Family Life

09.08.10 | FL News Team

(Gainesville, FL)  --  The head of Dove World Outreach Center says his church's plan to burn copies of the Koran on September 11th will serve as a warning to Islam's radical element.  General David Petraeus has warned that doing so could endanger the lives of American soldiers in Afghanistan and other countries.

Pastor Terry Jones says while he and others at Dove World Outreach are praying about that, they still plan to burn the Koran to warn people about the dangers of radical Islam.  He says it's important to show force and determination against those who threaten the United States.  A message on the Dove World Outreach website says, "the world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam."

American Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are denouncing what they called the "anti-Muslim frenzy" gripping the U.S.  They issued a statement blasting a planned burning of the Koran on Saturday, as well as last month's protests against the so-called Ground Zero mosque.  The heads of such groups as the National Council of Churches and the Union of Reform Judaism, and Washington Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, held a news conference at the National Press Club.  They said "outright bigotry" against Muslims "does violence to the religious freedom of all Americans."