Koran-burning pastor defiant

Religious students reading the Koran in a religious school in Peshawar, Afghanistan (File photo: 5 June 2005)

An evangelical pastor insisted his plans for a mass torching of the Koran would go ahead after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the “disgraceful” burning ceremony in Florida.
Clinton was the most senior US official to speak out against the torching scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, saying she was “heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths.”
The White House also added its voice to warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.
“It puts our troops in harm’s way. And obviously any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm’s way would be a concern to this administration,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
He was reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who warned burning the holy book of Islam would provide propaganda for insurgents.
“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” said Petraeus of the plan, adding that it could cause significant problems “everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”
The European Union said yesterday it roundly “condemns” plans for a mass burning of the Koran in Florida.
“The High Representative respects all kinds of religious beliefs and this is not the right way to go,”a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton told reporters in Brussels.
But authorities have their hands tied unless the pastor, Terry Jones, actually sets fire to the Muslim holy book on Saturday at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, as vowed.
 “We are taking his concerns very seriously,” pastor Terry Jones told CNN late Tuesday, referring to Petraeus, but “we right now have plans to continue.”
Although the fire authorities turned down an application a few weeks ago from Jones to hold the open-air burning ceremony, police cannot intervene until they actually light the 200 Korans.
Even then, no arrests would be made as contravening local ordinances is only a misdemeanor, and citations – fines and warnings – are issued in such cases.
The move comes against a backdrop of Islamophobia driven by plans to build an Islamic cultural center in New York close to Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Center stood before it was destroyed in the 2001 attacks.
US Attorney General Eric Holder met religious leaders to discuss ways of stemming the anti-Islam tide, with calls from the broad coalition of faiths to make a strong speech condemning hate crimes.
Muslim Advocates executive director Farhana Khera said after the meeting that Holder had described the Koran-burning plan as “idiotic and dangerous,” but regretted the ceremony itself was not a violation of federal law.
Saturday’s anniversary is set to coincide with festivities for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting for nearly 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.