Obama: Quran burning plan dangerous
US President Barack Obama has reproached a church’s plan to burn copies of the Muslim holy book, Quran, and branded the plan as destructive and dangerous.
“If he [Terry Jones] is listening, I 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 notion of freedom and religious tolerance,” Obama said in an interview broadcast Thursday on ABC’s Good Morning America program.
“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,” he said.
“Look, this is a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities,” Obama stated.
Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, is planning to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
The US president hoped that the pastor of the small evangelical church “listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act that he’s engaging in.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday slammed the plan to burn the Quran, warning about the reactions of Muslims and the followers of other religions.
“The US officials should carry out their duties to guarantee the basic right of American Muslims and prevent the promotion of such offensive acts,” Mottaki said.
Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, earlier urged Obama to personally intervene and to stop the plan to burn Quran. Indonesia is home to the world’s biggest Muslim nation.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in a chorus of outrage at the move said, “Anyone who even thought of such a despicable act must be suffering from a diseased mind and a sickly soul. It will inflame sentiments among Muslims throughout the world and cause irreparable damage to interfaith harmony and also to world peace.”
India has also called on the US authorities to take “strong action” to prevent the event.
