A declaration by a small group and a world wide chaos – it all gained notice when the pastor Terry Jones and his wife Sylvia decided to burn the Holy Qur’an. The couple heads 50 member Church in the Gainesville, Florida named Dove World Outreach Centre. The Church is known for its Islam and Gay criticism. Jones announced that the Church would burn the Qur’an in order to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 bomb blasts.
Terry Jones also founded and led a Church named Christliche Gemeinde Köln (CGK), in the Cologne, Germany. However, the Gainesville Sun reported that he left the Church in Germany after being accused of fraud and he was also fined by the Cologne Court for illegally using the title ‘doctor’. A leader of the Cologne church said “He (Jones) didn’t project the biblical values and Christianity, but always made himself the center of everything.” The CGK closed down after the departure of Jones and re-opened under a new leadership.
Before the declaration to burn the Qur’an the Church has been into many anti-Islamic activities as well. In 2009, Dove World posted a lawn sign which stated in large red letters “Islam is of the Devil”. This obviously ignited a lot of protests by the activists and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Soon after the Church put up this sign, CAIR came up with another sign that read: “Koran 9:5 Kill the disbelievers wherever you find them.” As for the International Burn a Koran Day, the announcement was made by the Church in July, 2010. The Church members decided to burn hundreds of copies of Qur’an to mark the protest against the 9/11 attacks. However, Jones admitted that he did not read the Qur’an but defended himself by saying that the Qur’an is “full of lies”. As this started gaining awareness through the media, hundreds of protests and condemnations began. Jones attracted fans and critics on the social networking sites and he mentioned that he has received death threats since the day he announced this event. On the other hand, on September 8, 2010, Rackspace, the provider of hosting service to Dove World Outreach website, withdrew its services stating that it was a ‘contract issue’ and not a ‘constitutional issue’.
Criticisms spread in abundance, not only on local levels but at the international levels. Religious leaders got together and organized Peace Rallies and Gatherings as “Interfaith Solidarity Day” declaration. President Barack Obama too feared the planned burnings as “a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda” that could result in serious violence. This was supported by the words of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people, can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world’s attention”.
In spite of all these international condemnation and personal threats, Jones said he would not “back down because of fear.”
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Aditi Rindani 