Afghanistan Weekly Digest: Quran Burning. Troop Drawdown. War Tax Calculator. from SOJO 7APR11

THE latest Afghanistan Weekly Digest from SOJO, be sure to check out the war tax calculator......

[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest news and developments related to the war, the U.S. military's strategy, and the people impacted by our decisions. Read more about our campaign at www.sojo.net/afghanistan.]

• Durbin wants troop drawdown in Afghanistan: “Second-ranking democrat in the Senate supports summer drawdown of troops in Afghanistan.”

• What Would You Do With an Extra $70 Billion?: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates has vowed that the days of profligacy are over and that the Pentagon will reform its bloated and often corrupt acquisition process.”

• Taliban has strengthened along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, report finds: “The Taliban insurgency has gained strength in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan in recent months despite a sustained government offensive against it, the Obama administration said in a stark new assessment of the war effort.”

• Afghans continue to denounce Quran burning: “Hundreds of people have taken to Afghanistan’s streets in fresh protests against a Quran burning in the United States, as the UN vowed a deadly attack on its staff would not derail its work.”

• Have you done your taxes yet? In honor of the upcoming tax day, check out this war tax calculator. See how much of your taxes this year will go to the war efforts.

Hannah Lythe is policy and outreach associate at Sojourners.

How American ideals won in Qur'an burning controversy 1OKT10

FREEDOM won this battle because we have the freedom to speak out. We showed the world we stand for the freedom of religion AND free speech, that the two can exist and be practiced without violence. The nations who are promoting this restrictive resolution at the U.N. need to do some serious introspection and consider the lack of basic human rights in their own nations, and accept the International Declaration of Human Rights as passed by the U.N. 


Recently, anti-Muslim incidents in the United States sparked deadly protests in Afghanistan, marches in India and Indonesia, and the burning of Israeli and American flags in Iran and Pakistan. General Petraeus spoke out to remind Americans that actions here in the United States directly impact our ability to achieve our objectives overseas. His message was clear: the world is watching what we do. Fortunately, with the spotlight upon us, we have some positive lessons to share with the rest of the world about what an effective response to bigotry and hate speech looks like. And these lessons are particularly relevant as the UN General Assembly takes up again efforts to establish a global code against blasphemy.

 
  (Pakistani Muslims burn a US flag during a protest in Lahore on September 19, 2010, against earlier threats by US pastor Terry Jones to burn copies of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.)

For over a decade, Pakistan, Egypt and some other predominantly Muslim countries have successfully promoted resolutions at the United Nations which argue that it is necessary to criminalize anti-religious hate speech (or "defamation") in order to protect freedom of religion. It would be tempting to view recent anti-Muslim incidents as evidence of why such legislation is needed.
In reality, criminalizing speech damages rather than advances efforts to combat religious intolerance. Such laws are all too often abused to stifle debate and dissent and can have devastating consequences for those holding religious views that differ from the majority religion. Journalists, bloggers, teachers, students, poets, religious converts and other individuals have been targeted, charged and sentenced to prison or received other punishments simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The response to the aborted Koran burning event demonstrates how non-legal measures can effectively and successfully confront and counteract hatred and intolerance.

For starters, America's leaders got this one right. They affirmed their commitment to tolerance and diversity and ultimately drowned out the hateful rhetoric of an isolated extremist. Political, religious, and other leaders, including President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, General David Petraeus, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and many others presented a clear message and a unified front against the Koran burning.
These high profile messages were joined by the voices of ordinary citizens and local political and religious leaders who successfully worked together to affirm religious solidarity. For example, in Gainesville, Florida more than 20 religious organizations united in hosting a series of interfaith events incorporating Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scriptures into worship services focused on peace and understanding. Members of the Gainesville community were also encouraged to attend a candlelight vigil and Iftar celebrations.

