Posted on 09/11/2010 8:36:50 AM PDT by Qbert
Florida pastor Terry Jones said Saturday that he would never carry out plans to burn copies of the Quran, according to NBC.
Jones had planned to burn the Muslim holy text on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, but now says he’ll never go through with it.
"We will definitely not burn the Quran, no,” he said in an interview with the “Today” show in New York. “Not today, not ever.”
Jones said he would refrain from Quran-burning even if a proposed Islamic community center and mosque is built near Ground Zero, according to NBC. Jones heads a small church in Gainesville called the Dove World Outreach Center.
The pastor’s plan drew warnings from top military officials and President Barack Obama that burning the Quran would endanger the lives of U.S. service members. Obama criticized the plan during a press conference Friday.
“The idea that we would burn the sacred texts of someone else’s religion is contrary to what this country stands for. It’s contrary to what this country, this nation was founded on,” Obama said. “We’ve got an obligation to send a very clear message that this kind of behavior or threats of action put our young men and women in harm’s way. And it’s also the best imaginable recruiting tool for al Qaeda,” he added.
Jones is seeking a meeting with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who heads the Cordoba Initiative that’s proposing the Islamic center, but said nothing has been set up, according to NBC.
Jones told the network that his goal was to “expose” that there is “very dangerous and very radical” element to Islam, and claimed, “we have definitely accomplished that mission.”
While I didn’t endorse the Pastor’s koran burning program, it is what it is....... that horse has left the barn and for better or worse, the muslims stood their ground and yelled, screamed and threatened us. In their eyes we (not just the pastor) blinked. For them this is a huge victory and will give them more resolve on every other issue including the ground zero mosque.
So what’s the betting line ? Hush money....or...somebody found some pretty cool skeletons hangin out in the closet...
Sounds like the pastor got a talking to by some guys with shades and ear pieces.
i have a feeling he was threatened by not only our government but also some jihadists, look what they did to that artist in Denmark. or wherever it was you know the one related to the famous artist.
melissa
Don’t count out that FBI intimidation. Looks like it worked.
So, how many Bibles and American flags and whatnot have ALREADY been burned in protest against his planned stunt, that he now says he will never carry out?
I’m guessing he was threatened with the IRS.
Or he realized that his church, and everyone in it, would probably become a target for a bomb.
“We won’t be able to assure your safety should you do this.” Not that the FBI ever assures any peasant their safety, mind you.
“So what’s the betting line ? Hush money....or...somebody found some pretty cool skeletons hangin out in the closet...”
A lot of folks are guessing it was either a threat from the Jihadis or the FBI...
IIRC, he said they visited him twice. We are definitely losing this war. The fact this guy backed down is a huge win for the muslims.
According to some articles (search on fbi), the FBI made “several” visits to the pastor’s home. During at least one, he was told that harm might come to him if he burned a Koran. Threat or warning, it might explain this latest report.
Exactly so.
Somebody from “the government” made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Wonder if the pastor received a phone call telling him if you burn the Quran we change your tax status?.
So, how many Koran-burning videos will be posted on Youtube by sundown tonight?
And backing down will insure a lot more deaths than following through would have. A lot more.
Nice, I am totally “borrowing” that :)
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