2010 Qur'an-burning controversy
Encyclopedia
The Dove World Quran-burning controversy arose in July 2010, when Terry Jones, the pastor of the Christian Dove World Outreach Center
in Gainesville, Florida
, U.S., declared he would burn 200 Qurans on the 2010 anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Media coverage resulted in international outrage and pleas from world leaders to cancel the event. In early September 2010, Jones cancelled and pledged never to burn a Quran. Jones's original 2010 threat sparked protests in the Middle East and Asia, in which a total of 20 people were killed.
Jones held a "trial of the Quran" on March 20, 2011 in his Gainesville church. Finding the scriptures "guilty" of "crimes against humanity," he burned it in the church sanctuary. On 1 April 2011, upon hearing the news, protesters in the northern Afghanistan
city of Mazar-i-Sharif and elsewhere attacked the United Nations Assistance Mission
, killing at least 30 people, including at least seven U.N. workers, and injuring at least 150 people. Jones disclaimed any responsibility. Norwegian
, Swedish
, Nepalese
and Romanian
nationals were among the UN workers killed.
American news analysts criticized and blamed Hamid Karzai
, president of Afghanistan, for drawing attention to the Quran burning. American media refused to publicize it. On March 31, Karzai publicly denounced the burning and asked for Terry Jones's arrest.
. He attended college for two years, worked at a hotel, and joined the now defunct Maranatha Campus Ministries
. He moved to Cologne, Germany, where in 1981 he founded a charismatic church, the Christian Community of Cologne (CGK).
Jones received an honorary degree
from an unaccredited theology school in 1983, and began using the title "Doctor." He was fined for this misuse of a credential title by a German administrative court. By the late 2000s, the CGK grew to have a membership of approximately 800–1000. According to the German magazine, Der Spiegel, the congregation kicked Jones out in 2008 due to the "climate of fear and control" that he employed, which included elements of "brainwashing" and telling congregants to rape their children with rods. He was accused of improper use of church funds, and forcing congregants to labor for free. A leader of the Cologne church said Jones did not "project the biblical values and Christianity, but always made himself the center of everything." Others accused him of being violent and fanatical. Deutsche Presse-Agentur
reported that church members said Jones ran the Cologne church like a cult
, using psychological pressure.
Between 2001 and 2008, Jones served as the part-time pastor of the Gainesville, Florida
church Dove World Outreach, frequently traveling back and forth between Germany and the United States. Jones assumed full-time duties at Dove World Outreach in 2008 after leaving the German church. By September 2010, Dove World was said to have 50 members, with about 30 members reportedly attending services.
In 2010 Jones published Islam Is of the Devil, a polemic that claims Islam
promotes violence, and that Muslims want to impose sharia law in the United States. After Jones announced the Quran burning, the German Evangelical Alliance denounced his theological statements and his craving for attention.
Following an invitation from the English Defence League
, Jones considered attending a rally in Luton
in the U.K.
in February 2011 to share his views. The anti-fascist group Hope not Hate
petitioned the Home Secretary
to ban Jones from entering the country. In January 2011 the Home Secretary
announced that Jones would be refused entry to the UK 'for the public good'.
Jones' actions have prompted a Pakistan terrorist group to place a $1.2 million bounty on his head; Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, has announced a $2 million bounty.
Jones planned to visit the Islamic Center of America
in Dearborn, Michigan
to protest what he claims is "creeping sharia", but was arrested and jailed for a few hours. Soon after he was interviewed at WJBK-TV, Jones' gun fired accidentally as he got into his car.
The city allowed him to protest a week later in a designated "free speech zone" outside Dearborn City Hall. Muslim protesters also appeared in opposition to his statements and actions.
, which he dubbed "International Burn a Quran Day". A wide range of politicians and religious groups strongly condemned the planned Koran desecration event. Jones said he canceled the event and intended to go to New York to meet with the imam
of Park51, Feisal Abdul Rauf
. After saying he would never burn the sacred scriptures, on March 20, 2011, Jones oversaw the burning of a Quran.
This prompted protests, including an attack in Afghanistan
that resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people. In April 2011, Jones claimed he is considering a trial of the Prophet Muhammad for "crimes against humanity."
, where the Quran burning was to occur, is a small congregation in Gainesville, with approximately 50 members. The church, led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia, first gained media attention in the late 2000s for its anti-Islamic
and anti-homosexual
messages. In 2009, Dove World posted a sign on its lawn which stated in large red letters "Islam is of the Devil". Several members of the church also sent their children to their first day of school in August 2009 wearing t-shirts with "Islam is of the Devil" printed on the back.
The proposal to burn Qurans began with a series of Twitter messages on July 12, and a related discussion on the now-removed Facebook
group "Islam is of the Devil", named after Terry Jones's book. Jones invited Christians to burn the Muslim holy book to remember all 9/11 victims. It was to be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m CNN News. The idea initially had little support and considerable opposition, but Religion News Service
ran a story describing Jones's claim that he had received Qurans to burn. CAIR
refused to respond, but other religious organizations did. On July 25 Jones posted a YouTube video in which he held up a Quran and said "This is the book that is responsible for 9/11. No, to me it looks like the religion of the devil CNN News" which garnered substantial media attention. On August 3, Gainsville mayor Craig Lowe
asked the world's media to ignore Jones's church as a "tiny fringe group and an embarrassment to our community", but coverage continued to increase. In early August, Sunni scholars at al-Azhar University
in Cairo
issued a statement warning of "dangerous consequences" if Qurans were burned. U.S. President Obama condemned the plan saying it would endanger the lives of U.S. troops abroad. American Muslims responded by saying they would celebrate September 11, 2010 as 'love Jesus day' emphasizing the fact that Jesus is believed to be a messenger of God in Islam. Other groups asked people to celebrate Read the Quran day as a means to international understanding.
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.”
recommended that the event be canceled. The Southern Baptist convention also spoke out against it The World Evangelical Alliance
"asks Muslim neighbors to recognize that the plans announced by a Florida group to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11 do not represent the vast majority of Christians." "It dishonors the memory of those who died in the 9/11 attacks and further perpetuates unacceptable violence." The event is broadly condemned by American religious leaders.
John Rankin, President of the Theological Education Institute in Connecticut, has started a "Yes to the Bible, No to the Burning of the Quran" effort. Also Jennifer Bryson is advocating Christian intra-faith dialogue and Christian rejection of "Burn a Quran Day".
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric behind the move to build a Muslim community centre near "Ground Zero" (Park51) said that, should the burning of Qurans have gone ahead, "it would have created a disaster in the Muslim world. It would have strengthened the radicals. It would have enhanced the possibility of terrorist acts against America and American interests." He also add that retracting the decision to build the mosque would send a wrong message that "moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be Islam is under attack in America."
A group of American veterans of the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan
wrote an open letter
to the Huffington Post calling on the American public to respect "the values we risked our lives to protect". "When citizens here participate in hateful rhetoric and intolerance toward Muslims, it leaves soldiers over there exposed." The letter concludes by asking "America, you gotta have our back."
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. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
called Pastor Jones asking him not to go through with his Quran burning. The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the plans. Robert Gibbs
, White House Press Secretary
, criticized the plans stating "any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration".
The commander of the International Security Assistance Force
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 Quran 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. [Nonetheless] [w]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."
Republicans
in Congress also criticized Jones and his plans. “Just because you have a right to do something in America does not mean it is the right thing to do,” said U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner
. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin
also criticized Jones, calling his plans "insensitive and an unnecessary provocation", and Republican 2008 presidential nominee John McCain and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both argued that the actions of Jones put American troops overseas at risk. President Obama made a statement on ABC News regarding this event, stating that "what he is purposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans." He added that Terry Jones's plan to burn the Quran will put American soldiers at risk. David Wood
disagreed with pastor Terry Jones attempts in the Quran burning, and compared it to the Uthman Quran burning. One book distribution website, SacredBookSource.com is giving away 1,001 free Qurans and 1,000 free Bibles for every Quran reverend Jones destroys.
, Jones had been associated with the evangelical alliance.
The Al-Falluja web forum threatened a bloody war against America in response to the burning of the Quran.
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".
On August 27, approximately 100 people protested in Indonesia
outside the U.S. Embassy. Roni Ruslan of Hizbut Tahrir, which advocates Islamic law, said, "No one will be able to control this reaction.... We urge the U.S. government and Christian leaders to stop the crazy plan from this small sect. It's an insult to Islam and to 1.5 billion Muslims around the world." On September 4, thousands of Indonesians, mostly Muslims, took part in events across the country organized by Hizbut Tahrir. Rokhmat Labib, chairman of the group, 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.
The World Evangelical Alliance
condemned the plans to burn the Quran.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement declaring that "A key tenet of our faith is to accord everyone the freedom to worship as they choose. It is regrettable that anyone would regard the burning of any scriptural text as a legitimate form of protest or disagreement."
The International Humanist and Ethical Union
was also critical of the plans to burn the Qu'ran.
On Friday, September 10 in the northern Afghan city of Fayzabad, thousands took part in a protest against the planned Quran-burning following Eid ul-Fitr
prayers. Violent demonstrators threw stones at a German-controlled NATO base. Initial reports said troops inside opened fire, killing up to three people and injuring several others, but a local police official said that only local police, not the NATO troops, were involved in the shooting. According to the acting police chief of Badakshan the protesters broke down the first perimeter gate surrounding the base and beat Afghan security guards and police on duty with sticks. Before opening fire police allegedly fired warning shots and were also fired upon from the direction of the demonstrators, said the police official. A local police chief talking to the BBC gave his estimates of the number of protesters to around 1,500 but said that the incident that led to the shooting was a separate one with 150 people participating. This official also said that private security guards were the ones who fired at the people who tried to force their way inside the base. NATO has launched an investigation into the incident. General Zahir Khan of the Kabul police described Quran-burning a thinly disguised pretext for anti-government rallies with the Taliban in attendance.