Their efforts ultimately led the Mayor of Gainesville to declare September 11th, the day of the planned Koran burning, as "Interfaith Solidarity Day" in the community. He also issued a statement condemning the "offensive behavior that has been directed at Muslim neighbors and those of the Islamic faith worldwide." Ultimately, they won. The planned "Burn a Koran Day" was cancelled.
Inspired by the success of efforts targeting the proposed Koran burning in Florida, communities and groups throughout the United States confronting similar anti-Muslim incidents have also united in opposition to intolerance.
Restricting speech is not the answer to fighting bigotry and hatred. What we need more of is condemnation of acts of hatred, as well as effective policies of inclusion, equality and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Instead of creating internationally binding obligations that aim to criminalize the "defamation of religions," politicians should confront hate speech and efforts to defame religions with the mightiest weapon in their arsenal--their voices.

Tad Stahnke is the Director of Policy and Programs at Human Rights First.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SINCE 9/11? from SOJO

What Have We Learned Since 9/11?

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This Saturday, we commemorate the ninth anniversary of 9/11. It is with pain and sadness that we remember the day the towers fell, the Pentagon was attacked, and another plane full of passengers crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after brave citizens stopped the terrorists from hitting their target. For nine years the anguish of lost loved ones and the feeling of vulnerability we all felt as terrible acts of violence were perpetrated on our soil have stuck with us all.
At this time, it is also appropriate to ask, What have we learned? How have we grown as a country? How have we healed, or how have we, in our hurt, turned around and hurt others? These are not either/or questions. We have, in fact, done both: healed and wounded, learned and regressed, grown and shrunk back from the challenges before us. The challenges before us today lie in our ability to move forward in healing and building the cause of peace while remembering the lessons and lives lost in the past.
But rather than showing that we have grown in understanding, this anniversary has been marred by two events that show how the extremes can still control the discourse, both in America and around the world.
First, there has been near-universal condemnation of the Quran burning planned for this Saturday by Terry Jones and his Florida church. Opposition has come from Muslims, Christians, Jews; Republicans and Democrats; civilians, politicians (including the president), and generals.
What Jones doesn't seem to understand is that the message he is really sending is a sacrilegious slap in the face of Jesus Christ. If Jones and his followers go through with their plans to burn the Quran, they might as well burn some Bibles too, because they are already destroying the teachings of Jesus. Jesus called his followers to be peacemakers, and to love not only their neighbors, but also their enemies; instead Jones and his church have decided to become agents of conflict and division. Jones needs someone to tell him that Americans should not judge all Muslims by the actions of a small group of terrorists -- and I hope somebody tells Muslims around the world not to judge Christians, or all of America, by the actions of a radical fringe like the members of Dove World Outreach Center.
But just as the proclaimed faith of the terrorists bears no resemblance to the faith of most Muslims, the actions of Jones and his followers bear no resemblance to the faith of most Christians. Jones knows that his actions are legally protected, but if he follows through he should know that he makes a mockery of the teachings of Jesus and even puts our country and U.S. troops in danger.
If you are a pastor, especially an evangelical or charismatic pastor who might have a way to connect with Terry Jones, please contact him and tell him you are praying that he won't do this. If you are a Christian (and especially those who are members of a church in the Gainesville, Florida, area), please look into some of the other events that are being planned that day. Use this as an opportunity to be a prayerful presence for peace, love, and reconciliation -- for Jesus' sake. And send a message to the world about what our faith is truly about.
Second, an issue that many people are much more mixed about: Will building an Islamic community center within two blocks of Ground Zero help bring healing? Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who had the vision for the center, is a good friend I have known for many years. I've had the pleasure working beside him in building bridges between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. His heart and commitment to the work of reconciliation between people of different faiths and backgrounds has always shone through in everything that Feisal and his wife, Daisy Khan, do. They are genuine peacemakers, and I know this controversy about their dream of a community center pains them deeply. I do not doubt for a second that every action they have taken toward building this Islamic community center has been with peace and reconciliation in mind.
When the story first broke in The New York Times this past December, it was met with little interest. The fact that a moderate Muslim leader, who had lived and worked in the community of lower Manhattan for 25 years, was planning to build a community center was not considered controversial. Unfortunately, there were those who saw this as a political opportunity to create conflict and division and stir up ideological passions by distorting Imam Feisal's mission and purpose. He told the nation last night that if he had ever imagined that his plans would cause this much hurt and distress, he never would have proposed building the center at that location.
I do not believe the center of the debate is merely the community center's proximity to Ground Zero. Across the country, the building (and even existence) of mosques is being protested, others mosques are being vandalized, alarming attacks on individual Muslims are occurring, and now, an obscure and marginal group in Florida is planning to burn the Quran in the name of their extreme brand of Christianity -- getting the pastor's face on the front page of USA Today.
This conflict is really about the role that faith will play in America. It is about whether or not we will accept Muslim Americans as true Americans or second-class citizens. It is about whether we will blame millions of American Muslims and 1 billion Muslims worldwide for the actions of a small number of Muslims who try to use their brand of faith to murder innocent people. It is about whether or not the country will embrace a Muslim who seeks peace and wants to help rebuild lower Manhattan or reject him because of his religious beliefs.
This is a test of our character; and we dare not fail it.

