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Jones Says He Won't Burn Quran 09/10 07:19
As thousands of Afghans protested a tiny Florida church's plan to burn the
Muslim holy book, the church's pastor said he won't follow through on the plan
if he's able to meet Saturday with the organizers behind a mosque planned near
ground zero in New York.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- As thousands of Afghans protested a tiny Florida
church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book, the church's pastor said he won't
follow through on the plan if he's able to meet Saturday with the organizers
behind a mosque planned near ground zero in New York.
In Afghanistan, at least 11 people were injured Friday in protests.
Police in the northern province of Badakhshan say several hundred
demonstrators ran toward a NATO compound where four attackers and five police
were injured in clashes. Protesters also burned an American flag at a mosque
after Friday prayers.
In western Farah province, police said two people were injured in another
protest.
Speaking to NBC's "Today" show, the Rev. Terry Jones said if he meets with
the imam in New York, he won't burn the Quran. It wasn't clear if he meant the
burning would be halted indefinitely or just for Saturday.
Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central
Florida, told CBS' "The Early Show" he had a commitment for Jones and himself
to meet in New York with the imam there.
Earlier, Jones and Musri had disagreed sharply on the terms of the agreement.
Jones said Thursday he would call off the planned burning of Qurans based on
a deal negotiated with the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida
that the location of a mosque planned near ground zero in New York would be
changed.
But Musri said he was clear on Thursday when he told Jones that he could
only set up a meeting with planners of the New York City mosque, whose leader
said he had spoken to neither the pastor nor Musri. Jones responded by opening
the door, if only a crack, that he would go forward with his plan on Saturday.
"We are just really shocked," Jones said of Musri. "He clearly, clearly lied
to us."
For U.S. political leaders and Muslims around the world who have been
outraged by Jones' antics, the on-again, off-again threat bred even more angst
and frustration.
Cleric Rusli Hasbi told 1,000 worshippers attending Friday morning prayers
in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, that whether or not he
burns the Quran, Jones had already "hurt the heart of the Muslim world."
"If he'd gone through with it, it would have been tantamount to war," the
cleric said in the coastal town of Lhokseumawe. "A war that would have rallied
Muslims all over the world."
Muslims consider the book the sacred word of God and insist it be treated
with the utmost respect.
In Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of U.S. troops are in harm's way,
President Hamid Karzai said he heard Jones had perhaps abandoned his
Quran-burning plan.
"The holy book is implanted in the hearts and minds of all the Muslims,"
Karzai said. "Humiliation of the holy book represents the humiliation of our
people. I hope that this decision will be stopped and should never have been
considered."
Jones announced earlier Thursday --- with Musri at his side --- that they
had a bargain and that he would call off the Quran-burning. Later he accused
Musri of lying and said the burning was only suspended, not canceled.
Musri, countered that Jones wasn't confused or misled and that "after we
stepped out in front of the cameras, he stretched my words" about the
agreement. The imam in charge of the New York Islamic center and mosque project
also quickly denied any deal was made.
Musri said Jones had instead caved into the firestorm of criticism from
around the world and that his announcement might have been a ploy to try to
force Muslim leaders' hand on the Islamic center.
Jones said later that he expected Musri to keep his word and "the imam in
New York to back up one of his own men." Musri said he still plans to go ahead
with the meeting Saturday.
In New York, the Islamic center project leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said
in a statement that he was glad Jones had backed down but that he had spoken to
neither the pastor nor Musri.
"We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to
barter," Rauf said. "We are here to extend our hands to build peace and
harmony."
Opponents argue it is insensitive to families and memories of Sept. 11
victims to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists flew planes into
the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Proponents say the
project reflects religious freedom and diversity and that hatred of Muslims is
fueling the opposition.
Moving the mosque is not why Jones canceled his threat, Musri said. Instead,
he relented under the pressure from political and religious leaders of all
faiths worldwide to halt what President Barack Obama called a "stunt." Musri
said Jones told him the burning "would endanger the troops overseas, Americans
traveling abroad and others around the world."
"That was the real motivation for calling it off," Musri said.
Jones had never invoked the mosque controversy as a reason for his planned
protest at his Dove World Outreach Center. Instead, he cited his belief that
the Quran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and
incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.
Obama urged Jones to listen to "those better angels," saying that besides
endangering lives, it would give Islamic terrorists a recruiting tool. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates took the extraordinary step of calling Jones personally.
Jones' church, which has about 50 members, is independent of any
denomination. It follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy
Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day.
News of the cancellation also was welcomed by Jones' neighbors in
Gainesville, a city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida
campus. At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim
organizations in the city had mobilized to plan inclusive events, including
Quran readings at services, as a counterpoint to Jones' protest.
Jones said at the news conference that he prayed about the decision and
concluded that if the mosque was moved, it would be a sign from God to call off
the Quran burning.
"We are, of course, now against any other group burning Qurans," Jones said.
"We would right now ask no one to burn Qurans. We are absolutely strong on
that. It is not the time to do it."
Despite Jones' words, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
said to a crowd of tens of thousands of Muslim faithful that they had come "to
respond to this criminal, this liar, this crazy priest who reflects a crazy
Western attitude toward Islam and the Muslim nation."
"We came to say, the Quran is our constitution, we are committed to God and
his holy book," he said to those holding the texts in their hands at a stadium
in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. "God willing, should they try to carry out
their crime against the Quran, God will tear their state apart and they will
become God's lesson to anyone who tries to desecrate the holy book."
Part of the pressure exerted on Jones came from Gates who briefly spoke to
the pastor before his first announcement to call it off. Gates expressed "his
grave concern that going forward with this Quran burning would put the lives of
our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Pentagon
spokesman Geoff Morrell.
Morrell said earlier that the decision to issue a personal appeal was not
easy because it could provoke other extremists "who, all they want, is a call
from so-and-so." Earlier, Jones had said if he was contacted by the White House
that he might change his mind. After Gates' call to Jones, Morrell said the
secretary's "fundamental baseline attitude about this is that if that phone
call could save the life of one man or woman in uniform it was a call worth
placing."
(KA)
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