Protest rallies were held in several other Afghan provinces: Nimruz
, Kunar
, Nangarhar
, Parwan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Balkh
and Farah
. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai
also spoke out against the burning of Qurans saying, "By burning the Quran, they cannot harm it. The Quran is in the hearts and minds of one-and-a-half billion people. Insulting the Quran is an insult to nations." Protests continued throughout the next two days, with three protesters wounded on September 11 and four on September 12 as Afghan security forces shot into groups of protesters, some armed with sticks or throwing stones, to disperse them. Two died in hospital due to severe gunshot wounds. On September 11, protests continued in the country, when Afghan security forces fought back thousands of demonstrators. Four demonstrators were wounded by security forces; firing when they tried to storm several government buildings in Pul-e-Alam, in Logar province. They also hurled stones at such buildings as the department for women's affairs. In Badakhshan province, another thousand people protested three separate districts, though the police chief said it was peaceful.
The prominent Qatar
based scholar, Yusuf al-Qaradawi
despite condemning the desecration said,
Small rallies were reported in Pakistan in Karachi
and the central Pakistani city Multan
with around 200 protesters. There were also protests in Indonesia, Gaza, and India
, a non-Muslim majority country. On September 15, regarding reports that at least 20 deaths worldwide were connected to Quran desecration protests, Randall Terry responded that "Such logic is like saying that a woman who is abused by her boyfriend or husband is guilty of bringing violence on herself because she said or did something that irritated him."
Protests in Kashmir
escalated over several days, as Quran demonstrations quickly turned into separatist protests against the Indian government in the Muslim-majority province. On September 13, protesters defied a military-imposed curfew, setting fire to a Christian missionary school and government buildings. At least 13 people were shot dead by police, and one policeman was killed by a thrown rock; at least 113 policemen and 45 protesters were wounded. On September 12, a church was burned and a curfew instituted in Punjab. Violence also spread into Poonch
in the Jammu
division, with three protesters shot by police. Protesters burned several government offices and vehicles. Police prevented the burning of a Christian school in Poonch, and another in Mendhar the next day, in clashes leaving four protesters killed, 19 wounded, but dozens of government offices, a police station, and eight vehicles were burned. As of September 16, the Hindustan Times
placed the death toll at 90, blaming much of the resentment on the indefinite military curfew, the first in ten years to affect the entire Kashmir Valley.
In Somalia, the al-Qaida-inspired group Al-Shabaab organized a protest rally against the Quran-burning attended by thousands.
The head of Iran's Islamic Culture and Relations Organization labeled the Quran burning proposal a "Zionist" insult. A group of Iranian students also protested outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran to protest the desecration of the Qu'ran, and chanted slogans condemned the desecration on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Iranian House of Cartoon invited international artists to an online exhibition to condemn the desecration of the Qurans on the theme of Devil against Holy Books, Devil against Human Nature and Terry Jones. More than 30 cartoons had been submitted from Iran, Turkey, Brazil, Ukraine and other countries since the event was announced on September 13. While there would be no prizes, the entries would be published at a later date. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
called the proposal "heinous" at a joint press conference with his Malawian counterpart Etta Banda
. He also added that "The stance of the Muslim world, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, is transparent: Condemnation of this heinous, insulting and sacrilegious act by whomever perpetuated it. We clearly see the hands of the Zionists behind all threats and provocative moves [aimed to strain relations] between the believers of various faiths. This is exactly the sort of extremist move that seeks to realize their objectives through creating religious discord." Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, said he had filed a complaint with the body to "attract the international community's attention to Iran's stance and to warn against the serious repercussions of insulting the holy book of Muslims and hurting the religious feelings of more than one-fourth of the world's population." He also condemned the actions as "abhorrent." Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani
censured the US for its apparent silence on the "outrageous act of desecrating the holy Quran, urging the Muslim world to take swift action against it." He added that the "silence of those who beat the drums for freedom and democracy on the blasphemous decision has drawn the ire of freedom-seeking humans and stirred international hatred of the US." He also said the desecration of the Qu'ran would be a "brutal" act that shows "barbarism in the modern era." While he concluded that such measures would "undoubtedly hurt spiritual and religious feelings of millions of Muslims across the world as well as followers of all divine faiths," and warned American legislators they should expect a "harsh fate" if they do not act "wisely." The parliament's Presiding Board member, Mohammad Dehqan, said that "Whenever Zionists want to cover up their atrocities in Palestine, they try to trigger anti-Islamic sentiments across the United States and the West to deflect global public attention from their brutalities against Palestinians." He also criticised the "Zionists" for trying to paint a violent picture of Islam to discourage others from converting to Islam; he went on to urge Muslims around the world to "remain united to stop the recurrence of similar profane moves." The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the "US police reluctance to react to such sacrilegious action indicates Washington's green light to such a heinous crime. The US government should take serious action against the perpetrators of this provocative move and declare its stance on that regard." Grand Ayatollahs Hossein Noori Hamedani
and Naser Makarem Shirazi
favored the killing of Quran-burners, but that the permission of a religious judge was required.
In Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani cautioned people to show restraint labeling the act "expression of hatred of Islam."
, Walt Disney
, and the Florida Department of Transportation
, and produced spam that rose to 10% of all email traffic on September 9.
In South Africa, on September 10, Johannesburg businessman Mohammed Vawda had announced his own intention to burn the Bible on September 11 in the Johannesburg CBD
in response to DWOC's own announcement. However, an Islamic lawyers' association, Scholars of the Truth, quickly intervened by filing an injunction against Vawda in court on the basis of opposition against burning any religious texts, and Judge Sita Kolbe of the South Gauteng High Court granted the injunction, thus prohibiting Vawda's announced burning. Lawyer and Scholars of the Truth spokesperson Yasmin Omar, who spearheaded the injunction with her husband Zahir, stated that the judge's ruling established that "freedom of expression is not unlimited if one exercises freedom of expression that is harmful to others".
Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper
, condemned the planned Quran-burning in unequivocal terms, and said, "My God and my Christ is a tolerant God, and that's what we want to see in this world".
Cuba. Former president Fidel Castro
called the planned book burning "a huge media show". After Jones called off the event, Castro said, "It would be nice to know what the FBI agents who visited him said 'to persuade him.'"
Early Modern France. Defence minister Hervé Morin
said that the threatened Quran burning and a French ban on full length Islamic veils enacted shortly afterward did not put French or NATO troops at increased risk: "when you are at the maximum, you cannot go higher".
Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel
said of the planned Florida event, "It is plainly disrespectful – even abhorrent. It's simply wrong."
Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
warned in a televised speech that the plans to burn the Quran threatened world peace.
. Supreme Leader of Iran
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said "All Muslims hold the US government and their politicians accountable. If the US government is sincere in its claims of not having been involved in this incident, it must mete out a befitting punishment to the main perpetrators of this serious crime". President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the plan a "Zionist plot that is against the teachings of all divine prophets."
. President Michel Suleiman
denounced the plans adding that burning the Quran is a clear contradiction of the teachings of the three Abrahamic religions [Christianity, Islam and Judaism] and of dialogue among the three faiths."
Pakistan's government strongly condemned the plan. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters "This is against the spirit of any religion, the government and the people of Pakistan, including Pakistani Christians, are outraged at this planned, shameful act by a self-proclaimed pastor."
Palestinian territories. In Gaza
, Hamas
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Terry Jones a "crazy priest who reflects a crazy Western attitude toward Islam and the Muslim nation
."
United States. President Barack Obama
said "I just want [Jones] to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan." He also said that the planned event was being used as an al-Qaeda
recruitment tool, and urged that the Quran burning be cancelled because it violated U.S. principles of religious tolerance. The president also expressed frustration that under the law, nothing could be done other than citing the church under a local ordinance for public burnings.
Vatican City. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
issued a statement saying that the book burning would be "an outrageous and grave gesture".
Supranational bodies
NATO. Anders Fogh Rasmussen
, NATO Secretary General, said that the church's plans would violate NATO's values and might have a negative impact on the security of its soldiers.
Organization of the Islamic Conference. expressed deep concern and alarm at the burnings.
United Nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said he was "deeply disturbed", adding that such a gesture would be intolerable by any religion.
and sensationalism
.
James Poniewozik, of Time
gave a few reasons for media coverage of the event: "tiny groups of fringe idiots" often get coverage, presumably because the vast majority of readers find them strange and different. The event also happens to coincide with a seeming American "Islamophobia" and concern over the "Ground Zero mosque;" he also added that "This is, unfortunately, one of those cases in which, by having become news, the story is now making legitimate news." Slate
' s David Weigel, said reporters should "Ignore This Idiot" (the title of his blog post on the controversy). "[Jones] gets to hold the country, or at least the part of the country that pays attention to such news, hostage, with reporters getting the secretary of state and our general in Afghanistan on the record to condemn this nobody. Instead of dying in obscurity, he'll die a has-been. Good work." ABC News
' Chris Cuomo wrote that the "media gave life to this Florida burning ... and that was reckless." Roger Simon, a columnist for Politico
responded to David Petraeus' remarks saying "The issue is not the images; it is the acts."
Both the Associated Press
and Fox News stated their intention to ignore it.
