'We are still determined': U.S. pastor vows to carry out Burn-a-Koran day on Sept 11 despite death threats

Hillary Clinton: Act is 'disrespectful and disgraceful'

Gen Petraeus: 'It will spark war against all Christians'



Defiant: Pastor Terry Jones vowed to continue his Burn-A-Koran Day event

The leader of a tiny U.S. church said yesterday that he will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of September 11.



The Rev Terry Jones has been advised by the senior U.S. leader in Afghanistan, General David Petaeus, that the stunt would put American soldiers lives at greater risk and provide propaganda for the Taliban.



But Rev Jones, who claims to have received more than 100 death threats and has begun carrying a pistol for his own protection, today held a press conference to announce that he will not back down in the face of military, political or moral pressure.



'As you can imagine we have come under very much pressure in the direction of cancelling the event,' said the minister, whose church has fewer than 100.

'But as of this time we have no intention of cancelling.



'We have also, which is something the news media has missed, received quite a lot of support.



'We understand General Petraeus's concern and we are still considering it.

'But as of now we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing to do.



'So we will continue with our planned event '

Rev Jones also met with Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, who later told reporters he does not hold a grudge against the Gainesville pastor.



Rev Jones, 58, said in July he would stage an 'international Burn-a-Koran Day' at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.

But supporters have been posting copies of the Koran for him to put on a bonfire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks and he is now in possession of 200 copies of the religious text.

Rev Jones refusal to back down comes after an American teacher working in Afghanistan warned Mr Jones that his life is in danger because of the stunt.

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No grudge: Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, addresses reporters after meeting with Rev Jones

Condemnation: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks against the church's plans, echoing the words of General David Petraeus

The unnamed lecturer wrote an impassioned email at the weekend describing 'boisterous protesters' condemning the pastor outside his classroom, according to the New York Times.

'Your actions endanger my life,' he wrote.

However, Rev Jones claimed he is even prepared to die for his cause and said: 'It's something we need to do. It's a message we need to send.

'We are prepared to give our lives for this.'



The lecturer's email arrived as Hillary Clinton joined in mounting criticism of Mr Jones' Dove World Outreach Centre.

The U.S. Secretary of State told a religious meeting in Washington that the stunt was 'disrespectful' and 'disgraceful'.



Mrs Clinton said: 'I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths.

'Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.

'Many of you know that in 1790, George Washington wrote to a synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, that this country will give "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance".'



Fury: Muslim protesters burn a portrait of the Rev Terry Jones as well as effigies draped in the U.S. flag in Kabul, Afghanistan

Protest: Muslims in Indonesia make their voice heard by chanting slogans and carrying home-made placards

But Mr Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders including the Vatican which denounced the event as 'an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community.'

Mr Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devil's religion, said the U.S. Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God.

General David Petraeus warned that 'images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan - and around the world - to inflame public opinion and incite violence'.

In a rare example of a military commander taking a position on a domestic political matter, Gen Petraeus said that the stunt would put troops' lives at risk.

U.S. FIRST AMENDMENT

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution will cover the Rev Terry Jones, in the same way it allows the Ku Klux Klan to burn crosses and for protesters to torch the American flag.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear in several landmark rulings that speech deemed offensive to many people, even a majority, cannot be suppressed by the government unless it is clearly directed to intimidate someone or incite violence.

Muslims consider the Koran the sacred word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect.

Yet under U.S. court decisions, burning Korans to make a point probably isn't illegal.

One applicable Supreme Court ruling came in 1989, when the justices struck down laws in 48 states that prohibited desecration of the U.S. flag.

That case grew out of flag-burning by otherwise non-violent demonstrators outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas.

He told The Times: 'I am very concerned by the potential repercussions of the possible Koran burning.

'It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems not just here but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.'



Mr Jones responded that he is also concerned but is 'wondering, 'When do we stop'?'

He refused to cancel the protest set for Saturday in Gainesville Florida.

'How much do we back down? How many times do we back down?' Mr Jones said.

'Instead of us backing down, maybe it's to time to stand up. Maybe it's time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behaviour.'

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration hoped Americans would stand up and condemn the church's plan.

'We think that these are provocative acts,' Mr Crowley said. '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.'

Enayatullah Balegh, a member of Afghanistan's influential Ulema Council of Islamic Scholars, said: 'If they burn our holy Koran it means war between Muslims and non-Muslims.

'Afghanistan will not be the only country to react, but all Islamic countries all over the world will stand and fight against non-Islamic countries.'



Meeting with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning both idiotic and dangerous, according to a Justice Department official.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs echoed the concerns raised by Mr Petraeus. 'Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration,' Mr Gibbs told reporters.

Mr Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-calibre pistol strapped to his hip.

He said the death threats started not long after he proclaimed in July that he would stage International Burn-a-Koran Day.

Defiant: The Reverend Terry Jones outside his church with a sign advertising his September 11 book-burning protest

Supporters were posting copies of the Islamic holy text to his church to be incinerated in a bonfire.

But according to the New York Times a grassroots movement opposing the burning has sprung up around the Gainesville church.



Clergy members, academics and local politicians have planned nearly a dozen events to counter the plan.



On Saturday, hundreds of local residents and visitors are expected to rally against Mr Jones.



Larry Reimer, a local pastor, told the Times: 'He represents only 30 people in this town.



'It needs to get out somehow to the rest of the world that this isn’t the face of Christianity.'



Mr Jones gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church declaring 'Islam is of the Devil'.

Holy book: The church, led by Terry Jones, wants to burn copies of the Koran, left. The pastor has written a book criticising Islam, right

He later released a book of the same title, purporting to show how the religion is violent and intolerant by examining verses of the Koran.

An FBI intelligence report from last month warned that the Burn a Koran Day event could trigger repercussions for those taking part.



In 2005, 15 people died and scores were wounded in riots in Afghanistan sparked by a story in Newsweek magazine alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention centre in Guantanamo Bay placed copies of the holy book in wash rooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk.



Newsweek later retracted the story.



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

Members of the crowd briefly pelted a passing U.S. military convoy with stones, but were ordered to stop by rally organizers.



Two days earlier, thousands of Indonesian Muslims had rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and in five other cities to protest the church's plans.

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