Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Terry Jones, the pastor of a 30-member church in Gainesville, Florida, has called off his controversial plans to desecrate a symbol of the Islamic religion on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, at least for the moment.

After receiving a call from United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates on Thursday afternoon, urging Mr. Jones not to attack Muslim religious sentiments on Saturday, the pastor agreed to suspend his plans.

According to reports, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said that in his call to the pastor, “The Secretary expressed his grave concern that going forward would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and urged him not to proceed with it. That was the extent of it.”

Shortly after the call the pastor, along with Imam Muhammad Musry of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, issued a press statement saying that he had been in touch with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf about moving the location of the so called “Ground Zero mosque” and was willing to suspend his plans.

Mr. Jones said, “I will be flying up there on Saturday to meet with the Imam [of] the Ground Zero mosque. He has agreed to move the location. That of course cannot happen overnight... The American people do not want the mosque there and of course Muslims do not want us to [attack their religion].” He said that he had therefore “agreed to cancel our event on Saturday”.

However after Mr. Jones’ press conference, Imam Feisal was reported to have released a statement saying, “I am glad that Pastor Jones has decided not to [proceed]. However, I have not spoken to Pastor Jones or Imam Musry. I am surprised by their announcement.”

Mr. Jones’ actions had earlier elicited condemnations across the board from the U.S. government, with President Barack Obama saying that Mr. Jones’ plans to attack the religion would be a “recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda”.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus had also sharply criticised Mr. Jones’ plans, with General Petraeus expressing concern that they would endanger U.S. troops and the U.S.’ overall military effort.

Labels: Florida pastor, Quran burning controversy, Reverend Terry Jones, Robert Gates

From The Hindu

Joining the widespread condemnation of Florida pastor Terry Jones, for his extreme views against Islam, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said that Mr. Jones’ plans to attack the religion would be a "recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda".

In an interview with ABC News, Mr. Obama said, there could be serious violence in Pakistan or Afghanistan as a result of such religious intolerance and "this could increase the recruitment of individuals who'd be willing to blow themselves up in American cities, or European cities".

Mr. Obama’s comments join a growing backlash against Mr. Jones, whose plans were earlier sharply criticised by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and commander of United States forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.

Touching upon the contradiction between Mr. Jones’ views and American values, Mr. Obama said, "I just hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values of Americans [and] that this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance."

Could affect U.S. armed forces

Reflecting prior concerns voiced by General Petraeus Mr. Obama added that as a practical matter, he wanted Mr. Jones to understand that the “stunt” planned to pull could greatly endanger U.S. armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We're already seeing protests against Americans just by the mere threat that he's making," Mr. Obama added.

In a speech on Wednesday Ms. Clinton had said, Clinton lamented that Mr. Jones’ Dove World Outreach Centre congregation in Gainesville had received much attention for a "distrustful and disgraceful' means of marking the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. She added that it was regrettable that the pastor, with a church of no more than 50 people, could get the world's attention with his plan. "It is not who we are," she said.

General Petraeus had also attacked the pastor’s plans earlier, saying that it would endanger U.S. troops and the overall military effort. "It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world, we are engaged with the Islamic community," the General added.

Labels: 9/11 attacks, al Qaeda, Quran burning controversy, Reverend Terry Jones, United States