Other media reactions
The conservative Powerline
blog stated it was against the Qu'ran burning, but also said that "what gives rise to this dilemma, of course, is the fanaticism of radical Muslims, who have, indeed, responded violently to real or perceived slights to their religion." John Hinderaker, a lawyer and freelance writer, argued that "Perversely, the crazier radical Muslims behave, the more it benefits them (those burning the Qurans). Today it is burning Qurans, but the broader objective is to outlaw, de facto, any criticism of Islam." Another conservative writer Michelle Malkin
, echoed an article by Christopher Hitchens
, when she bemoaned "the eternal flame of Muslim outrage. When everything from sneakers to stuffed animals to comics to frescos to beauty queens to fast-food packaging to undies serves as dry tinder for Allah
's avengers, it's a grand farce to feign concern about the recruitment effect of a few burnt Qurans in the hands of a two-bit attention-seeker in Florida."
A Facebook
page support the pastor's plan got more than 16,000 fans by eve of the event, while fans opposing the event numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
, the provider of web hosting service to the Dove World Outreach website, disconnected the site, citing a violation of their terms of use policy. A spokesman for Rackspace told news media that the shutdown was not "a constitutional issue," it was "a contract issue."
The city of Gainesville has said it would charge the church $200,000, representing the cost of a security presence by the police department, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, and some city public works employees. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office estimated that it spent $100,000 on providing security to Jones, and specifically assigned 160 of the 242 deputies on duty September 11 to police activities related to the planned burning.
s since the event was announced. Evan Kohlmann
of Flashpoint Global Partners, a firm that "tracks radical militant websites," said that a suicide bomber has threatened to drive a truck into the church and others have discussed setting the building on fire, though it was not known if the discussions were serious. The Wall Street Journal quoted an individual calling himself Abu Dujanah from a jihadist website, "Now, I wish to bomb myself in this church as revenge for the sake of Allah
's talk...And here I register my name here that I want to be an intended martyr."
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. During Jones's September 11 visit to New York, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that police plan to keep a "close tab on him" for his own safety.
member Megan Roper announced via Twitter that the church would proceed with its own Quran-burning ceremony in the case that Dove World would not do so; Roper's mother, Shirley Phelps-Roper
commented before the cancellation that she was angry about the lack of similar intensity of press coverage for WBC's own 2008 Quran-burning ceremony. Phelps announced his intention to "burn the Quran and the doomed American flag at noon on September 11", subsequently doing so without incident.
In Washington, D.C., a small group of Christian activists including Randall Terry
and Andrew Beacham read passages from the Quran urging hatred toward Christians and Jews, then ripped up the pages, carefully placing them into a plastic bag to avoid littering. According to Beacham, "The only reason I will not burn [the Koran| the Quran] at the White House is because to burn anything on the Capitol grounds is a felony." Beacham's claim to leadership within the Tea Party movement
was heatedly disputed by several Tea Party activist bloggers
Protester Duncan Philp of the Wyoming Tyranny Response Team obtained a permit to protest outside the Wyoming State Capitol
from 11:00 to 13:00 on September 11. He expressed the intent to set a Quran on fire at noon, or, if the public burning was not permitted, to tear up the Quran and move the pieces in a garbage can to a private business to be burned. Members of the local Unitarian Universalist Church
planned a counter-protest. However, at the protest the group, describing the exercise as a test of free speech, announced that they would not desecrate or burn the Quran on state property.
In Pueblo West, a Quran was bolted to a stop sign during the weekend of September 11–12.
In Nashville, evangelical pastor Bob Old and another preacher burned a Quran with lighter fluid in a private yard. A group of protesters came to his house, but there were no confrontations. He decided not to post the burning to YouTube.
In lower Manhattan, one protester against the "Ground Zero mosque" tore out pages from the Quran and made vulgar gestures with them, and another tore pages from a Quran and set them on fire. The latter, who refused to identify himself, was reported to have been "escorted away to safety a few blocks away" by police after burning a few pages. He was subsequently recognized as a New Jersey transit worker, and was fired by the agency for violating a code of conduct, despite being off-duty while at a protest in New York. This in turn has drawn criticism from New Jersey state senator Ray Lesniak and the American Civil Liberties Union
, which said a person employed in a non-policy related role cannot be fired for off-the-job political expression.
Also, in Texas
, on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a group of protesters made up of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and atheists gathered at Sam Houston Park
in order to challenge the plan of evangelist David Grisham, director of Christian activist group Repent Amarillo
, to burn the Quran on a grill (the book had been doused with kerosene). While Grisham was arguing with a group called ACARA
, a 23-year-old skateboarding member named Jacob Isom snuck up from behind, grabbed the Quran from Grisham's hands, and ran off after saying, "Dude, you have no Quran"; afterwards, Isom handed the book to a religious leader from the Islamic Center of Amarillo. Isom recalled that Grisham was "just trying to start the Holy Wars," while Grisham said that he was exercising his right to freedom of speech. Upon Grisham's Quran-burning plans being thwarted, he reportedly left the park; he later recalled, "I kind of expected the reaction." Enjoying a "hero" status, Isom took advantage of the publicity to appear on the High Times website and to be featured some months later in the magazine. Isom was presented with a "Medal of Reasonableness" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear for his action. He immediately threw the medal into the crowd.
Alex Stewart, research lawyer at the Queensland University of Technology
in Brisbane
, Australia rolled "joints
" (which he said were actually rolled from lawn clippings) using pages from the Quran and the Bible and smoked them in a YouTube
video, ranking the Bible as the "better burner." According to Michael Cope, president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties
, "I don't think on the face of it that what he's done is an offence...nor do we think it should be," referring to the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act. Anglican Church spokesman Dean Peter Catt described it as a stunt that was humorous on one level "But I can accept that some people would be scandalised by it." Stewart was placed on leave by university vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake pending a review under the university's code of conduct, who told reporters, "The university is obviously extremely, extremely unhappy and disappointed that this sort of incident should occur... It may have occurred in the individual's private time or on a weekend – it doesn't matter... There is always, in the community, collateral damage to these sorts of things." Stewart, however, was returned to his job on September 22 after he had "apologised unreservedly" for the nature of the incident.
With mainstream media
sources pledging to limit coverage of Quran burning, publications by individuals via YouTube took on greater significance. A YouTube spokesperson indicated that they do not prescreen videos, and generally responded to complaints about the issue by placing warnings about offensive material. As a Gawker column put it, "We're not going to cover the idiots who filmed themselves burning Qurans and posted the videos to YouTube, including the one guy who used it to roast marshmallows and another who stuck bacon in the pages before setting it on fire... Sorry, guys, YouTube is not an official IBKD 2010 venue: Some random parking lot in Florida is." The Huffington Post questioned why the Quran-burning story was treated as major news, while many news outlets did not cover the prosecution of 12 soldiers for crimes including the premeditated murder of Afghan civilians, possibly for sport, and the keeping of body parts as trophies. Keith Richburg
, a journalist for the Washington Post in Beijing, said that professional journalists "act as a filter on what information should be released or left out so that it does not hurt society", and warned that digital media allows the role of media as a gatekeeper to be undermined. American counterintelligence experts said that with no images of Quran burnings televised during the September 11 anniversary, that violent anti-American protests in Muslim countries would soon fizzle.
A Quran was found shot and burned in the driveway of the Annoor Mosque in Knoxville, Tennessee
. Knoxville police and the FBI began investigating the incident as a possible civil rights violation, a threat, and a hate crime. A YouTube video posted by a user "MuslimKnoxvilleOrg" showing the burning of a Quran stuffed with bacon and doused with lighter fluid was also being investigated, though it was not immediately connected to the mosque. According to Knoxville FBI Special Agent Richard L. Lambert, "The fact that the burnt and shot Quran was placed on mosque property can be construed as a threat of force ... The issue comes down to determining what was the perpetrator's intent." Federal charges were considered, based on a 1968 law making it an offense "to use force to prevent anyone from carrying out their religious beliefs"; state charges were also considered under Tennessee civil rights law prohibiting intimidation, and misdemeanor offenses such as disorderly conduct
were also explored.
In Michigan, a burned Quran that appeared to be smeared with feces was found in front of the Islamic Center of East Lansing. Local police and the FBI were called in to investigate. Dawud Walid, director of Michigan's Islamic council chapter said, "This is no different than someone painting a swastika on a synagogue or burning a cross on a black church." Police later said that the substance smeared on the Quran was not feces, and the perpetrator turned himself in to police after a $10,000 reward was announced (but did not receive the money). On September 21, the County Prosecutor said the man would not face charges because the act was not a crime under Michigan's criminal code.
On the north side of Chicago, Illinois, a burned Quran and a letter were found on the sidewalk outside the Muslim Community Center over the September 11–12 weekend, and were turned over to be investigated by Chicago police bomb and arson unit.
The World Evangelical Alliance later contacted Jones, asking him to apologize for the planned Quran burning. In a public statement, he refused, saying, "We will not repent for standing up for the gospel", adding that Christian churches "have lost their guts to stand up for Christianity. But instead, they bow down to the political powers and the false doctrines of the nations."
As of October 22, 2010, Jones collected a new car which was offered as a reward to Jones in a "quirky radio" ad by a New Jersey Hyundai
dealership owned by former New York Giants
, Brad Benson
if Jones did not burn Qurans. Jones said he did not learn of the reward until several weeks after canceling the burning. Jones donated the car to charity.
On January 19, 2011, it was announced that Jones had been banned from entering the United Kingdom
by the British Home Secretary
Theresa May
. Jones had been invited to give a speech for a Right-Wing group England is Ours in Milton Keynes
.
held a trial which they called "International Judge the Quran Day". Jones played the part of a "judge", wearing traditional robes. The Quran was placed on trial for six hours, charging it with responsibility for violence. At the end of the "trial" the jury found the Quran guilty of all charges and "sentenced" to burning. Pastor Wayne Sapp then "executed" the Quran by burning it.