Fla. pastor will 'not today, not ever' burn Quran 11SEP10

THANK GOD!
 
The Associated Press


NEW YORK -- A Florida pastor says his church will "not today, not ever" burn a Quran, even if a mosque is built near ground zero.
Pastor Terry Jones had threatened to burn the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks over plans to build an Islamic center near where terrorists brought down the World Trade Center nine years ago.
He flew to New York and appeared on NBC's "Today" show. He says that his Gainesville, Fla., church's goal was "to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical."
He tells NBC that "we have definitely accomplished that mission." He says no meeting is planned with the imam leading the center but he hopes one will take place.
A "Burn a Koran Day" banner outside his church has been taken down.

An Ugly, But Legal, Form of Free Speech from THE GAINSVILLE SUN 9SEP10

 AS much as I don't like it this article is correct, but at least they also point out the right and responsibility of reasonable, same people to NON-VIOLENTLY protest against this action. I have added a piece including the quote from Heinrich Heine from his 1821 play 'Alsomar' and  from his 'The History of Philosophy and Religion in Germany' because I think they include a warning for this country.....


The Dove World Outreach Center plans to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks by burning copies of the Quran in a presumably sincere, but woefully misguided, belief that America is at war with the Islamic faith.
Burning books conjures up images of a time when Nazi brutality against a religious minority was state-sanctioned policy. The community will surely respond as suggested by University of Florida President Bernard Machen; by condemning post-9/11 intolerance of Muslims and people of Arab and south Asian descent and reaffirming a commitment to religious and ethnic diversity. Such a reaffirmation is urgently needed at this sad period in American history, when Islamophobia (really, anti-Muslim bigotry) may be becoming mainstream political rhetoric.
The ACLU of Florida encourages its members to stand with others in the community to protect the Muslim community's religious freedom to practice its faith.
It is important that the voices of decency not let the book-burners and taunts of the bigots dominate the conversation — and ensure that the German writer Heinrich Heine's prophesy ("Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.") is not repeated.
But with the guarantee of religious freedom for all, the fundamental American right to protest — an essential element of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression — should also be honored.
As the Constitution protects the right to burn an American flag as a political protest, for the Ku Klux Klan to rally at a state capitol, for neo-Nazis to march down an American street, then surely there is a right to burn a Quran or any other sacred symbol.
As the Supreme Court said more than 60 years ago, a principal "function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger."
That constitutional principle protected freedom of speech for the racist and virulently anti-Semitic Father Terminello, who gave a racially charged rant to a restless crowd in Chicago in the 1940s. But it also protected the right of black college students to peacefully protest racially segregated restaurants in Louisiana — and Rosa B. Williams' protests of racially segregated facilities and department stores in Gainesville, almost two decades later.
The Dove World's religiously intolerant book-burning stunt should remind us that constitutional principles protecting their right to protest also protect everyone's right to protest — including the Gainesville community's right to protest Dove World's intolerance.
But defending the right of everyone to advance their point of view by whatever nonviolent methods they choose does not mean we should refrain from condemning the objectives of the protest. Bigotry should be condemned for what it is.
Those of us who will use freedom of speech to condemn the burning of Qurans and the distressing intolerance that will be on display on September 11 also need to protect the constitutional right to engage in hateful and bigoted speech. The legal principles that protect the Dove World's freedom of speech, as ugly and intolerant as it will be, also protect freedom of speech for everyone else. Weaken it for them, and we weaken it for everyone.
September 11 should be a reaffirmation of the principles that make America the beacon of liberty it still is — religious liberty and freedom of speech. We should demonstrate to the nation and the world how these uniquely American values work together.
(Originally posted in The Gainesville Sun.) 

