Algeria ordered thousands of Koran books whose covers bear a Jewish symbol to be removed from shelves, on a day in which an American pastor relinquished his plan to burn the holy Muslim testament.

Algerians who had already purchased the books decorated with a Star of David were urged to return them to stores in exchange for another Koran or their money back.

According to the Algerian government, the symbol on the cover "is not in keeping with the general ethics of the state".

The United Arab Emirates-based Al-Bayan quoted an official from the Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs as saying that a private businessman had imported the books from Egypt, and that censoring authorities were accusing him of "disrupting public order".

Members of parliament also expressed outrage, placing blame on the religious affairs minister and threatening to outlaw individual importation of the holy book.