The Muslim world on Friday heaved a sigh of relief on the occasion of the celebration of end of Ramadan fast as the United States of America pastor, Terry Jones, who threatened to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11, announced that he had put his plans on hold.
Muslim faithful across the world had on Friday observed prayers to mark the end of the 30-day fasting period with bated breath amid fears that their revered book would be desecrated in the US by Jones who had stunned the world in July that his church would hold a Quran burning event to commemorate the attack on his country by an Islamic group known as al-Qaeda.
The pastor’s plan had caused international outrage, with the US president, Barack Obama, saying it would be a “recruitment bonanza” for al-Qaeda.
Jones, who leads a small church with 50 followers, initially said the burning had been cancelled.
He then said it was only suspended because he was “lied to” over a deal to move an Islamic centre in New York.
Thousands of protesters held anti-American rallies across Afghanistan on Friday.
Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, said the Florida church’s plan, if it went ahead, would be an “affront” and insult to all Muslims.
Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, had named Friday “International Burn a Koran Day.”
Jones told reporters he had spent days waiting for a sign from God to cancel the protest, and that the sign had come in the form of a deal with a local imam to relocate a controversial Islamic cultural centre due to be built near Ground Zero in New York.
As a result, he said he was dropping the planned protest and urged his supporters to do the same.
However, those behind the cultural centre denied that they ever spoke to the local imam or Mr Jones.
Mr Jones then said Imam Muhammad Musri had “clearly, clearly lied to us.”
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Posted: at 11-09-2010 10:19 AM (13 years ago) | Addicted Hero |
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