MULBERRY, Fla. — Law enforcement arrested a Florida pastor Wednesday as he drove to a park to light nearly 3,000 Qurans on fire to protest the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Polk County sheriff’s deputies arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 34, on felony charges as he drove a pickup truck towing a large barbecue-style grill filled with Qurans soaked in kerosene. He had said he was heading to a nearby park to burn 2,998 Qurans — one for every victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Sheriff’s officials said they would hold a news conference later Wednesday to discuss specific charges.
Mulberry’s mayor, along with area elected officials, a sheriff’s deputy and several Polk County residents have talked about the need to express love and tolerance for all faiths on Sept. 11.
Jones is the pastor of a small evangelical Christian church. He first gained attention in 2010 when he planned to burn a Quran on 9/11, although he eventually called it off. His congregation did burn the Muslim holy book in March 2011 and last year he promoted an anti-Muslim film. All three incidents sparked violence in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The most violent protest happened after the 2011 Quran burning as hundreds of protesters stormed a U.N. compound in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, killing seven foreigners, including four Nepalese guards.
Jones has repeatedly ignored pleas from the U.S. military asking him not to stage his protests. Military officials say his actions put American and Western troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere in danger.
What is wrong with this man? Why does he continue to do things that endanger our troops around the world, especially in the Middle East. Jones isn’t even having the burning in his own town on his own church lot.
I understand rage over 9-11 but burning a Quran is just disrespectful of other people’s religion. There is no reason for it. Further more, it incites the more radical factions of that religion to violence. That just causes problems and causes innocent peopleto be injured or killed.
Someone needs to have a serious talk with the Reverend Terry Jones. They need to explain a few things about Christianity to him while they are at it. Just trying to stir up others isn’t Christian behavior.
Meanwhile, the reason for his arrest is still part of the mystery. Only in Florida!
I support his right to free speech. Our own NEA has supported “art” depicting Christian symbols immersed in urine. The Supreme Court has upheld burning American flags as protected political speech. Is burning korans offensive? Of course it is, but it’s also protected free speech. It is time for Muslins to respond with something other than violence like the rest of the civilized world.
Does it put the military in danger? Maybe. But it could also be viewed as defending the constitution. If we kowtow to the barbarians, then essentially we are giving in to censorship. I would rather not give in.
The charges were, apparently, unlawfully carrying fuel and openly carrying a firearm.
I believe that the leaders of the radical Muslim movement are using religion to achieve what they are after (OIL MONEY!!!). Those leaders were probably more upset that Pastor Jones was intending to use their fuel that was pumped from the their Middle east to start his cook-out.
Moon, I’ll counter your “Just trying to stir up others” with the my view that, in many Christian religions Islam is considered an “evil” same as for years and years, those “Godless Communists” in the Soviet Union must be brought back to the Church (more or less a paraphrase of Our Lady of Fatima and Pope Pius XI). Disrespect to other religions is long ingrained in some Doctrine. Shoot, it has only been in the last decade or so that the Roman Catholic Church has adopted the approach to come to a more “friendly” approach to Islam. For years, two of the biggest sins in the Church (after 10 Commandments) were Islam (mainly historically related to sacking of the Holy Land) and Communism.
I too support the right of free spreech and expression; and also know that when Freedom of Religion, the days of the Christian “Big Three” – Catholicism, Anglican, and Lutherism – were long, long ago as many other religions grew out of them because of dissatisfaction with Doctrine or lack of activism. And that is not even getting into the actions of the various “fringe” religions not accepted as more mainstream and are considered cults. To be Christian is not necessarily on the same footing as being tolerant of other religions – especially in the Christian Churches who take the Christian Bible literally.
Well, I guess my first counter response would be to show me where it says in the bible that thou shalt go burn the Kuran.
Secondly, I am going to say that most of my ‘not Christian’ pronouncements come from looking at what Christ did in his lifetime. Not once do we have a documented case of Him being a provocateur or heckler.
Now, do Christians display behavior that probably wouldn’t be seen as Christian? Absolutely. I would probably seriously question the reverend’s motives.
I do not think free speech is absolute. Especially when it puts others in harm’s way.
Some crazy things on 9/11 anniversaries. In Everett, Washington, some jerk drove up to a service station, put down a pressure cooker near the pumps, and drove off. Local bomb squad had to come and blow it up. No explosives inside.
@Moon-howler I’m no biblical scholar, but I’m sure the temple merchants who lost out on sales while Jesus smashed his way through a temple, overturning tables, damaging merchandise and causing a riot might disagree with you. And no one can really beat the shout of “You brood of vipers!” as an epithet. He was no peacenik.
I think Mr. Jones should suffer the requisite social opprobrium that comes with being a jerk, but I don’t think the government should be zeroing in on his activities if the goal really is just to silence him. We’ve had 12 long years of curtailed freedoms because of fear of provoking radical Islamists. Enough, already.
I am no scholar either but he turned out the money changers and the animals that were being traded in the temple to cleanse the temple. Brood of vipers referred to hypocrites. I don’t think he burned anything.
What freedoms do you think we should have back in light of the types of terrorism that have been attempted, some successfully?
I can’t really think of any freedoms I have lost for fear of provoking radicals. I understand people resent being searched and that they feel there fhold be more profiling. I see this as a fault of the courts more than anything else. Plus, you can’t just line up all the muslims and suspect them.
Westboro Baptist church wins the offensive acts title in my book. I’m amazed no one has shot them. The government hasn’t stepped in except to spend money for perimeters to protect their rights. The Pastor should conduct his activities on his own turf.
I don’t thinks he’s about Christianity or acting in a Christian manner I think he’s an attention seeking stupid person. He should have a reality show.
I don’t disagree with your assessment. @Lyssa
What a loser. Guy has nothing better to do with his time.
@Ray Beverage
I would add to your: “…the Roman Catholic Church has adopted the approach to come to a more “friendly” approach to Islam [and Judaism]. Remember the Catholic Church accused the Jews of being the “Christ killers”.
And to your: For years, two [three] of the biggest sins in the Church (after 10 Commandments) were Islam [and Judaism]…
The Crusades, to which you refer in the last statement was as much about Judaism as Islam.
I absolutely agree that being a Christian has nothing to do with religious tolerance.
I always thought modern Christianity had a little to do with doing unto others as you would have done unto you. That would preclude picking on others.
I just think of the SS when I think of book burnings–regardless of the books.
Does Terry Jones have a “right ” to burn the Qurans? Well, yes, in this country he does but what applies in this country has nothing to do with what applies to Islamic believers. That is the one thing we Americans simply don’t seem to understand–“they” are not like “us” and we cannot use our yardstick to measure them. I also wonder how we would react if some radical Islamist decided to burn 3,000 bibles. Would we just stand by and say, “Well, that’s his right” or would we be genuinely pissed? Would we go and attack the embassy of the perpetrator? I suspect not. I like to think we are more civilized than that but maybe Terry Jones or folks from the Westboro Baptist Church might .
Terry Jones is flat out crazy. He was going to burn thousands of kerosene soaked Qurans in a grill? At a park? It’s probably best he was arrested, for his own safety and that of any people at the park.
Burning a copy of the Quran is deemed by many Muslims to be the equivalent of burning God himself, on the theory that the words in the Quran are literally the speech of God. It isn’t just ink on paper. One doesn’t have to buy into that to understand how gratuitously provocative such an action is for someone (and there are millions of those someones) who thinks that way. There may be a few Christians who have similar views of the Bible, but, generally, most Christians regard the Bible as a book printed on paper that records God-inspired teachings. There really isn’t any equivalency between these two incendiary actions other than that people who would do either thing are idiots.