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| Jones and his crackpot campaign |
aNt's aNgle:
All eyes are on a tiny and once insignificant church in Florida in the USA today that unexpectedly and quite outrageously shot to fame within only a few days when they declared that they would burn copies of the Koran this weekend.
They're doing this today to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York, they say.
The pastor of the church of around 50-members, Terry Jones, says the bonfire is another way to counter terrorism against America.
The preacher is clearly a nutcase. It is people like him - with the beliefs he stands for - that is a threat to world peace and harmony which ALL religions of the world preach and aspire for.
The story reminds me of the time when I was in San Francisco during the late eighties.
I was in another small church where communion was being served.
Just before the sacrament, the pastor announced - to my horror - that none of the congregation need worry about getting AIDS through the ceremony.
He said that was because the bread in the church were prepared and made by the members themselves "and not from sinners outside."
Needless to say, I never set my wheels in that church again.
Another American in San Diego was shocked when I mentioned the word "Hindu" to him.
"What's that?" he asked. He was totally shocked of the existence of any other religion outside Christianity.
Hey, let's not only blame America when it comes to fanaticism like this.
I've come across pockets of fundamental thinking like these too in Malaysia where believers think that Christianity is supreme when compared to other religions.
I suppose it is okay to think that way as a personal opinion and belief.
However, it is certainly NOT OKAY to spread the gospel of hate and intolerance amongst others.
Let's never forget Muslims also died in 9/11, along with believers from other faiths.
They also risked their lives by harboring Christians during the crusade era. That surely speaks of tremendous love and sacrifice from Muslims.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this subject if you care to share them.
Thanks!
PET+BLOGSPOT
10 September 2010 Last updated at 11:49 GMT BBC ONLINE
Koran protests sweep Afghanistan
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Three people were shot when a protest near a Nato base in the north-east of the country turned violent.
President Hamid Karzai said the stunt had been an insult to Islam, while Indonesia's president said it threatened world peace.
Pastor Terry Jones told US breakfast TV he currently had no plans to do it.
Many of Friday's protests in Afghanistan were held after worshippers emerged from mosques, following Eid prayers marking the end of Ramadan.
Demonstrators burned a US flag and chanted "Death to Christians".
In Badakhshan's provincial capital Faizabad, 1,500 people took to the streets, the police chief told the BBC.
About 150 people took part in another protest in the city, throwing rocks and attempting to climb the walls of a Nato facility where German soldiers are based.
Demonstrations were reported, too, on Friday in the northern provinces of Baghlan, Kunduz and Balkh. Afghanistan has 34 provinces.
There have also been major rallies in Kabul over the past week.
Witnesses said the protesters voiced anger that the US government had not banned the Koran bonfire.
Mr Jones, pastor of the previously little-known Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, announced on Thursday that he was putting on hold his plan for an "International Burn a Koran Day".
In an Eid message, President Karzai said: "We have heard that in the US, a pastor has decided to insult Korans. Now although we have heard that they are not doing this, we tell them they should not even think of it.
"By burning the Koran, they cannot harm it. The Koran is in the hearts and minds of one-and-a-half billion people. Insulting the Koran is an insult to nations."
The president of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, warned in a nationally televised address on Friday that Mr Jones's plan threatened world peace.
In a speech marking the end of Ramadan, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said: "I'm of course aware of the reported cancellation of the deplorable act by Terry Jones. However, none of us can be complacent until such a despicable idea is totally extinguished."
On Thursday, Mr Jones told reporters he had spent days waiting for a sign from God to cancel his Koran burning.
But those behind the cultural centre denied that they had ever spoken to the Orlando-based imam or Mr Jones, who then accused the cleric of having lied.
Imam Muhammad Musri, from the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said he had only agreed to fly to New York with Mr Jones on Saturday and speak with the leaders of the Islamic centre project.
Mr Jones - whose plan has been widely condemned by religious and political leaders worldwide - was visited by the FBI a number of times on Thursday.