Jones sought a permit in April 2011 to hold a rally at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan
during the annual Arab-American Festival, a major street fair in the city. A jury sided with prosecutors, ruling that Jones and Sapp would breach the peace. Judge Mark Somers set the bond for each man at $1, which they refused to pay. Somers remanded them to jail. Jones is barred from the area of the mosque for three years.
, President of Afghanistan
, publicly condemned the act. Some diplomats believed that most Afghans learned of the incident through Karzai's announcement. On April 2, crowds chanted "Death to Karzai!" as well as "Death to America!".
After a sermon on April 1 in the city's main mosque, at least 12 people were killed by angry demonstrators in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan
, including 5 Nepalese guards and 3 other members of staff working for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Jones denied responsibility. Pajhwok Afghan News
reported that the dead included Norwegian, Romanian
and Swedish nationals, two of them decapitated
. BBC quotes police General, Abdul Rafu Taj, as saying that "according to the initial reports... none were beheaded", and that they were shot in the head.
Up to 2,000 protesters took to the streets on 2 April in Kandahar
, chanting anti-US slogans . The protesters burned several vehicles and hurled stones at police who were trying to control the mob. They also torched a girls' high school and burned down a school bus in the centre of the city. Security forces killed 9 protesters and injured 73. Smaller protests occurred in other cities.
, condemned the burning and called for Jones's prosecution.
, students protested peacefully with Shia sheikh Hassan al-Zayyat outside the Lebanese International University. They worked to construct the largest Quran on Earth, weighing 100 kg. The group Hezbollah has put a $2.4 million bounty on the head of pastor Terry Jones, according to the United States FBI.
for anyone who kills pastor Terry Jones. On 25 March 2011, protests erupted in Pakistan
, where the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam
organized province-wide protests, including a road blockage and burnings of effigies and American flags in the province of Sindh
.
The President of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference, His Excellency
, the Most Reverend
Lawrence Saldanha
, who currently serves as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore
, called for the arrest of the Jones. Saldanha said Jones' burning of the Qu'ran has caused scandal and fury in the Muslim world and the deaths of more than 20 people. Archbishop Saldanha said the U.S. government should detain Jones.
Barack Obama
strongly condemned both the Quran burning, calling it an act of "extreme intolerance and bigotry", and the "outrageous" attacks by protesters, referring to them as "an affront to human decency and dignity". "No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act." U.S. legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
, also condemned both the burning and the subsequent violence .
Gen. David Petraeus
said, "This was a surprise". He said in an interview with ABC News, "That action was hateful; it was intolerant".
, an Islamic organization called Scholars for Truth turned to the country's courts to prevent a fellow-Muslim from burning Bibles in retaliation to threats by Jones to burn the Quran. In Pakistan, a 24 year old man desecrated the Bible at the gates of Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church
in Lahore
to "avenge" Jones’ desecration of the Quran in Florida. He was arrested by Pakistani police. In Iran however, an affiliate website of Iran's Revolution Guard Cyber Defense Command quoted a report by the newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz that claimed Iranian border patrols burning copies of "smuggled" Bibles in Iran.
Terry Jones
Dove World Outreach Center
Dove World Outreach Center is a 50 member non-denominational charismatic Christian church in Gainesville, Florida led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and criticism of Islam and gays, and was designated as...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, U.S., declared he would burn 200 Qurans on the 2010 anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Media coverage resulted in international outrage and pleas from world leaders to cancel the event. In early September 2010, Jones cancelled and pledged never to burn a Quran. Jones's original 2010 threat sparked protests in the Middle East and Asia, in which a total of 20 people were killed.
Jones held a "trial of the Quran" on March 20, 2011 in his Gainesville church. Finding the scriptures "guilty" of "crimes against humanity," he burned it in the church sanctuary. On 1 April 2011, upon hearing the news, protesters in the northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
city of Mazar-i-Sharif and elsewhere attacked the United Nations Assistance Mission
2011 Mazar-i-Sharif attack
The 2011 Mazar-i-Sharif attack occurred on 1 April, when a group of demonstrators attacked the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, killing seven foreigners, including three U.N. staff members...
, killing at least 30 people, including at least seven U.N. workers, and injuring at least 150 people. Jones disclaimed any responsibility. Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
, Swedish
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
, Nepalese
Nepali people
Nepali people can refer to:*People of Nepal*Ethnic Nepalis of Indian citizenry residing in Gorkhaland area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and other parts of India.* Indian Gorkhas*Lhotshampas of Bhutan.*Nepali diaspora the world over....
and Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
nationals were among the UN workers killed.
American news analysts criticized and blamed Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, president of Afghanistan, for drawing attention to the Quran burning. American media refused to publicize it. On March 31, Karzai publicly denounced the burning and asked for Terry Jones's arrest.
Terry Jones
Terry Jones was born in October 1951 in Cape Girardeau, MissouriCape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
. He attended college for two years, worked at a hotel, and joined the now defunct Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries
Maranatha Campus Ministries was a Charismatic/Pentecostal-oriented Christian ministry founded by Bob Weiner which existed from 1971 to 1990. Its primary outreach was to college and university campuses....
. He moved to Cologne, Germany, where in 1981 he founded a charismatic church, the Christian Community of Cologne (CGK).
Jones received an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from an unaccredited theology school in 1983, and began using the title "Doctor." He was fined for this misuse of a credential title by a German administrative court. By the late 2000s, the CGK grew to have a membership of approximately 800–1000. According to the German magazine, Der Spiegel, the congregation kicked Jones out in 2008 due to the "climate of fear and control" that he employed, which included elements of "brainwashing" and telling congregants to rape their children with rods. He was accused of improper use of church funds, and forcing congregants to labor for free. A leader of the Cologne church said Jones did not "project the biblical values and Christianity, but always made himself the center of everything." Others accused him of being violent and fanatical. Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH is a news agency founded in 1949 in Germany. Based in Hamburg, it has grown to be a major worldwide operation serving print media, radio, television, online, mobile phones, and national news agencies. News is available in German, English, Spanish, and Arabic.The DPA...
reported that church members said Jones ran the Cologne church like a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
, using psychological pressure.
Between 2001 and 2008, Jones served as the part-time pastor of the Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
church Dove World Outreach, frequently traveling back and forth between Germany and the United States. Jones assumed full-time duties at Dove World Outreach in 2008 after leaving the German church. By September 2010, Dove World was said to have 50 members, with about 30 members reportedly attending services.
In 2010 Jones published Islam Is of the Devil, a polemic that claims Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
promotes violence, and that Muslims want to impose sharia law in the United States. After Jones announced the Quran burning, the German Evangelical Alliance denounced his theological statements and his craving for attention.
Following an invitation from the English Defence League
English Defence League
The English Defence League is a far-right street protest movement which opposes what it considers to be a spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in the UK. The EDL uses street marches to protest against Islamic extremism...
, Jones considered attending a rally in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in February 2011 to share his views. The anti-fascist group Hope not Hate
Hope not Hate
Hope not Hate is an anti-fascism and anti-racism campaign in the United Kingdom organised by Searchlight. It has campaigned against the nationalist and far-right British National Party. and have presented a 90,000 person petition to the European Parliament protesting against the election of Nick...
petitioned the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
to ban Jones from entering the country. In January 2011 the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
announced that Jones would be refused entry to the UK 'for the public good'.
Jones' actions have prompted a Pakistan terrorist group to place a $1.2 million bounty on his head; Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, has announced a $2 million bounty.
Jones planned to visit the Islamic Center of America
Islamic Center of America
The Islamic Center of America is a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, opened in 2005, that is the largest in North America. It caters mainly to the Shi'a Muslim congregation; however, all Muslims may attend this mosque....
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
to protest what he claims is "creeping sharia", but was arrested and jailed for a few hours. Soon after he was interviewed at WJBK-TV, Jones' gun fired accidentally as he got into his car.
The city allowed him to protest a week later in a designated "free speech zone" outside Dearborn City Hall. Muslim protesters also appeared in opposition to his statements and actions.
2010 threat to burn a Quran
In 2010 Jones announced plans to burn the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, which he dubbed "International Burn a Quran Day". A wide range of politicians and religious groups strongly condemned the planned Koran desecration event. Jones said he canceled the event and intended to go to New York to meet with the imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of Park51, Feisal Abdul Rauf
Feisal Abdul Rauf
Feisal Abdul Rauf is an American Sufi imam, author, and activist whose stated goal is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West...
. After saying he would never burn the sacred scriptures, on March 20, 2011, Jones oversaw the burning of a Quran.
This prompted protests, including an attack in Afghanistan
2011 Mazar-i-Sharif attack
The 2011 Mazar-i-Sharif attack occurred on 1 April, when a group of demonstrators attacked the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, killing seven foreigners, including three U.N. staff members...
that resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people. In April 2011, Jones claimed he is considering a trial of the Prophet Muhammad for "crimes against humanity."
Background
Dove World Outreach CenterDove World Outreach Center
Dove World Outreach Center is a 50 member non-denominational charismatic Christian church in Gainesville, Florida led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and criticism of Islam and gays, and was designated as...
, where the Quran burning was to occur, is a small congregation in Gainesville, with approximately 50 members. The church, led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia, first gained media attention in the late 2000s for its anti-Islamic
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
and anti-homosexual
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
messages. In 2009, Dove World posted a sign on its lawn which stated in large red letters "Islam is of the Devil". Several members of the church also sent their children to their first day of school in August 2009 wearing t-shirts with "Islam is of the Devil" printed on the back.
