was a good idea too.
3. It puts our soldiers and others in harms way. This will not honor the memory of those who have died since 9/11. This will incite the radical followers to the point to attack our soldiers over there.
 
Even though I'm not down with religion at all,this plan of his isn't a good idea,all he's going to do is create lots of trouble for himself.
He's just proving everyone right. He's showing everyone outside of the US that Americans hate anything that doesn't have Jesus in it (which is not true, but he sure as hell don't help the stereotype)
 
--EDIT--

You know what? Nevermind. Not getting involved in this crap.
 
1. this guy is a *****e period.
2. let him do whatever he wants within the law.
3. bibles have been burned all over the world for centuries, whats a few Qurans?
4. The quran will live on since its available on Kindles now :awesome:
 
You have the right to fart in church but you shouldn't do it.



I didn't think my opinion on organized religion could get any lower... then I hear about these Nazis.


Sieg heil!


:doom: :doom: :doom:
 
If he really hate Islam, why doesn't he just sit down with a Muslim imam in a moderated debate and see how strong his arguments are?
 
1. this guy is a *****e period.
2. let him do whatever he wants within the law.
3. bibles have been burned all over the world for centuries, whats a few Qurans?
4. The quran will live on since its available on Kindles now :awesome:

It's also the most memorized book in the world with over 10 Million people said to have memorized it.
 
--EDIT--

You know what? Nevermind. Not getting involved in this crap.
Post it darn it! :argh:

Dude only has 50 members in his congregation. I can't believe the coverage this is getting. You'd think he had a megachurch or something. He's obviously doing this for attention because he can't be doing it because he believes God told him to because he was caught stealing money from his congregation. My faulty, he "alledgely" was doing it.
 
Yeah, I'm just going to avoid any large cities on 9/11 this year. I work in Chicago, but I may call in sick.
 
Post it darn it! :argh:

Dude only has 50 members in his congregation. I can't believe the coverage this is getting. You'd think he had a megachurch or something. He's obviously doing this for attention because he can't be doing it because he believes God told him to because he was caught stealing money from his congregation. My faulty, he "alledgely" was doing it.

That reminds me of those creepy Westboro church people...weren't they a very small group of people with big mouths too? Maybe people should try *reading* books instead of burning them. Might I suggest he start with his own religion's Bible, since he obviously missed Jesus' whole doctrine.
 
Dude only has 50 members in his congregation. I can't believe the coverage this is getting. You'd think he had a megachurch or something.

Slow news cycle + election year = polarizing stories about fringe groups getting tons of news coverage so politicians can grab votes when they give their opinions
 
Post it darn it! :argh:

Dude only has 50 members in his congregation. I can't believe the coverage this is getting. You'd think he had a megachurch or something. He's obviously doing this for attention because he can't be doing it because he believes God told him to because he was caught stealing money from his congregation. My faulty, he "alledgely" was doing it.

Not any more, it was mention his followers think he's a bloody idiot and won't back him
 
Yeah, I'm just going to avoid any large cities on 9/11 this year. I work in Chicago, but I may call in sick.

I'm so glad it's on a weekend this year, so I won't have to go into NY that day. People have just lost their minds lately.
 
There might be a problem with Saturday,a special ocassion called Eid might be on that day,but it will depend on the moon tommorrow night. If it takes place on Saturday there will be people who are foolish enough to think that Muslims are celebrating on Saturday just because it's 9/11. :doh:
 
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Yeah isn't it Romadon or however you spell it for muslims? I think the last day is on 9/11. But it just happens to be that day.
 
In the movies, this guy would always be the one to get his comeuppance later on from whatever supernatural force was threatening us that year.
 
I think him and people like him should stop posing as Christians because they give it a negative image.

The core of Christianity is Jesus' teachings, which centered around love and non-judgment.

Therefore, in my opinion, Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters are not Christians and should really come up with a different name for themselves just in the name of honesty, since they obviously do not follow Jesus in any way, shape, or form.
 
LOL, like I said, if he goes through with this thing on the 11th, my suggestion would be to get as far away from the vicinity he is in as possible.
 

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