Pastor refuses to cancel 9/11 Koran burning

The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said last night he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Koran on September 11, despite pressure from the White House and others to call it off.

Pastor Terry Jones said at a press conference that he has received encouragement for his protest, with supporters posting copies of the Islamic holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers.

He plans to burn the books in a bonfire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

“As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing,” said Mr Jones.

He had said previously he has received more than 100 death threats and has started carrying a gun since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims insist is treated with the utmost respect.

The 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Quran Day”.

General David Petraeus, the top US and Nato commander in Kabul, took a rare step when he warned that “images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence”.

General Petraeus spoke yesterday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the matter, according to a military spokesman Colonel Erik Gunhus.

“They both agreed that burning of a Koran would undermine our effort in Afghanistan, jeopardise the safety of coalition troopers and civilians,” Col Gunhus said.

He said it would “create problems for our Afghan partners ... as it likely would be Afghan police and soldiers who would have to deal with any large demonstrations”.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the pastor’s plans were outrageous and urged him to cancel the event.

“It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world’s attention, but that’s the world we live in right now,” Mrs Clinton said in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is unfortunate, it is not who we are,” she said. The Koran-burning idea drew rebukes from Muslim nations, sections of the US and further afield amid debate over the proposed Islamic centre near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

His actions are likely to be protected by the US Constitution’s right to free speech.

The Vatican denounced the planned Koran burning as “outrageous and grave”.