The proposal to burn Qurans began with a series of Twitter messages on July 12, and a related discussion on the now-removed Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group "Islam is of the Devil", named after Terry Jones's book. Jones invited Christians to burn the Muslim holy book to remember all 9/11 victims. It was to be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m CNN News. The idea initially had little support and considerable opposition, but Religion News Service
Religion News Service
Religion News Service is a news agency about religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. Based in Washington, D.C., RNS has a network of correspondents around the world, providing news and information on all faiths and religious movements to the nation's leading newspapers, news magazines,...
ran a story describing Jones's claim that he had received Qurans to burn. CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
refused to respond, but other religious organizations did. On July 25 Jones posted a YouTube video in which he held up a Quran and said "This is the book that is responsible for 9/11. No, to me it looks like the religion of the devil CNN News" which garnered substantial media attention. On August 3, Gainsville mayor Craig Lowe
Craig Lowe
Stuart Craig Lowe, better known as Craig Lowe, is an American politician and Mayor of Gainesville, Florida. After winning a runoff election on April 13, 2010, by a margin of 42 votes Lowe became Mayor-elect of Gainesville...
asked the world's media to ignore Jones's church as a "tiny fringe group and an embarrassment to our community", but coverage continued to increase. In early August, Sunni scholars at al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
issued a statement warning of "dangerous consequences" if Qurans were burned. U.S. President Obama condemned the plan saying it would endanger the lives of U.S. troops abroad. American Muslims responded by saying they would celebrate September 11, 2010 as 'love Jesus day' emphasizing the fact that Jesus is believed to be a messenger of God in Islam. Other groups asked people to celebrate Read the Quran day as a means to international understanding.
Local (Florida)
A Gainesville Interfaith Forum which was established in November 2009 in response to earlier anti-IslamIslamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
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
Craig Lowe
Stuart Craig Lowe, better known as Craig Lowe, is an American politician and Mayor of Gainesville, Florida. After winning a runoff election on April 13, 2010, by a margin of 42 votes Lowe became Mayor-elect of Gainesville...
. 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.”
National
Shortly after the event was announced the National Association of EvangelicalsNational Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
recommended that the event be canceled. The Southern Baptist convention also spoke out against it The World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance
- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...
"asks Muslim neighbors to recognize that the plans announced by a Florida group to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11 do not represent the vast majority of Christians." "It dishonors the memory of those who died in the 9/11 attacks and further perpetuates unacceptable violence." The event is broadly condemned by American religious leaders.
John Rankin, President of the Theological Education Institute in Connecticut, has started a "Yes to the Bible, No to the Burning of the Quran" effort. Also Jennifer Bryson is advocating Christian intra-faith dialogue and Christian rejection of "Burn a Quran Day".
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric behind the move to build a Muslim community centre near "Ground Zero" (Park51) said that, should the burning of Qurans have gone ahead, "it would have created a disaster in the Muslim world. It would have strengthened the radicals. It would have enhanced the possibility of terrorist acts against America and American interests." He also add that retracting the decision to build the mosque would send a wrong message that "moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be Islam is under attack in America."
A group of American veterans of the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
wrote an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
to the Huffington Post calling on the American public to respect "the values we risked our lives to protect". "When citizens here participate in hateful rhetoric and intolerance toward Muslims, it leaves soldiers over there exposed." The letter concludes by asking "America, you gotta have our back."
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. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
called Pastor Jones asking him not to go through with his Quran burning. The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the plans. Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
, White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
, criticized the plans stating "any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration".
The commander of the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, General David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
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
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
against the planned Quran 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
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
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. [Nonetheless] [w]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."
Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in Congress also criticized Jones and his plans. “Just because you have a right to do something in America does not mean it is the right thing to do,” said U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...
. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
also criticized Jones, calling his plans "insensitive and an unnecessary provocation", and Republican 2008 presidential nominee John McCain and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both argued that the actions of Jones put American troops overseas at risk. President Obama made a statement on ABC News regarding this event, stating that "what he is purposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans." He added that Terry Jones's plan to burn the Quran will put American soldiers at risk. David Wood
David Wood (Christian apologist)
David Wood is a Christian apologist activist, preacher and professional speaker on comparative religions. Wood is an evangelical missionary who generally engages in debates against muslims or atheists, and also lectures on philosophy. Wood has degrees in philosophy and biology and is currently...
disagreed with pastor Terry Jones attempts in the Quran burning, and compared it to the Uthman Quran burning. One book distribution website, SacredBookSource.com is giving away 1,001 free Qurans and 1,000 free Bibles for every Quran reverend Jones destroys.
International
The German Evangelical Alliance formally dissociated itself from the proposed Quran burning, because of the widely circulated report that in his time in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Jones had been associated with the evangelical alliance.
The Al-Falluja web forum threatened a bloody war against America in response to the burning of the Quran.
Various other Muslims, such as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
have argued that the Dove World Outreach Center is not following the true teachings of Christianity of tolerance and love. They quote Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
: "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
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
5:44–45). The Head of the Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Mirza Masroor Ahmad
His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is Khalifatul Masih V, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fifth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on April 22, 2003, a few days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph for the Ahmadiiya...
, has stated that "Religious extremism, be it Christian extremism, Muslim extremism or any other kind, is never a true reflection of the religion".
On August 27, approximately 100 people protested in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
outside the U.S. Embassy. Roni Ruslan of Hizbut Tahrir, which advocates Islamic law, said, "No one will be able to control this reaction.... We urge the U.S. government and Christian leaders to stop the crazy plan from this small sect. It's an insult to Islam and to 1.5 billion Muslims around the world." On September 4, thousands of Indonesians, mostly Muslims, took part in events across the country organized by Hizbut Tahrir. Rokhmat Labib, chairman of the group, called the planned book burning
Book burning
Book burning, biblioclasm or libricide is the practice of destroying, often ceremoniously, books or other written material and media. In modern times, other forms of media, such as phonograph records, video tapes, and CDs have also been ceremoniously burned, torched, or shredded...
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.
The World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance
- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...
condemned the plans to burn the Quran.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement declaring that "A key tenet of our faith is to accord everyone the freedom to worship as they choose. It is regrettable that anyone would regard the burning of any scriptural text as a legitimate form of protest or disagreement."
The International Humanist and Ethical Union
International Humanist and Ethical Union
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is an umbrella organisation embracing humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations worldwide. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, the IHEU is a democratic union of more than 100 member organizations in 40...
was also critical of the plans to burn the Qu'ran.
On Friday, September 10 in the northern Afghan city of Fayzabad, thousands took part in a protest against the planned Quran-burning following Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
prayers. Violent demonstrators threw stones at a German-controlled NATO base. Initial reports said troops inside opened fire, killing up to three people and injuring several others, but a local police official said that only local police, not the NATO troops, were involved in the shooting. According to the acting police chief of Badakshan the protesters broke down the first perimeter gate surrounding the base and beat Afghan security guards and police on duty with sticks. Before opening fire police allegedly fired warning shots and were also fired upon from the direction of the demonstrators, said the police official. A local police chief talking to the BBC gave his estimates of the number of protesters to around 1,500 but said that the incident that led to the shooting was a separate one with 150 people participating. This official also said that private security guards were the ones who fired at the people who tried to force their way inside the base. NATO has launched an investigation into the incident. General Zahir Khan of the Kabul police described Quran-burning a thinly disguised pretext for anti-government rallies with the Taliban in attendance.
Protest rallies were held in several other Afghan provinces: Nimruz
Nimruz Province
Nimruz is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the south-west of the country on the borders of Iran and Pakistan. The name Nimruz means "mid-day" or "half-day" in Persian. Nimruz covers 41,000 km² and has a population of 149,000...
, Kunar
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
, Nangarhar
Nangarhar Province
Nangarhar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the east of the country. Its capital is the city of Jalalabad. The population of the province is 1,334,000, which consists mainly of ethnic Pashtuns with a sizable community of Arabs and Pashais....
, Parwan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Balkh
Balkh Province
Balkh is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country and its name derives from the ancient city of Balkh, near the modern town...
and Farah
Farah Province
Farah is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Farah. Farah is a spacious and sparsely populated province that lies on the Iranian border...
. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
also spoke out against the burning of Qurans saying, "By burning the Quran, they cannot harm it. The Quran is in the hearts and minds of one-and-a-half billion people. Insulting the Quran is an insult to nations." Protests continued throughout the next two days, with three protesters wounded on September 11 and four on September 12 as Afghan security forces shot into groups of protesters, some armed with sticks or throwing stones, to disperse them. Two died in hospital due to severe gunshot wounds. On September 11, protests continued in the country, when Afghan security forces fought back thousands of demonstrators. Four demonstrators were wounded by security forces; firing when they tried to storm several government buildings in Pul-e-Alam, in Logar province. They also hurled stones at such buildings as the department for women's affairs. In Badakhshan province, another thousand people protested three separate districts, though the police chief said it was peaceful.
The prominent Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
based scholar, Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a controversial Egyptian Islamic theologian. He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat , broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 60 million worldwide...
despite condemning the desecration said,
"Responding to an assault is not by carrying out another assault, as this is discouraged in Islam .... Moreover, we, as Muslims, are required to show respect to and believe in the divinely-revealed books and all preceding prophets. If a person insults Jesus (peace be upon him), I, as a Muslim, should feel annoyed by this and act in his defense. This is what happened upon the release of a film which attacked Jesus: Muslims living in the country where the film was shown reacted angrily in protest. We believe in and highly respect all prophets and messengers, including Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all).... The noble Quran even goes further and forbids us from cursing the pagans' idols, saying: (And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance.) (Al-An`am 6:108)."
Small rallies were reported in Pakistan in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and the central Pakistani city Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
with around 200 protesters. There were also protests in Indonesia, Gaza, and India
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
, a non-Muslim majority country. On September 15, regarding reports that at least 20 deaths worldwide were connected to Quran desecration protests, Randall Terry responded that "Such logic is like saying that a woman who is abused by her boyfriend or husband is guilty of bringing violence on herself because she said or did something that irritated him."
