A TOP official at Cairo’s Al-Azhar university is warning that a Florida church’s plan to burn copies of the Koran risks destroying ties.
“If the government fails to stop this, this will be the latest manifestation of religious terrorism, and it would ruin America’s relations with the Muslim world,” said Sheikh Abdel Muti al-Bayyumi. “This will give an opportunity to terrorism. Are they trying to fight terrorism or encourage it?” he sked.
The Dove World Outreach Centre, a small church in Gainesville, Florida, has vowed to mark Saturday’s ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks by burning Korans to remember the almost 3000 people killed by al-Qaeda hijackers.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has denounced the plans of the church’s pastor, Terry Jones, as “disgraceful.” The White House also added its voice to warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.
But Pastor Jones said the mass torching of the Koran will go ahead, despite the concerns, telling CNN “we right now have plans to continue.” Although the fire authorities turned down an application a few weeks ago from Mr Jones to hold the open-air burning ceremony, police cannot intervene until they actually light the 200 Korans.
Even then, no arrests would be made as contravening local ordinances is only a misdemeanour, and citations – fines and warnings – are issued in such cases. Pastor Jones said the Koran torching aimed “to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11,” and to send a warning “to the radical element of Islam.”
The move comes against a backdrop of Islamophobia driven by plans to build an Islamic cultural centre in New York close to Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Centre stood before it was destroyed in the 2001 attacks.
US Attorney General Eric Holder met religious leaders to discuss ways of stemming the anti-Islam tide, with calls from the broad coalition of faiths to make a strong speech condemning hate crimes.
Muslim Advocates executive director Farhana Khera said after the meeting that Holder had described the Koran-burning plan as “idiotic and dangerous,” but regretted the ceremony itself was not a violation of federal law.
Saturday’s anniversary is set to coincide with festivities for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting for nearly 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. “Instead of us being blamed for what other people will do or might do, why don’t we send a warning to them?” the pastor said.
There have already been protests in the Afghan capital Kabul and in Indonesia – the world’s largest Muslim-majority country – against his plans while Iran has warned it could unleash an uncontrolled Muslim response.
It was from Cairo that Obama gave a keynote address to world Muslims in June 2009, seeking to end a sharp downturn in US relations with the Islamic world during the administration of his predecessor George W Bush.
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