Publish date3 Apr 2011 - 11:25
Story Code : 44438

US pastor vows new anti-Islam protest

The extremist American pastor who supervised the burning of a copy of Islam's holy book on March 20 has said he will lead an anti-Islam rally outside the biggest mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, on April 22.
Extremist Florida pastor Terry Jones provoked an international outcry last year after he announced plans to burn copies of the holy Qur
Extremist Florida pastor Terry Jones provoked an international outcry last year after he announced plans to burn copies of the holy Qur'an on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
“Our aim is to make an awareness of the radical element of Islam,” Pastor Terry Jones in Florida told Reuters on Saturday.

On March 20, Jones, who had already caused an outrage worldwide by threatening to burn copies of the Qur'an last September, broke his earlier promise and burned the holy Qur'an after holding a mock trial at his fringe church in the city of Gainesville.

The Quran-burning has led to two days of deadly protests in Afghanistan and stoked anti-Western sentiments in the Muslim world.

Ten foreign workers for the United Nations were killed after a small number of furious protesters stormed the UN headquarters in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

At least ten Afghans were killed and 83 others left wounded in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday, on a second day of violent protests over the desecration of the holy Qur'an.

An attack also hit a NATO military base in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the day after protesters overran the UN mission in Mazar-i-Sharif and killed seven foreign staff.

Unrepentant Jones, a former hotel manager turned pastor who claims the Qur'an incites violence, defiantly vowed to lead the protest in Michigan on April 22.

"We find it very tragic any time that someone is murdered but we do not feel any responsibility for that," he said.

Pakistani people have also taken to the streets in a nationwide move to condemn the desecration of the holy Qur'an in the United States, calling such an act a threat to religious harmony.

US President Barack Obama has tried to calm tensions by denouncing the sacrilege, calling the Quran-burning a show of extreme intolerance and bigotry.
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