Protests in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
escalated over several days, as Quran demonstrations quickly turned into separatist protests against the Indian government in the Muslim-majority province. On September 13, protesters defied a military-imposed curfew, setting fire to a Christian missionary school and government buildings. At least 13 people were shot dead by police, and one policeman was killed by a thrown rock; at least 113 policemen and 45 protesters were wounded. On September 12, a church was burned and a curfew instituted in Punjab. Violence also spread into Poonch
Poonch
Poonch is a town and a municipal committee in Poonch District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Based on the Mahābhārata evidence, and the evidence from 7th Chinese traveler Xuanzang, the districts of Poonch along with Rajauri and Abhisara had been under the sway of the Republican Kambojas...
in the Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
division, with three protesters shot by police. Protesters burned several government offices and vehicles. Police prevented the burning of a Christian school in Poonch, and another in Mendhar the next day, in clashes leaving four protesters killed, 19 wounded, but dozens of government offices, a police station, and eight vehicles were burned. As of September 16, the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
placed the death toll at 90, blaming much of the resentment on the indefinite military curfew, the first in ten years to affect the entire Kashmir Valley.
In Somalia, the al-Qaida-inspired group Al-Shabaab organized a protest rally against the Quran-burning attended by thousands.
The head of Iran's Islamic Culture and Relations Organization labeled the Quran burning proposal a "Zionist" insult. A group of Iranian students also protested outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran to protest the desecration of the Qu'ran, and chanted slogans condemned the desecration on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Iranian House of Cartoon invited international artists to an online exhibition to condemn the desecration of the Qurans on the theme of Devil against Holy Books, Devil against Human Nature and Terry Jones. More than 30 cartoons had been submitted from Iran, Turkey, Brazil, Ukraine and other countries since the event was announced on September 13. While there would be no prizes, the entries would be published at a later date. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
Manouchehr Mottaki
Manouchehr Mottaki is an Iranian politician and diplomat. He was the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Whilst technically appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is considered to be closer to more pragmatic conservative factions and during the 2005 presidential election, he was the campaign...
called the proposal "heinous" at a joint press conference with his Malawian counterpart Etta Banda
Etta Banda
Etta Elizabeth Banda is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in Malawi, having held the position since 2009. She was formerly the MP for Nkhata Bay South and a professor.-References:...
. He also added that "The stance of the Muslim world, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, is transparent: Condemnation of this heinous, insulting and sacrilegious act by whomever perpetuated it. We clearly see the hands of the Zionists behind all threats and provocative moves [aimed to strain relations] between the believers of various faiths. This is exactly the sort of extremist move that seeks to realize their objectives through creating religious discord." Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, said he had filed a complaint with the body to "attract the international community's attention to Iran's stance and to warn against the serious repercussions of insulting the holy book of Muslims and hurting the religious feelings of more than one-fourth of the world's population." He also condemned the actions as "abhorrent." Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani
Ali Larijani
Ali Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the chairman of the Iranian parliament. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from August 15, 2005 to October 20, 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,replacing Hassan Rowhani...
censured the US for its apparent silence on the "outrageous act of desecrating the holy Quran, urging the Muslim world to take swift action against it." He added that the "silence of those who beat the drums for freedom and democracy on the blasphemous decision has drawn the ire of freedom-seeking humans and stirred international hatred of the US." He also said the desecration of the Qu'ran would be a "brutal" act that shows "barbarism in the modern era." While he concluded that such measures would "undoubtedly hurt spiritual and religious feelings of millions of Muslims across the world as well as followers of all divine faiths," and warned American legislators they should expect a "harsh fate" if they do not act "wisely." The parliament's Presiding Board member, Mohammad Dehqan, said that "Whenever Zionists want to cover up their atrocities in Palestine, they try to trigger anti-Islamic sentiments across the United States and the West to deflect global public attention from their brutalities against Palestinians." He also criticised the "Zionists" for trying to paint a violent picture of Islam to discourage others from converting to Islam; he went on to urge Muslims around the world to "remain united to stop the recurrence of similar profane moves." The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the "US police reluctance to react to such sacrilegious action indicates Washington's green light to such a heinous crime. The US government should take serious action against the perpetrators of this provocative move and declare its stance on that regard." Grand Ayatollahs Hossein Noori Hamedani
Hossein Noori Hamedani
Grand Ayatollah Hosein Nuri-Hamadani is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. Nuri-Hamadani has been called a "hard-line cleric," who has expressed his strong disapproval of Sufis and dervishes, Jews, the intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of...
and Naser Makarem Shirazi
Naser Makarem Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is an ayatollah in Iran. He is a spiritual guide for many Shia Muslims.-In Iran:He started his formal Islamic studies at the age of 14 in the Agha Babakhan Shirazi seminary....
favored the killing of Quran-burners, but that the permission of a religious judge was required.
In Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani cautioned people to show restraint labeling the act "expression of hatred of Islam."
Counter protests
A hacker with nickname "Iraq Resistance" posted a voice-altered video to YouTube published under the byname "iqziad", claiming to have released the "Here you have" worm to "demand respect for Islam", blaming Terry Jones, and saying "I can smash all of those infected, but I wouldn't". The worm, first discovered August 20, attacked organizations including NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, and the Florida Department of Transportation
Florida Department of Transportation
The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...
, and produced spam that rose to 10% of all email traffic on September 9.
In South Africa, on September 10, Johannesburg businessman Mohammed Vawda had announced his own intention to burn the Bible on September 11 in the Johannesburg CBD
Central Business District (Johannesburg)
The Central Business District, commonly called Johannesburg CBD, is one of the main business centres of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the most dense collection of skyscrapers in Africa, however due to white flight and urban blight, many of the buildings are unoccupied as tenants have left for...
in response to DWOC's own announcement. However, an Islamic lawyers' association, Scholars of the Truth, quickly intervened by filing an injunction against Vawda in court on the basis of opposition against burning any religious texts, and Judge Sita Kolbe of the South Gauteng High Court granted the injunction, thus prohibiting Vawda's announced burning. Lawyer and Scholars of the Truth spokesperson Yasmin Omar, who spearheaded the injunction with her husband Zahir, stated that the judge's ruling established that "freedom of expression is not unlimited if one exercises freedom of expression that is harmful to others".
Governmental reactions
Canada. Prime Minister Stephen HarperStephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, condemned the planned Quran-burning in unequivocal terms, and said, "My God and my Christ is a tolerant God, and that's what we want to see in this world".
Cuba. Former president Fidel CastroFidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
called the planned book burning "a huge media show". After Jones called off the event, Castro said, "It would be nice to know what the FBI agents who visited him said 'to persuade him.'"
Early Modern France. Defence minister Hervé MorinHervé Morin
Hervé Morin is a French politician, leader of the New Center party and a former French Minister of Defence.-Member of National Assembly:...
said that the threatened Quran burning and a French ban on full length Islamic veils enacted shortly afterward did not put French or NATO troops at increased risk: "when you are at the maximum, you cannot go higher".
Germany. Chancellor Angela MerkelAngela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
said of the planned Florida event, "It is plainly disrespectful – even abhorrent. It's simply wrong."
Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang YudhoyonoSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....
warned in a televised speech that the plans to burn the Quran threatened world peace.
. Supreme Leader of Iran
Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran is the highest ranking political and religious authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The post was established by the constitution in accordance with the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists...
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said "All Muslims hold the US government and their politicians accountable. If the US government is sincere in its claims of not having been involved in this incident, it must mete out a befitting punishment to the main perpetrators of this serious crime". President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the plan a "Zionist plot that is against the teachings of all divine prophets."
. President Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman or Sleiman is the President of Lebanon. Before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. After LAF commander Émile Lahoud took office as president in November of 1998, Suleiman succeeded him, taking his place in December...
denounced the plans adding that burning the Quran is a clear contradiction of the teachings of the three Abrahamic religions [Christianity, Islam and Judaism] and of dialogue among the three faiths."
Pakistan's government strongly condemned the plan. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters "This is against the spirit of any religion, the government and the people of Pakistan, including Pakistani Christians, are outraged at this planned, shameful act by a self-proclaimed pastor." Palestinian territories. In GazaGaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Terry Jones a "crazy priest who reflects a crazy Western attitude toward Islam and the Muslim nation
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
."
United States. President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
said "I just want [Jones] to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan." He also said that the planned event was being used as an al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
recruitment tool, and urged that the Quran burning be cancelled because it violated U.S. principles of religious tolerance. The president also expressed frustration that under the law, nothing could be done other than citing the church under a local ordinance for public burnings.
Vatican City. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious DialoguePontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988....
issued a statement saying that the book burning would be "an outrageous and grave gesture".
Supranational bodies
NATO. Anders Fogh RasmussenAnders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician, and the 12th and current Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 27 November 2001 to 5 April 2009....
, NATO Secretary General, said that the church's plans would violate NATO's values and might have a negative impact on the security of its soldiers.
Organization of the Islamic Conference. expressed deep concern and alarm at the burnings. United Nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
said he was "deeply disturbed", adding that such a gesture would be intolerable by any religion.
Media reactions
Some in the media attributed the event to silly seasonSilly season
The silly season is the period lasting for a few summer months typified by the emergence of frivolous news stories in the media. This term was known by the end of the 19th century and listed in the second edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and remains in use at the start of the 21st...
and sensationalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
.
James Poniewozik, of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
gave a few reasons for media coverage of the event: "tiny groups of fringe idiots" often get coverage, presumably because the vast majority of readers find them strange and different. The event also happens to coincide with a seeming American "Islamophobia" and concern over the "Ground Zero mosque;" he also added that "This is, unfortunately, one of those cases in which, by having become news, the story is now making legitimate news." Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
Politico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
responded to David Petraeus' remarks saying "The issue is not the images; it is the acts."