Among the thousands of books burned on Berlin's Opernplatz in 1933, following the Nazi raid on the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, were works by Heinrich Heine. To commemorate the terrible event, one of the most famous lines of Heine's 1821 play Almansor was engraved in the ground at the site: "Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." ("That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also.")
In 1834, 99 years before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party seized power in Germany, Heine wrote in his work "The History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany":

"Christianity - and that is its greatest merit - has somewhat mitigated that brutal Germanic love of war, but it could not destroy it. Should that subduing talisman, the cross, be shattered, the frenzied madness of the ancient warriors, that insane Berserk rage of which Nordic bards have spoken and sung so often, will once more burst into flame. This talisman is fragile, and the day will come when it will collapse miserably. Then the ancient stony gods will rise from the forgotten debris and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes, and finally Thor with his giant hammer will jump up and smash the Gothic cathedrals. (...) Do not smile at my advice -- the advice of a dreamer who warns you against Kantians, Fichteans, and philosophers of nature. Do not smile at the visionary who anticipates the same revolution in the realm of the visible as has taken place in the spiritual. Thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder. German thunder is of true Germanic character; it is not very nimble, but rumbles along ponderously. Yet, it will come and when you hear a crashing such as never before has been heard in the world's history, then you know that the German thunderbolt has fallen at last. At that uproar the eagles of the air will drop dead, and lions in the remotest deserts of Africa will hide in their royal dens. A play will be performed in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like an innocent idyll."

"DAS WAR EIN VORSPIEL NUR, DORT WO MAN BUCHER VERBRENNT, VERBRENNT MAN AM ENDE AUCH MENSCHEN" from HEINRICH HEINE in ALMANSOR 1821

An interesting quote from a German 99 years before the Nazi Party took power in Germany on book burning....I am not suggesting this is what the future holds for the U.S., but it should be seen as a warning and make resonable people stop and think. I also think his comments concerning religion and the cult of war applies to America now.....

Among the thousands of books burned on Berlin's Opernplatz in 1933, following the Nazi raid on the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, were works by Heinrich Heine. To commemorate the terrible event, one of the most famous lines of Heine's 1821 play Almansor was engraved in the ground at the site: "Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." ("That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also.")
In 1834, 99 years before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party seized power in Germany, Heine wrote in his work "The History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany":

"Christianity - and that is its greatest merit - has somewhat mitigated that brutal Germanic love of war, but it could not destroy it. Should that subduing talisman, the cross, be shattered, the frenzied madness of the ancient warriors, that insane Berserk rage of which Nordic bards have spoken and sung so often, will once more burst into flame. This talisman is fragile, and the day will come when it will collapse miserably. Then the ancient stony gods will rise from the forgotten debris and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes, and finally Thor with his giant hammer will jump up and smash the Gothic cathedrals. (...) Do not smile at my advice -- the advice of a dreamer who warns you against Kantians, Fichteans, and philosophers of nature. Do not smile at the visionary who anticipates the same revolution in the realm of the visible as has taken place in the spiritual. Thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder. German thunder is of true Germanic character; it is not very nimble, but rumbles along ponderously. Yet, it will come and when you hear a crashing such as never before has been heard in the world's history, then you know that the German thunderbolt has fallen at last. At that uproar the eagles of the air will drop dead, and lions in the remotest deserts of Africa will hide in their royal dens. A play will be performed in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like an innocent idyll."