The top US general in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, warned earlier this week that the lives of Americans serving abroad would be endangered if the Koran burning went ahead.
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President Karzai: "The Koran is in the hearts and minds of nearly 1,400 million Muslims"
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Afghanistan over plans, now on hold, by a small Florida church to burn copies of the Koran.
Three people were shot when a protest near a Nato base in the north-east of the country turned violent.
President Hamid Karzai said the stunt had been an insult to Islam, while Indonesia's president said it threatened world peace.
Pastor Terry Jones told US breakfast TV he currently had no plans to do it.
President Barack Obama had warned it would be an al-Qaeda "recruitment bonanza", while Defence Secretary Robert Gates asked the pastor to cancel the protest.
Many of Friday's protests in Afghanistan were held after worshippers emerged from mosques, following Eid prayers marking the end of Ramadan.
Demonstrators burned a US flag and chanted "Death to Christians".
In Badakhshan's provincial capital Faizabad, 1,500 people took to the streets, the police chief told the BBC.
About 150 people took part in another protest in the city, throwing rocks and attempting to climb the walls of a Nato facility where German soldiers are based.
Private security guards opened fire wounding three people, said the police chief.
Rallies were also held in Nimruz's provincial capital Zaranj; the province of Kunar, in Khas Kunar district; Nangarhar province, in the Khewa district; and the Tagab district of Parwan province, just north of Kabul.Demonstrations were reported, too, on Friday in the northern provinces of Baghlan, Kunduz and Balkh. Afghanistan has 34 provinces.
There have also been major rallies in Kabul over the past week.
Witnesses said the protesters voiced anger that the US government had not banned the Koran bonfire.
Mr Jones, pastor of the previously little-known Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, announced on Thursday that he was putting on hold his plan for an "International Burn a Koran Day".
In an Eid message, President Karzai said: "We have heard that in the US, a pastor has decided to insult Korans. Now although we have heard that they are not doing this, we tell them they should not even think of it.
The president of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, warned in a nationally televised address on Friday that Mr Jones's plan threatened world peace.
In a speech marking the end of Ramadan, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said: "I'm of course aware of the reported cancellation of the deplorable act by Terry Jones. However, none of us can be complacent until such a despicable idea is totally extinguished."
On Thursday, Mr Jones told reporters he had spent days waiting for a sign from God to cancel his Koran burning.
Controversy timeline
- July Terry Jones announces his church in Gainesville, Florida, will stage International Burn a Koran Day. National Association of Evangelicals asks the church to call off the event
- 18 August Gainesville Fire Rescue denies Mr Jones a fire permit, saying the church will be fined if it goes ahead.
- 6 September Top US commander in Afghanistan Gen David Petraeus warns that burning could put troops' lives will be in danger
- 8 September Vatican condemns bonfire plans as "outrageous"
- 9 September US President Barack Obama joins international condemnation. Mr Jones then says he has cancelled the burning, before saying it is only suspended.
This had come, he said, in the form of a deal with a Florida imam to relocate a controversial Islamic cultural centre due to be built near Ground Zero in New York.
But those behind the cultural centre denied that they had ever spoken to the Orlando-based imam or Mr Jones, who then accused the cleric of having lied.
Imam Muhammad Musri, from the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said he had only agreed to fly to New York with Mr Jones on Saturday and speak with the leaders of the Islamic centre project.
Mr Jones - whose plan has been widely condemned by religious and political leaders worldwide - was visited by the FBI a number of times on Thursday.
The top US general in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, warned earlier this week that the lives of Americans serving abroad would be endangered if the Koran burning went ahead.
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From other news sites
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Sky News Three Protesters Shot In Koran Burning Row 31 mins ago
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Reuters UK Thousands of Afghans protest U.S. Koran-burning plan 1 hr ago
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Telegraph Koran burning protests claim first victim in Afghanistan 1 hr ago
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Guardian.co.uk Qur'an burning: Afghan protester shot dead 1 hr ago
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Financial Times* Pastor threatens u-turn over Koran burning 3 hrs ago
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