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US govt slams Quran burning plans
"We think that these acts are provocative, disrespectful, intolerant and divisive," said PJ Crowley.
An Indonesian Muslim holds a placard during a protest outside the US embassy in Jakarta. PHOTO: EPA
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration Wednesday said the decision by a Florida pastor to burn the Holy Quran on September 11 is ‘un-American’ and warned that such actions could endanger US’ interests in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Hoping that the Dove World Outreach Centre pastor would not commit the act which he had announced, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said the US is aware of the adverse implication this would have on Americans overseas civilians, diplomats and the military.
“We think that these are provocative acts, they are disrespectful, they’re intolerant, they’re divisive, and we’re conscious that a number of voices have come out and rejected what this pastor and this community have proposed. We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values. In fact, these actions themselves are un-American,” Crowley said.
“The pastor says that he’s contemplating these actions to combat radicalism. In fact, these actions, if they take place, we hope they don’t, will actually feed radicalism,” he said.
At the same time, Crowley said, people around the world need to also understand that America is not represented by one pastor or his 50 followers. “We are a nation of 300 million people. The vast majority of Americans are standing up this week and saying that these contemplative actions are inappropriate, they’re abhorrent, and this should not happen,” he said.
Arguing that burning the Holy Quran is inconsistent with the values of religious tolerance and religious freedom that are innate to Americans, he said there are far better ways to commemorate 9/11.
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How dumb can this pastor get? Burning Quran to combat radicalism? Our mullahs are Nelson Mandelas compared to this guy.Recommend
Must be American Govt. and Israil support underhand for this, may Almighty spoil all these.Recommend
If a pasture dares to burn Quran hould not be surprised as in Pakistan there are many instances of burning of churches and bible by the so called Muslim Scholars who are actually fanatics.
While condemning the act of burning of Quran we should also have the courage of condemning these acts as wellRecommend
What do you expect them to do after collapsing their towers and building a mosque over it ?Recommend
Here comes another round of “Americans-are-liberals-let-bash-all-Muslims.” America is doomed to fail. Lets see what the Afghani Taliban makes of this. You talk about security of troops in Afghanistan? Well get your taste then!Recommend
US government is slamming the burning of Holy Book. What is the response of Pakistani government? A statement to attack Muslims in Balochistan. How long would Pakistani people wait to overthrow this Zionist establishment of Pakistan and embrace true Islamic theocracy? Just how much violence would be enough for the people to wake up???Recommend
@Najeeb: How is that? Our Mullahs just burnt Christians, churches and bibles in Gojra with several incidents in the past too. Guess where this nut pastor is getting his ideas from. You disrespect others, others doing the same. Simple as that.Recommend
Us government must make sure that burning of holy book of Muslims should not take plce at any cost. Incase if this will happen, the entire Muslim Ummah will hold President Obama responsible for this act.
This will also fuel aniti-American sentiments not only in Pakistan but in the entire Muslim Countries existing on the word map.
US President must make sure to arrest all those people who are at the helm of spoiling US-Muslims relations.Recommend
yes must be israel! only explanationRecommend
Burning Quran is equally as bad and wrong as burning Bible and Churches. Just wanted to point out that in Quran, Jesus son of Mary (May peace be upon him) is mentioned by his name far much more times than Mohammed (Peace be upon him) himself. In Quran the miraculous birth of Jesus is mentioned too. I hope that the Pastor is fully prepared to face God after burning Jesus's name. As a muslim, our faith cannot be completed (i.e. we cannot be muslims) until we believe in all the previously sent Prophets of God, from Adam to Jesus (including Noah, Abraham,Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and others, peace be upon them all). In the end, I think, a true Christian, will never burn Jesus's holy name, just like a real muslim wouldn't. So I believe those going out about burning the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran are infact neither Christians nor Muslims. Peace be on all.
Recommend@Tanzeel .. I assure you I didn’t burn those towers down and neither am I building the mosque but the book represents me just as much and consequently the act disgusts me just as much .. your honour must be dead but not mineRecommend
This Pastor is an embarrassment and has acted contrary to the teachings of Christianity. By his act it shows that he has little understanding of God’s message expressed in Jesus- His message of Love to all. It’s a shame. Nothing can justify this act even if it be due to the persecution of Christians or there places/articles of worship.Recommend
For days now i’ve been reading how the American Government is concerned for its citizens and soldiers in muslim countries. Do they not realize that an action as stupid as burning someone’s holy book, can cause problems for Christians all over the world, whether they are american or not?
I have had friends in the US call the Dove Church in Florida and discuss the repercussions of this world over, but those guys are on a mission, an evil mission to further disrupt what little peace and sanity we have left.
I’m surprised why the CNN and BBC have given him so much attention. If a church with only 200 people can generate this much trouble with their evil plans, then can we not get together and promote something positive and get the same attention?Recommend
Assalam-o-Allaikum Warahmatullah.Such these types of events are happening in the world just due to our disunity and killing the mostly innocent and sinless muslims by the muslims on the name of terrorism and extremism.Now unity has been the time of the hour and we should all be reunited once again to defend ourselves from the enemies of muslims and Islam.If we didn’t show unity and solidarity we shall be killed individually throughout the world as we are being killed now-a-days and the rich muslim states are just silent spectators and only one thing is done,id est,calling emergency meeting by OIC and only passing the condemnation resolution.This is not good enough.Now we should have to take solid steps to stop like such these events in the future.Recommend
In US, they term “burn a copy” means make a copy, I still recall a joke in my business communication book, a CEO ask his PRO to burn a copy of an important document and she put the document on fire, later she learnt that it means to make a copy. What if paster changes his views according to CEO.Recommend
“If they burn a book have no worries……the book will feel NO pain so neither should you! True destruction of Quran cannot be done with fire, it is destroyed when we fail to remember and practice it’s lessons in our daily lives. If this occurs then it is ANOTHER fire that you should truly be concerned about! Rules2Rule!” -Lupe FiascoRecommend
Hey! These Indonesians never protested when terror struck the towers in NY or call them cowards!Recommend
@Ashutosh – so what? You never protested when Muslims were massacred in Gujrat did you?Recommend
We must not give any importance to so called pastor Terry Jones of USA. It is time to look out for our own Terry Jones in Pakistan. A recent blast in Mardan. What about Gojra and so many other worship places which were burnt along with the Holy Books. The houses and inmates burnt alive on annual basis on one pretext or the other. This shows that Terry Jones are readily available in all countries. This stupid pastor surely does not know about the teachings of Jesus Christ. He surely must be a Planted Man to know the reactions of the Muslim world which must be condemned by all the section of the society. It is time to keep very close watch on all Terry Jones where ever they exist. We must all look towards peaceful co-existence and stop patronizing these blood thirsty Terry Jones by excommunicating them from the society.Recommend
@Feryal
I only meant that Indonesians did not protest then when thousands were killed by Islamic terrorist and now they are protesting …. Those were real humans in flash and blood and had relatives and dependents and …uh
It is true I never protested massacre of muslims in Gujarat but then I did not protest the massacre of hundreds of kar sewaks (Hindus), who where locked in a train and the train was set on fire by Muslims at Godra Station in Gujarat. Godra sparked the riots against Muslims friend.
As an Indian, I am ashamed of both Godra and Gujarat. However, India is perusing the Gujarat riots more seriously than Godra because the State Government seems to have been involved killing of Muslims and this is not pardonable.
IF you follow the Gujarat riot case closely, you can see that who the Gujarat CM had not been let off the hook and the riots keep haunting him every now and then. Also the media leaves no opportunity to hit Narendra Modi at this soft spot.Recommend