US Fears Planned Holy Quran Burning, Muslims Warn

NATO chief: Please don’t burn the Quran in Florida

"... Rasmussen's comments came just one day after Afghanistan commander Gen. David Petraeus issued a statement criticizing the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, which plans to burn copies of Islam's holy book for 10 reasons they explain on their website. "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Petraeus said...."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 12:28 PM

US Fears Planned Holy Quran Burning, Muslims Warn

07/09/2010 US military commanders in Afghanistan denounced a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the holy Quran on the anniversary of the so-called September 11 attacks.

Two senior US commanders in Afghanistan said on Monday the proposed burning of the Muslim holy book risked undermining President Barack Obama efforts to reach out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims and could endanger American troops’ lives in Afghanistan.

The centre, calling itself a "New Testament, Charismatic, Non-Denominational Church", says it will go ahead with the “torching” of the Quran on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the 2001 attacks against the US.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," Top US military commander David Petraeus said in a statement to US media organizations. "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."

Commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan Lieutenant-General William Caldwell also told CNN that news of the planned Quran burning was already provoking popular anger in Afghanistan.

The US embassy in Kabul said the "United States government in no way condones such acts of disrespect against the religion of Islam, and is deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups".

The warnings come amid angry protests by several hundred people in the Afghan capital, Kabul, who chanted "Death to America" as they condemned the planned burning event by the Dove World Outreach Centre church in Gainesville, Florida.

Iran warned on Tuesday that burning the Quran could lead to an uncontrolled Muslim response. "We advise Western countries to prevent the exploitation of freedom of expression to insult religious sanctities, otherwise the emotions of Muslim nations cannot be controlled," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters.

Mainstream Muslim groups have also denounced the plan and lamented the sentiments promoted by the Gainesville church. Two days earlier, thousands of Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and in five other cities to protest the church's plans.

Several religious organizations have joined with US Muslim groups to oppose the Quran-burning. The National Association of Evangelicals is urging the Florida church to cancel the event, warning it could cause worldwide tension between the two religions.

Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu leaders in Gainesville have organized a 'Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope' the night before the scheduled Quran burning.

With many American Muslims already feeling intense scrutiny over the controversy surrounding a proposed Islamic centre and mosque near New York's ground zero, many mosques and Islamic groups are dramatically altering their usual plans for Eid El-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, CNN said.

In comments broadcast on CNN, Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Centre, said it would be "tragic" if anybody's life was lost as a result of the planned Quran burning. But he said: "Still, I must say that we feel that we must sooner or later stand up to Islam, and if we don't, it's not going to go away."

The church's website says it seeks to "expose Islam" as a "violent and oppressive religion". It displays a sign reading "Islam of the Devil".


Merkel to Honor Cartoonist Who Offended Islam

07/09/2010 Chancellor Angela Merkel will make a speech at an event this week honoring a Danish cartoonist who sparked Muslim anger by depicting the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb as a turban, organizers said.

The German chancellor, 56, will make a speech on press freedom at Wednesday's ceremony in Potsdam, near Berlin, awarding Kurt Westergaard, 75, the M100 Media Prize 2010, organizers said in a statement.

Westergaard drew the most controversial and offensive 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, first published in a Danish newspaper in 2005, which sparked world and Muslims anger.

In 2008, around 20 Danish newspapers reproduced the drawings triggering further protests in Muslim countries including Sudan, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia.

"We Germans are remembering during these months the end of the (East German) dictatorship and the reunification of our country 20 years ago," Merkel was quoted as saying in the organizer s’ statement. "We still know what no freedom means and we should never forget how valuable liberty is. Press freedom is one of the features of a free democracy," said Merkel.

(AFP)


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