Petraeus Warns Koran Burning Endangers Troops, Church Fires Back
September 8th, 2010 - 1:37 am ICT by Angela Kaye MasonSep 7 (THAINDIAN NEWS) When a church in Florida announced plans to hold a “Quran burning ceremony”, top United States and NATO commander General David Petraeus voiced a warning that burning copies of the Muslim’s Holy book could bring more danger to US troops both in America and worldwide, and could also endanger American citizens.
The Florida-based ‘Dove World Outreach Center’ in Gainesville, Florida has decided to burn copies of the Quran in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America by a radical group of Muslims. Hundreds of Afghans launched protests trying to stop the upcoming event.
General Petraeus stated, “Images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence,” in an email to the ‘Associated Press’. General William Caldwell stated to ‘CNN’, “What I will tell you is that their very actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of the young men and women who are serving in uniform over here and also undermine the very mission that we’re trying to accomplish.”
But the church, which has distributed t-shirts that read “Islam is of the Devil”, the same title as a book by their pastor, still plans to go through with the event even after their permit for a bonfire was denied. The Pastor, Terry Jones stated, “We feel that it is 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. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats. It is time for America to return to being America.”
On Saturday, 3000 Muslims protested in a march through the capital of Indonesia and five other cities, holding up signs in front of the US Embassy which read, “Jihad to Protect Koran” and “You Burn Qu’rn, You Burn in Hell”. Although many Americans are surprised the the actions of one small church, with 50 members could be construed as the opinion of the entire country, the danger seems to be a very real threat.
The two videos embedded below show Pastor Terry Jones and General Caldwell’s views on the Quran burning.
- Americans Stand Against Small 50 Member Church Burning the Quran - Sep 09, 2010
- US commander in Afghanistan asks church not to burn Quran - Sep 07, 2010
- Condemnation of planned Qur'an burning in Florida grows - Sep 08, 2010
- Gen. Petraeus warns US church plans to burn Koran on 9/11 will hit Afghan campaign - Sep 07, 2010
- Dove World Outreach Church To Go Ahead With Qur'an Burning Plan - Sep 08, 2010
- Crusade against Muslims costs 'Ground Zero' Koran-burning pastor his flock - Nov 17, 2010
- Fla. church adamant on burning Korans on 9/11 despite widespread outrage - Sep 08, 2010
- US pastor 'seriously considering not burning Quran' (Intro Nightlead) - Sep 10, 2010
- US pastor rethinking on cancelling Quran burning (Third Lead) - Sep 10, 2010
- Iran thanks Pope for condemning Quran burning plan - Oct 08, 2010
- Hillary Clinton condemns Koran burning plan; pastor adamant - Sep 08, 2010
- Pak editorial says pastor Quran burning as sacrilegious as Muslims desecrating temples - Sep 11, 2010
- BJP's Hussain condemns US pastor's Quran burning move - Sep 10, 2010
- Man arrested in England for allegedly burning Koran - Jan 21, 2011
- Quran burning 'outrageous', says Vatican - Sep 08, 2010
Tags: american citizens, associated press, bonfire, capital of indonesia, church fires, cnn, commander general, david petraeus, gainesville florida, general david petraeus, general petraeus, nato commander, radical element, radical group, september 11 attacks, september 11 attacks on america, terry jones, us embassy, william caldwell, world outreach center