Both the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and Fox News stated their intention to ignore it.
Other media reactions
The conservative Powerline
Power Line
Power Line is an American political blog, providing news and commentary from a conservative point-of-view. It was originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together: John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff...
blog stated it was against the Qu'ran burning, but also said that "what gives rise to this dilemma, of course, is the fanaticism of radical Muslims, who have, indeed, responded violently to real or perceived slights to their religion." John Hinderaker, a lawyer and freelance writer, argued that "Perversely, the crazier radical Muslims behave, the more it benefits them (those burning the Qurans). Today it is burning Qurans, but the broader objective is to outlaw, de facto, any criticism of Islam." Another conservative writer Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
, echoed an article by Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
, when she bemoaned "the eternal flame of Muslim outrage. When everything from sneakers to stuffed animals to comics to frescos to beauty queens to fast-food packaging to undies serves as dry tinder for Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
's avengers, it's a grand farce to feign concern about the recruitment effect of a few burnt Qurans in the hands of a two-bit attention-seeker in Florida."
A Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page support the pastor's plan got more than 16,000 fans by eve of the event, while fans opposing the event numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Actions against Dove World Outreach Center
The Gainesville fire department refused to grant the church a burning permit; regardless, the church planned to proceed with the event despite the potential fine. Following the July 2010 announcement of the Quran burning, the bank holding a $140,000 mortgage loan on the church property, demanded immediate repayment of the balance, and the property insurance was canceled. A lighted sign and an acrylic cross on the property were damaged by rocks. On September 8, 2010, RackspaceRackspace
Rackspace US, Inc. is an IT hosting company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company also has offices in Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Hong Kong, and data centers operating in Texas, Illinois, Virginia, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong in late 2008...
, the provider of web hosting service to the Dove World Outreach website, disconnected the site, citing a violation of their terms of use policy. A spokesman for Rackspace told news media that the shutdown was not "a constitutional issue," it was "a contract issue."
The city of Gainesville has said it would charge the church $200,000, representing the cost of a security presence by the police department, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, and some city public works employees. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office estimated that it spent $100,000 on providing security to Jones, and specifically assigned 160 of the 242 deputies on duty September 11 to police activities related to the planned burning.
Death threats
Terry Jones has said that he hopes the event does not lead to violence. He says he regularly receives death threatDeath threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s since the event was announced. Evan Kohlmann
Evan Kohlmann
Evan F. Kohlmann is an American terrorism consultant who has worked for the FBI and other governmental organizations.He is a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog, a senior investigator with The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, and a terrorism analyst for NBC News.-Early life and...
of Flashpoint Global Partners, a firm that "tracks radical militant websites," said that a suicide bomber has threatened to drive a truck into the church and others have discussed setting the building on fire, though it was not known if the discussions were serious. The Wall Street Journal quoted an individual calling himself Abu Dujanah from a jihadist website, "Now, I wish to bomb myself in this church as revenge for the sake of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
's talk...And here I register my name here that I want to be an intended martyr."
When death threats directed against Jones were mailed to The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. It is a part of the New York Times Regional Media Group. The paper is published by James E...
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. During Jones's September 11 visit to New York, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that police plan to keep a "close tab on him" for his own safety.
Other Quran desecration incidents
Within hours of Jones's cancellation announcement on September 9, Westboro Baptist ChurchWestboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
member Megan Roper announced via Twitter that the church would proceed with its own Quran-burning ceremony in the case that Dove World would not do so; Roper's mother, Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She is best known as the spokesperson of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization known for its highly publicized public protests conducted under the slogan "God Hates...
commented before the cancellation that she was angry about the lack of similar intensity of press coverage for WBC's own 2008 Quran-burning ceremony. Phelps announced his intention to "burn the Quran and the doomed American flag at noon on September 11", subsequently doing so without incident.
In Washington, D.C., a small group of Christian activists including Randall Terry
Randall Terry
Randall Almira Terry is an American pro-life activist and candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 2012. Terry founded the pro-life organization Operation Rescue. The group became particularly prominent beginning in 1987 for blockading the entrances to abortion clinics;...
and Andrew Beacham read passages from the Quran urging hatred toward Christians and Jews, then ripped up the pages, carefully placing them into a plastic bag to avoid littering. According to Beacham, "The only reason I will not burn [the Koran| the Quran] at the White House is because to burn anything on the Capitol grounds is a felony." Beacham's claim to leadership within the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
was heatedly disputed by several Tea Party activist bloggers
Protester Duncan Philp of the Wyoming Tyranny Response Team obtained a permit to protest outside the Wyoming State Capitol
Wyoming State Capitol
The Wyoming State Capitol is the state capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Built between 1886 and 1890, the capitol is located in Cheyenne and contains the chambers of the Wyoming State Legislature and well as the office of the Governor of Wyoming. It was designated a U.S...
from 11:00 to 13:00 on September 11. He expressed the intent to set a Quran on fire at noon, or, if the public burning was not permitted, to tear up the Quran and move the pieces in a garbage can to a private business to be burned. Members of the local Unitarian Universalist Church
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
planned a counter-protest. However, at the protest the group, describing the exercise as a test of free speech, announced that they would not desecrate or burn the Quran on state property.
In Pueblo West, a Quran was bolted to a stop sign during the weekend of September 11–12.
In Nashville, evangelical pastor Bob Old and another preacher burned a Quran with lighter fluid in a private yard. A group of protesters came to his house, but there were no confrontations. He decided not to post the burning to YouTube.
In lower Manhattan, one protester against the "Ground Zero mosque" tore out pages from the Quran and made vulgar gestures with them, and another tore pages from a Quran and set them on fire. The latter, who refused to identify himself, was reported to have been "escorted away to safety a few blocks away" by police after burning a few pages. He was subsequently recognized as a New Jersey transit worker, and was fired by the agency for violating a code of conduct, despite being off-duty while at a protest in New York. This in turn has drawn criticism from New Jersey state senator Ray Lesniak and the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, which said a person employed in a non-policy related role cannot be fired for off-the-job political expression.
Also, in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a group of protesters made up of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and atheists gathered at Sam Houston Park
Sam Houston Park
Sam Houston Park is a park located in downtown Houston, Texas, and is dedicated to the buildings and culture of Houston's historic past. The park, which was the first to be established in the city, was developed on land purchased by former Mayor Sam Brashier in 1900.-History:Mayor Brashear...
in order to challenge the plan of evangelist David Grisham, director of Christian activist group Repent Amarillo
Repent Amarillo
Repent Amarillo is a small Amarillo, Texas-based religious group which advocates for the "spiritual mapping" and targeting of specific local areas and venues in order to exorcise "demons" from those areas...
, to burn the Quran on a grill (the book had been doused with kerosene). While Grisham was arguing with a group called ACARA
Acara
Acara may refer to:* Acara , a former region of the Ottoman Empire in present-day Georgia* Blue acara, a colorful freshwater fish* Zebra acara, a tropical freshwater fish...
, a 23-year-old skateboarding member named Jacob Isom snuck up from behind, grabbed the Quran from Grisham's hands, and ran off after saying, "Dude, you have no Quran"; afterwards, Isom handed the book to a religious leader from the Islamic Center of Amarillo. Isom recalled that Grisham was "just trying to start the Holy Wars," while Grisham said that he was exercising his right to freedom of speech. Upon Grisham's Quran-burning plans being thwarted, he reportedly left the park; he later recalled, "I kind of expected the reaction." Enjoying a "hero" status, Isom took advantage of the publicity to appear on the High Times website and to be featured some months later in the magazine. Isom was presented with a "Medal of Reasonableness" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear for his action. He immediately threw the medal into the crowd.
Alex Stewart, research lawyer at the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia rolled "joints
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
" (which he said were actually rolled from lawn clippings) using pages from the Quran and the Bible and smoked them in a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video, ranking the Bible as the "better burner." According to Michael Cope, president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties is a Civil Liberties group based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.-History:The organisation was founded in 1966 to protect and promote the human rights and freedoms of Queenslanders...
, "I don't think on the face of it that what he's done is an offence...nor do we think it should be," referring to the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act. Anglican Church spokesman Dean Peter Catt described it as a stunt that was humorous on one level "But I can accept that some people would be scandalised by it." Stewart was placed on leave by university vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake pending a review under the university's code of conduct, who told reporters, "The university is obviously extremely, extremely unhappy and disappointed that this sort of incident should occur... It may have occurred in the individual's private time or on a weekend – it doesn't matter... There is always, in the community, collateral damage to these sorts of things." Stewart, however, was returned to his job on September 22 after he had "apologised unreservedly" for the nature of the incident.
With mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
sources pledging to limit coverage of Quran burning, publications by individuals via YouTube took on greater significance. A YouTube spokesperson indicated that they do not prescreen videos, and generally responded to complaints about the issue by placing warnings about offensive material. As a Gawker column put it, "We're not going to cover the idiots who filmed themselves burning Qurans and posted the videos to YouTube, including the one guy who used it to roast marshmallows and another who stuck bacon in the pages before setting it on fire... Sorry, guys, YouTube is not an official IBKD 2010 venue: Some random parking lot in Florida is." The Huffington Post questioned why the Quran-burning story was treated as major news, while many news outlets did not cover the prosecution of 12 soldiers for crimes including the premeditated murder of Afghan civilians, possibly for sport, and the keeping of body parts as trophies. Keith Richburg
Keith Richburg
Keith Richburg is an American journalist, a longtime foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, and the author of Out of America, which detailed his experiences as a correspondent in Africa, during which he witnessed the Rwandan Genocide, a civil war in Somalia, and a cholera epidemic in...
