India blasts Quran burning plan in US

The Indian government has joined other nations to denounce a plan by a US church to burn copies of Islam’s holy book of Quran.

“We, too, condemn the proposed actions of the pastor,” Indian home minister, P. Chidambaram, said on Thursday.

The condemnation came after head of a small church in Florida, Pastor Terry Jones, planned to burn copies of the Quran on September 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center said the US constitution allows him to publicly set the holy book on fire.

The Indian minister also urged US authorities to “take strong action to prevent such an outrage being committed.”

The plan has drawn worldwide condemnation. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said earlier he was deeply disturbed by the plan, adding that the action would contradict UN efforts to promote tolerance and intercultural understanding.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry, on Thursday, called the plan a “shameful act which is incompatible with the principles of tolerance and coexistence.”

Meanwhile, EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton condemned the planned act, while Jones was dubbed “a fanatic” by Arab League chief Amr Mussa.

The Vatican council has also blasted the Florida church’s scheme as “deplorable acts of violence.”