OPPOSE KORAN BURNING AND GET YOUR 'AMERICANS DON'T BURN BOOKS' BOOKMARK from HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST 9SEP10

Get your free bookmark opposing "Burn a Koran Day"—and spread the word!. Show that you don't support bigotry and hate!

President Obama. General Petraeus. The Pope.
World leaders are speaking out against the "Burn a Koran" event scheduled for September 11th. It's hateful and dangerous.
Despite the outcry, Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center are moving forward with their event. In fact, they posted five MORE reasons to burn a Koran on their blog just yesterday.
Human Rights First pushed back: We decided to build our own list—using responses from over 5,000 supporters like you!—of "10 Reasons NOT to burn a Koran." We posted the final list yesterday on our blog, Huffington Post, FireDogLake, and other media outlets. Thanks to those of you who contributed!
Here's the Top 10 list:
Ten Reasons NOT to Burn a Koran

1. Book burning! Do I really need to say why?
2. By not burning a Koran I'm not burning a bridge to communication.
3. Burning the Koran because of extremist Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists makes no more sense than burning the Bible because of the Ku Klux Klan or Nazis.
4. Hatred breeds more hatred and that is not going to solve any of our problems.
5. That type of hate-filled religious intolerance has no place anywhere in the world, and is especially abhorrent in a country where religious freedom is one of the pillars of its foundation.
6. It's a sacred book to millions of people. We should respect all people's beliefs.
7. It will only inflame. I'd like people to understand each other.
8. I may not believe in the words of the Koran but I would never burn one out of respect for my fellow humans who do.
9. Support our troops!
10. We must learn to coexist. We cannot continue to live in fear and suspicion.

Show the fearmongers and the world that Americans don't stand for bigotry by ordering your free "Americans Don't Burn Books" bookmark right now. (You pay shipping and handling.)

Sincerely,
Sharon Kelly McBride
Communications Director

P.S. Want to support our work? Click here to make a donation. Every gift is tax deductible and supports our programs to stand up for religious tolerance and basic human dignity.

Florida pastor says he's reconsidering plan to burn Korans 9SEP10

By Krissah Thompson and Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 9, 2010; 9:36 PM


The pastor of a small Florida church who had planned to burn copies of the Koran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 said Thursday he would cancel the event - at least for now - hours after President Obama condemned it as a "recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda" and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates phoned the minister as a worldwide fury grew.
At a chaotic news conference in Gainesville, the Rev. Terry Jones said he gave up his plans after reaching a deal to stop the construction of an Islamic center near Ground Zero.
But Jones appeared to have misunderstood or mischaracterized discussions, if there were any, about the center. Later, he said he was misled by an imam in Florida who "clearly, clearly lied to us" and he would "rethink our decision."
Muhammad Musri, a Florida imam who has been trying to get Jones to call off the event, said at the news conference that he had brokered a meeting with the project developers in New York, not an agreement to terminate their plans. A short time later, New York Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his partner in the project, Manhattan real estate developer Sharif el-Gamal, said in a statement that they had made no deal to stop their plans and had not, in fact, spoken to Jones or Musri.
"I am surprised by their announcement," Rauf's statement said. "We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony."
The parties did, however, agree to meet Saturday in New York.
The disjointed exchanges are part of an odd saga that has vaulted an unknown pastor to an international stage.
Few outside Gainesville had heard of Jones or his Dove World Outreach Center in late July when he announced "International Burn the Koran Day" - and it largely remained that way until this week. As anger grew among Muslims worldwide and as U.S. leaders began to fear that images of Koran-burning in the United States would be a recruitment tool for Islamic extremists, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, warned in a statement that the move could endanger American troops abroad. Condemnations from across the political and religious spectrums poured in, including from the Vatican, conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. By the time Jones held his news conference, Obama had weighed in, the State Department had warned traveling Americans that they could be in danger and Gates had felt compelled to ask the pastor to cancel the event.
The president made his plea during an interview on ABC.
"If he's listening, I just hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans; that this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance," Obama said of Jones in an interview Thursday on "Good Morning America." "We're already seeing protests against Americans just by the mere threat that he's making."
Demonstrations erupted in Afghanistan on Thursday as hundreds of enraged youths burned effigies, threw rocks and chanted, "Death to America."


Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement on Thursday that the Koran burning would "inflame sentiments among Muslims throughout the world and cause irreparable damage to interfaith harmony and also to world peace."
After the event was called off, Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States said, "Pastor Jones's decision to cancel the event he had scheduled to burn copies of the Koran helps avoid an unnecessary inflammation of passions. . . . This is definitely a positive moment in showing America's tolerance and pluralism and should not go unappreciated in the Muslim world."
Senior Obama administration officials had hedged on how much attention to give Jones but thought they had to respond, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. "The potential ripple effect here is very real," he said.
According to Jones, it was not the call from the Pentagon chief that convinced him but his perception of a deal with Rauf, the New York imam.
Jones had rebuffed appeals to cancel his event for days. But on Thursday, he said that he asked God for a sign and that he considered the movement of the New York Islamic center as a message from on high.
Jones and his small church have drawn controversy before. He attracted a little attention earlier this year when he posted a sign reading "No homo mayor" in front of the church protesting the openly gay man running for mayor, and last year Jones he put up a sign declaring "Islam is the Devil" and sent children from his church to their public schools wearing T-shirts with the same message. The children were sent home, the Gainesville Sun reported.
Jones looked bewildered when he was told that no agreement had been made about the mosque and he repeated what he thought he had been told.
"The American people do not as a whole want this mosque, and if they were willing to either cancel the mosque at the Ground Zero location or if they were willing to move it away from that location, we would consider that a sign from God," the pastor said.
The confusion seemed to stem from a meeting Jones had with Musri, head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida. Musri, who stood beside Jones as he emotionally agreed to call off the Koran burning, said he had promised Jones only a meeting with Rauf to discuss moving the planned community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan.
"There are no written agreements," Musri said. "I feel that the imam [Rauf] is a very wise imam, and I think that now knowing that over 70 percent of the American people do not want it there, I think he is reconsidering it."
Musri said in interviews that he had not spoken to Rauf but that he had set up a meeting with him through Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan.
In a CNN interview Wednesday night, Rauf indicated that he was open to moving the proposed Islamic center from its current location two blocks from Ground Zero.
"Nothing is off the table," he said. "But we are consulting. We are talking to various people about how to do this so that we negotiate the best and the safest option."
Rauf said that if he had known the proposed site would cause so much controversy, "we certainly never would have done this."
But he warned that moving the center could be construed as giving in to radicalism and could foment anti-American feelings abroad.
"If we move from that location, the story will be that the radicals have taken over the discourse," he said. "The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack."
Additional calls for Rauf and his partners to move the mosque came from developer Donald Trump, who made a splashy offer to buy the building for 25 percent more than its value. It was batted down as a publicity-seeking stunt given that Rauf's partners in the development have turned down larger offers, according to reports in New York newspapers.
In Gainesville, there was a sigh of relief that the Koran burning was called off. Safety officials had been bracing for the event and volunteers at the church had said they were expecting "several hundred people" there on Saturday, including national and international media.
Regardless, Ismail ibn Ali, president of Islam on Campus, a student group at the University of Florida at Gainesville, said he hoped Rauf would not strike a deal with Jones.
"If the deal is that they move the mosque in order to stop the Koran-burning, I'll be very disappointed," he said. "It ultimately ends up being a win for the Islamophobes in America."

