According to the BBC, the top US commander in Afghanistan warned that troops’ lives would be in danger if the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida went ahead.
And the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, says the church’s plan is “idiotic and dangerous”.
Pastor Jones: Defiant in the face of international condemnation of his koran-burning plan
Despite having a congregation of just 50, the plans of the church in Gainesville have gained worldwide notoriety, sparking demonstrations in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said on Monday that the action could cause problems:
Not just in Kabul, but everywhere in the world. It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems.
The Vatican, the Obama administration and Nato have also expressed concern over the plan.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday that:
Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm’s way would be a concern.
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen blasted the plans, telling reporters that burning Korans violated the Nato alliance’s “values”.
The loopy Pastor Terry Jones – organiser of the burning and author of a book entitled Islam is of the Devil – has said he understands the general’s concerns but that it was:
Time for America to quit apologizing for our actions and bowing to kings. We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam.
Another pastor at the church told the BBC that members intended to burn several hundred copies of the holy book on Saturday evening, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in defiance of an order by the city not to hold an open air bonfire.
A group of Muslims protested outside the US Embassy in Indonesia, outraged by the Florida church's plans to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.
In Kabul on Monday, about 500 protesters chanted “long live Islam” and “death to America” as they set fire to an effigy of Jones.
The role of Islam in America has become a hot button issue with social and political implications.
While most Americans would probably take issue with exhortations to burn the Koran, there is clearly widespread concern about the influence of Islam.
Protests over the planned location of an Islamic centre close to Ground Zero in New York, and similar controversy in Murfreesboro, Tennessee have highlighted popular anxiety about Islam in America.
Earlier this year, an opinion poll found that 53 percent of Americans view Islam unfavourably, with only 42 percent viewing the religion favourably.
Reports about young American Muslims being radicalised on the internet have helped to stoke fears about the nature of a religion indelibly associated, since 9/11, with a violent assault on the US.
Far from subsiding over time, anxiety seems to have deepened. As a result, American Muslims say they feel more isolated than at any time since the 2001 attacks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment