Cleric Urges Strong Int’l Reaction to Quran Burning by US Pastor

Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami lashed out at the US and Europe for their silence on desecration of the Muslims’ Holy Book by a US pastor, and urged strong reaction to the provocative move.

Addressing a large congregation of worshippers on Tehran University Campus on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami criticized the US administration for its silence on the insulting move, and noted that the US pastor, Terry Jones, would have avoided repeating Quran burning if a proper reaction had been shown to him when he burnt copies of the Holy Quran for the first time.

He stressed that the West is testing Muslims’ sensitivity, and called on the Muslims to stand against such criminal acts, warning that “otherwise such crimes will increase”.

On Sunday, Iran condemned the Quran burning by the US pastor as an “insulting and provocative” act, and urged the United States to apologize to the Muslim World.

The Pentagon had asked Jones to refrain from burning the Qurans out of concern for the safety of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Quran burning and sacrilege of Islamic values has become a commonplace move by Americans in recent years, while the opposite has never happened and Muslims have never desecrated values of Judaism, Christianity or other divine religions.