Obama: Quran-Burning Would Benefit Al-Qaida 9SEP10

President Obama is exhorting a Florida minister to "listen to those better angels" and call off his plan to engage in a Quran-burning protest this weekend.
Obama told ABC's Good Morning America in an interview aired Thursday that he hopes the Rev. Terry Jones of Florida listens to the pleas of people who have asked him to call off the plan. The president called it a "stunt."

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"If he's listening, I hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans," Obama said. "That this country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance."
"And as a very practical matter, I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform," the president added.
Obama said: "Look, this is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaida. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan." The president also said Jones' plan, if carried out, could serve as an incentive for terrorist-minded individuals "to blow themselves up" to kill others.
"I hope he listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act that he's engaging in," the president said of Jones.
Obama has gotten caught up in the burgeoning controversy surrounding the practice of Islam in America, saying at one point that he believed that Muslims had a right to build a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York City.
Earlier, several members of his administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had denounced the Quran-burning plan.
Also, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the ground commander in Afghanistan, has said the act of burning the Quran could endanger troops fighting there.
On Wednesday, the State Department has ordered U.S. embassies around the world to assess their security ahead of the planned weekend demonstration in Florida.
Officials said U.S. diplomatic posts have been instructed to convene "emergency action committees" to determine the potential for protests over the congregation's plans to burn the Quran to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The posts are to warn American citizens in countries where protests may occur.

Religious leaders reaching out to pastor who aims to burn Korans on Sept. 11 8SEP10

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 8, 2010; 6:40 PM


Geoff Tunnicliffe heads of one of the world's largest faith organizations -- the World Evangelical Alliance -- but on Wednesday morning when he reached the Florida pastor planning to burn the Koran on Sept. 11, "I felt like a deer in the headlights."
For weeks, Tunnicliffe had remained silent about the intention of the tiny Gainesville church to publicly torch Islam's holy book, not wanting to lend legitimacy to the Dove World Outreach Center or its controversial pastor, Terry Jones. But after hearing from Pentecostal leaders around the globe about their fears that the scripture-burning could spark sectarian violence, he decided he needed to appeal to Jones as a fellow Christian.
Tunnicliffe is among the religious leaders who have tried to reach out to Jones in recent days and persuade him to abandon his plans, which have been condemned by everyone from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Gen. David H. Petraeus to conservative commentator Glenn Beck to actress Angelina Jolie. Even Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and an outspoken critic of Islam, tried twice without a success to reach Jones on Wednesday to express his disapproval of defacing or destroying the sacred texts or writings of other religions, a spokesman said.
During a 10-minute cellphone conversation, Tunnicliffe described himself as "pleading" with the man whose plans have already sparked angry protests in Jakarta and Kabul and that some fear could put the lives of U.S. troops in Muslim countries at risk.
"I tried to talk about the impact this would have on his own stated goals of taking the gospel to the world," said Tunnicliffe, whose group represents hundreds of millions of evangelicals, including those who live in Muslim countries.
He told Jones that Christian leaders and missionaries around the world were opposed to the burning and asked, "What are you hearing from God that these people aren't hearing?" He asked how Jones would feel if the event led to the death of a pastor or the destruction of a church in another part of the world?
Jones listened, but remained noncommittal. "He said they might not change their minds, but that they were praying about it," Tunnicliffe said.
At the end of the phone call, Tunnicliffe prayed for Jones.
"Here's the reality: That video will never go away," Tunnicliffe said. "It will be so detrimental to our work with religious liberty around the world. Everywhere I go around the world I will have to address this for years to come."
He and others described their lobbying efforts this week as delicate and strange. Jones doesn't belong to a religious denomination and doesn't appear to know fellow pastors in his town.
Some religious leaders said that they feared Jones wouldn't listen to strangers or that they didn't want to fuel something they hoped would go away. Others said the lack of more action by evangelical leaders reflects a distant and sometimes tense relationship with Muslims and the fact that many in that community are skeptical about Islam.
"People don't speak out the way they should, because they don't have personal relationships," said Richard Cizik, a former longtime lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. branch of the World Evangelical Alliance. He noted that an NAE poll of evangelical leaders in 2008 found none who said they had a good friend who was Muslim.
Nevertheless, NAE President Leith Anderson issued a statement Wednesday asking Muslims not to judge "all Christians by the behavior of one extremist. One person with 30 silent followers does not speak for 300 million Americans who will never burn a Koran."
Christian leaders from other denominations echoed those sentiments on Wednesday, saying that there was no support in their communities for Jones. The question was how to reach the former hotel manager who sells furniture on eBay to make extra money.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said he decided not to approach Jones because he believes the pastor would disapprove of Land's advocacy for the rights of religious minorities and his general engagement with pluralism.
"If I know my boy, he thinks we're apostate liberals anyway," Land said. "My guess is my call would be counterproductive. My calling him would just encourage him to do it."
City commissioners and the mayor of Gainesville have called Jones, as have local clergy, including the Rev. Dan Johnson of the 4,000-member Trinity United Methodist Church, the closest house of worship to the Dove center. Johnson tried several times to make appointments with Jones without success before the Dove pastor called Johnson "yellow-bellied" in a local paper, said Troy Holloway, Trinity's director of stewardship development.
Tunnicliffe said he had offered to come to Florida on Friday to speak with Jones's church and was planning to deliver a letter to the congregation and run an advertisement in the Gainesville newspaper.
Asked if evangelicals leaders -- including himself -- had delayed trying to stop the Koran-burning because many Christians feel anxious about the spread of Islam, he said he didn't believe that was the case.
"They may have some concerns, but you'd only find the very fringe that would have any support for this, even among the most conservative," Tunnicliffe said. "I think there would be a strong consensus that this kind of approach is absolutely not acceptable and not biblical."

