Message #5345

[wbcoleman]

When hate groups in our country stir up others around the world because of culture, race or religion it affects all of us. The death of any American that is caused by our hate and bigotry must also be held responsible as those who killed an American. Unless we find away to stop this kind of hate without losing our freedoms, we will be doomed to suffer many more consequences of their actions. To me it's like yelling fire in a crowed theater and there is no fire and people die trying to get out. I think any church or group that spews this kind of hate and bigotry we at least should take away any of their tax advantages because I as a citizen do not want my taxes going to people who promote hate and bigotry. kentay 


Interfaith group condemns plans to burn Quran on 9/11, denounces 'bigotry'
 
Afghans burn an effigy of Dove World Outreach Center's pastor Terry Jones during a demonstration against the United States in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday to protest his plans to burn Qurans on 9/11.
CAPTION By Musadeq Sadeq, AP



An interfaith summit of Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders today responded to plans by a Florida church to burn Qurans on 9/11 by condemning "outright bigotry" that they said undermined religious freedom in America.

Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, in Gainesville, Fla., that is planning the event, says he will go ahead with it, despite a warning from Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, that it could endanger U.S. troops.
 


"We are definitely weighing the situation," Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., tells CNN today. "We are weighing the thing we are about to do, what it possibly could cause, what is our actual message, what we are trying to get across. How important is that now."

Petraeus said in his statement the actions by the 50-member church "could endanger troops, and it could endanger the overall effort."

Update at 1:12 p.m. ET: An interfaith summit of Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders issued a joint statement today denouncing "outright bigotry directed against America's Muslim community."

"To attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all America," the statement said.
The group specifically condemned the plan to burn Qurans as a "particularly egregious offense that demands the strongest possible condemnation of all who value civility in public life and seek to honor the memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11."

"Silence is not an option," the statement said. "Only by taking this stand can spiritual leaders fulfill the highest callings of our respective faiths."

Our colleagues at Faith & Reason have details on the interfaith gathering.

Update at 12:52 p.m. ET: Endorsing Petraeus' comments, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today that "it puts our troops in harm's way."

Update at 12:27 p.m. ET: Jones tells the AP in an interview that he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip.

Update at 12:07 p.m. ET: FBI agents have visited the church to talk about their concerns for Jones' safety, as multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as either a hero or a dangerous pariah, the AP reports.

Earlier posting: Gainesville police plan to set up a checkpoint at streets around the church on Saturday to check driver's licenses and maintain a heightened police presence, The Gainesville Sun reports. The three-hour protest is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET

But Jones says the protest aimed at radical Islam is still on. "Once in awhile, you see that in the Bible, there are instances where enough is enough and you stand up," Jones tells CNN.

This comes a day after someone in Gainesville scrawled the word "Nazis" on a sign erected near an Islamic center announcing "International Burn A Koran Day," The Sun reports.

The newspaper says a man has turned himself in for the act, but police are trying to contact the owner of the property before pressing charges.

At a protest Monday in Kabul, several hundred Afghans rallied outside a Kabul mosque, burning American flags and an effigy of Dove World's pastor and chanting "death to America."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/09/florida-pastor-still-plans-a-burn-a-quran-protest-on-911-despite-warnings-by-petraeus/1

IMHO Afghanis who burn Terry Jones in effigy are completely within their rights and are responding to an exercise of free speech with another exercise of free speech.  That is entirely proper and desirable.  But attacking the U.S. embassy, destroying property and causing bodily harm to U.S. personnel, that's something else entirely.  I am flummoxed that anyone should disagree with me on this.