, a journalist for the Washington Post in Beijing, said that professional journalists "act as a filter on what information should be released or left out so that it does not hurt society", and warned that digital media allows the role of media as a gatekeeper to be undermined. American counterintelligence experts said that with no images of Quran burnings televised during the September 11 anniversary, that violent anti-American protests in Muslim countries would soon fizzle.
A Quran was found shot and burned in the driveway of the Annoor Mosque in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. Knoxville police and the FBI began investigating the incident as a possible civil rights violation, a threat, and a hate crime. A YouTube video posted by a user "MuslimKnoxvilleOrg" showing the burning of a Quran stuffed with bacon and doused with lighter fluid was also being investigated, though it was not immediately connected to the mosque. According to Knoxville FBI Special Agent Richard L. Lambert, "The fact that the burnt and shot Quran was placed on mosque property can be construed as a threat of force ... The issue comes down to determining what was the perpetrator's intent." Federal charges were considered, based on a 1968 law making it an offense "to use force to prevent anyone from carrying out their religious beliefs"; state charges were also considered under Tennessee civil rights law prohibiting intimidation, and misdemeanor offenses such as disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
were also explored.
In Michigan, a burned Quran that appeared to be smeared with feces was found in front of the Islamic Center of East Lansing. Local police and the FBI were called in to investigate. Dawud Walid, director of Michigan's Islamic council chapter said, "This is no different than someone painting a swastika on a synagogue or burning a cross on a black church." Police later said that the substance smeared on the Quran was not feces, and the perpetrator turned himself in to police after a $10,000 reward was announced (but did not receive the money). On September 21, the County Prosecutor said the man would not face charges because the act was not a crime under Michigan's criminal code.
On the north side of Chicago, Illinois, a burned Quran and a letter were found on the sidewalk outside the Muslim Community Center over the September 11–12 weekend, and were turned over to be investigated by Chicago police bomb and arson unit.
Cancellation (postponement) and aftermath
On September 9, Jones announced the cancellation of the event, and a plan to fly to New York to meet with the Imam of Park51, Feisal Abdul Rauf. In an interview on the morning of September 11, the day of the intended protest, he said, "We will definitely not burn the Quran...Not today, not ever." Despite the cancellation, visiting protesters from both sides attempted to reach the rally, but a heavy police presence dominated the area. A visitor from Atlanta who attempted to burn a Quran had his book and lighter seized by police.The World Evangelical Alliance later contacted Jones, asking him to apologize for the planned Quran burning. In a public statement, he refused, saying, "We will not repent for standing up for the gospel", adding that Christian churches "have lost their guts to stand up for Christianity. But instead, they bow down to the political powers and the false doctrines of the nations."
As of October 22, 2010, Jones collected a new car which was offered as a reward to Jones in a "quirky radio" ad by a New Jersey Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
dealership owned by former New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Brad Benson
Brad Benson
Brad William Benson is a former professional American football player. He was an offensive lineman with the New York Giants of the National Football League from 1978 to 1988. He was a pivotal member of the 1986 Giants team that defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI...
if Jones did not burn Qurans. Jones said he did not learn of the reward until several weeks after canceling the burning. Jones donated the car to charity.
On January 19, 2011, it was announced that Jones had been banned from entering the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by the British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
. Jones had been invited to give a speech for a Right-Wing group England is Ours in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
.
2011 burning of the Quran
On March 20, 2011, Dove World Outreach CenterDove World Outreach Center
Dove World Outreach Center is a 50 member non-denominational charismatic Christian church in Gainesville, Florida led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and criticism of Islam and gays, and was designated as...
held a trial which they called "International Judge the Quran Day". Jones played the part of a "judge", wearing traditional robes. The Quran was placed on trial for six hours, charging it with responsibility for violence. At the end of the "trial" the jury found the Quran guilty of all charges and "sentenced" to burning. Pastor Wayne Sapp then "executed" the Quran by burning it.
Jones sought a permit in April 2011 to hold a rally at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
during the annual Arab-American Festival, a major street fair in the city. A jury sided with prosecutors, ruling that Jones and Sapp would breach the peace. Judge Mark Somers set the bond for each man at $1, which they refused to pay. Somers remanded them to jail. Jones is barred from the area of the mosque for three years.
Afghanistan
On March 24 Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, President of Afghanistan
President of Afghanistan
Afghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
, publicly condemned the act. Some diplomats believed that most Afghans learned of the incident through Karzai's announcement. On April 2, crowds chanted "Death to Karzai!" as well as "Death to America!".
After a sermon on April 1 in the city's main mosque, at least 12 people were killed by angry demonstrators in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, including 5 Nepalese guards and 3 other members of staff working for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Jones denied responsibility. Pajhwok Afghan News
Pajhwok Afghan News
Pajhwok Afghan News is a news agency established in March 2004 in Kabul, Afghanistan by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. It is Afghanistan's largest independent news service, providing broad-based coverage of news in English, Pashto and Dari...
reported that the dead included Norwegian, Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
and Swedish nationals, two of them decapitated
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
. BBC quotes police General, Abdul Rafu Taj, as saying that "according to the initial reports... none were beheaded", and that they were shot in the head.
Up to 2,000 protesters took to the streets on 2 April in Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, chanting anti-US slogans . The protesters burned several vehicles and hurled stones at police who were trying to control the mob. They also torched a girls' high school and burned down a school bus in the centre of the city. Security forces killed 9 protesters and injured 73. Smaller protests occurred in other cities.
Gambia
The Gambian government has called for the arrest of Terry Jones. Ebrima O. Camara, the secretary general and head of the civil service, described the burning as "heinous" and asked for prosecution to proceed "as soon as possible".Iran
On 25 March 2011, the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad KhazaeeMohammad Khazaee
Mohammad Khazaee , born 12 April 1953 in Kashmar, Iran) is the current Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations. He presented his credentials to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in July 2007. He was elected as Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly on 14 September...
, condemned the burning and called for Jones's prosecution.
Lebanon
In southern LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, students protested peacefully with Shia sheikh Hassan al-Zayyat outside the Lebanese International University. They worked to construct the largest Quran on Earth, weighing 100 kg. The group Hezbollah has put a $2.4 million bounty on the head of pastor Terry Jones, according to the United States FBI.
Pakistan
On 22 March 2011, Pakistanis protested in the Punjab Christian neighborhoods and burned tyres in front of a church. On 22 March 2011, Amir Hamza, the leader of Pakistan's banned Islamic organization Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, issued a $2.2 million fatwāFatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
for anyone who kills pastor Terry Jones. On 25 March 2011, protests erupted in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, where the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam is a political party in Pakistan. It formed a combined government in national elections in 2002 and 2008...
organized province-wide protests, including a road blockage and burnings of effigies and American flags in the province of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
.
The President of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference, His Excellency
Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...
, the Most Reverend
Most Reverend
The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Roman Catholic Church , all bishops are styled "The Most Reverend", as well as monsignors of the rank of protonotary apostolic de numero.*In the Roman Catholic Church , archbishops are styled "The...
Lawrence Saldanha
Lawrence Saldanha
Lawrence John Saldanha was born in Mangalore, India on 25 October 1936. He received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan on 16 January 1960....
, who currently serves as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore is an archdiocese in Punjab, Pakistan.-History:It was founded as a diocese on 1 September 1886, having previously been the Vicariate of Punjab. On 23 April 1994 the diocese was elevated to the rank of Archdiocese. Fr...
, called for the arrest of the Jones. Saldanha said Jones' burning of the Qu'ran has caused scandal and fury in the Muslim world and the deaths of more than 20 people. Archbishop Saldanha said the U.S. government should detain Jones.
United States
United States PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
strongly condemned both the Quran burning, calling it an act of "extreme intolerance and bigotry", and the "outrageous" attacks by protesters, referring to them as "an affront to human decency and dignity". "No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act." U.S. legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, also condemned both the burning and the subsequent violence .
Gen. David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
said, "This was a surprise". He said in an interview with ABC News, "That action was hateful; it was intolerant".
Retaliations
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, an Islamic organization called Scholars for Truth turned to the country's courts to prevent a fellow-Muslim from burning Bibles in retaliation to threats by Jones to burn the Quran. In Pakistan, a 24 year old man desecrated the Bible at the gates of Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church
St. Anthony's Church, Lahore
St. Anthony's Church, Lahore, 270 kilometers southeast of Islamabad, was consecrated in 1899 and is one of the oldest churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan. It was formerly called the "Railway Church"....
in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
to "avenge" Jones’ desecration of the Quran in Florida. He was arrested by Pakistani police. In Iran however, an affiliate website of Iran's Revolution Guard Cyber Defense Command quoted a report by the newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz that claimed Iranian border patrols burning copies of "smuggled" Bibles in Iran.
See also
- 2008 Eucharist incident
- Book burningBook burningBook burning, biblioclasm or libricide is the practice of destroying, often ceremoniously, books or other written material and media. In modern times, other forms of media, such as phonograph records, video tapes, and CDs have also been ceremoniously burned, torched, or shredded...
- Criticism of IslamCriticism of IslamCriticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
- Freedom of speech in the United StatesFreedom of speech in the United StatesFreedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws, with the exception of obscenity, defamation, incitement to riot, and fighting words, as well as harassment, privileged...
- IslamophobiaIslamophobiaIslamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
- Pfefferkorn controversy, a 16th century plot to seize and burn copies of the Talmud from Jews
- Koran desecration controversy of 2005
External links
- Muslim Community Organizes Vigils, Teach-Ins to Counter Planned Quran Burning – video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
, September 8, 2010
Terry Jones
- Stand Up America (Terry Jones's political group) (Terry Jones)
- Koran-Burning Preacher Terry Jones and Rush Limbaugh: Class of 69, Cape Central High School Girardeau History and Photos