Quran Burning Pastor Was Expelled From German Church He Founded After His Radicalism Alienated Congregation 8SEP10

Bravo for the Christians of this church for standing up for their Christian faith!

Before Rev. Terry Jones was being condemned by the White House and military commanders in Afghanistan for his planned “International Burn a Quran Day,” he was a pastor at an evangelical church he founded in the 1980s in Cologne, Germany. Jones grew the congregation of the Christian Community of Cologne to as many as 1,000 members, but his radical, hate-filled preachings eventually got him expelled from the church. According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Jones ruled the church like a tyrant, even as his sermons became increasingly Islamaphobic and hateful, prompting his congregation to kick Jones and his wife out of the church last year:

Various witnesses gave SPIEGEL ONLINE consistent accounts of the Jones’ behavior. The pastor and his wife apparently regarded themselves as having been appointed by God, meaning opposition was a crime against the Lord. Terry and Sylvia Jones allegedly used these methods to ask for money in an increasingly insistent manner, as well as making members of the congregation carry out work. [...]
Jones became increasingly radical as the years went by, former associates say. At one point he wanted to help a homosexual member to “pray away his sins.” Later he began to increasingly target Islam in his sermons. A congregation member reported that some members were afraid to attend services because they expected to be attacked by Muslims. “Terry Jones has a talent for finding topical social issues and seizing on them for his own cause,” says Schäfer.

Former members of Jones’ German church described a “climate of fear and control” and said Jones insisted on “blind obedience.” Some former congregants are even “still undergoing therapy as a result of ’spiritual abuse.’” A German Protestant Church official familiar with Jones even said the pastor has a “delusional personality.”
In a heated interview on Thom Hartmann’s radio show, Jones confirmed that he had been the head of the Christian Community of Cologne, but refused to respond to Der Spiegel’s allegations, telling Hartman, “If you want to discuss 9/11, that will be fine, if not, I guess we will have to end this conversation”:

In response to his plan to burn Qurans, Jones’ old church, said, “We want to distance ourselves fully from this plan and from Jones.” “We are as shocked as the rest of the world,” said Jones’ successor Stephan Baar, adding, “This has nothing to do with us and nothing to do with our beliefs.”