http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/06/florida.quran.burning/

(CNN) –– The U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Monday criticized a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, plans to mark the anniversary of al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington by burning copies of the Muslim holy book. The church insists the event is "neither an act of love nor of hate," but a warning against what it calls the threats posed by Islam.

The event has drawn criticism from Muslims in the United States and overseas, with thousands of Indonesians gathering outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday to protest the planned Quran burning.


"The burning is not only an insult to the holy Quran, but an insult to Islam and Muslims around the world," said Muhammad Ismail, a spokesman for the hard-line Indonesian Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "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."

And one of his deputies, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, told CNN's "The Situation Room" that event "has already stirred up a lot of discussion and concern" among Afghans.

"We very much feel that this can jeopardize the safety of our men and women that are serving over here in the country," said Caldwell, the head of NATO efforts to train Afghan security forces.

Caldwell said American troops "are over here to defend the rights of American citizens, and we're not debating the First Amendment rights that people have." But he added, "What I will tell you is that their very actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of the young men and women who are serving in uniform over here and also undermine the very mission that we're trying to accomplish."

"I would hope they would understand that there are second- and third-order effects that will occur that will affect that young man and woman who's out there on point for America, serving their nation today, because of their actions back in the United States," he said.

In a statement on its website, the Dove World Outreach Center said it plans to burn Qurans "to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful." Its pastor, Terry Jones, has written a book entitled "Islam is of the Devil," and the church sells coffee mugs and shirts featuring the phrase. But the church says its animus is not aimed at individual Muslims.

"We love, as God loves, all the people in the world and we want them to come to a knowledge of the truth," it states.

Jones canceled a planned appearance on CNN's "Rick's List" to discuss the controversy Monday afternoon. Plemon el-Amin, the imam of an Atlanta, Georgia, mosque, said that Jones' criticism of Islam is "really quite uninformed."

"But in America, there is the freedom to be ignorant," el-Amin said. "The only problem is in the world, many people don't understand that particular freedom. So what he is doing is like shouting fire in a theater, in a world theater, and people are upset."

El-Amin said Jones has boasted of never reading the Quran, so "He doesn't know that he's going to burn a book that has some of the most beautiful passages about Christ Jesus throughout, as well as Moses, Abraham and all of the prophets he reads about and says he follows in the Bible." But he said the best strategy would be to ignore Jones, "like we do people on corners saying the end of the world is coming."

Other religious organizations have joined with U.S. Muslim groups to oppose the Quran-burning. The National Association of Evangelicals is urging the church to cancel the event, warning it could cause worldwide tension between the two religions, and Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu leaders in Gainesville have organized a "Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope" the night before the scheduled Quran burning.

In addition, an armed Christian organization that had pledged to protect the Dove World Outreach Center withdrew its support from the Quran-burning last week, stating the event "may diminish the work of the Holy Spirit to witness to Muslims."

That group's founder, Shannon Carson, said he agrees with the church's stance on Islam, which he called a cult "that is invading our nation." But he complained that the "liberal media" is using stories on Jones's plans "to distract, divide and enrage the public."

Nothing upholds the teachings of Christ more than a good old-fashioned Koran burning.

bottom line, anything we do will endanger our troops.

If they're a religion of peace, then nothing violent will come of it in quantity.

Gainesville FL....yeah I'm here...They still don't have a permit from the city but they vow to have the bonfire regardless...I don't see their efforts achieving too much in any direction

Well, we do have this little blurb in the Constitution called the 1st Amendment.  

Honestly, this burning is kinda childish but once again it's making the muslims look like intolerant assholes.  

They should respond with their weekly US flag burning, or is it daily now?

I'm just as upset by Korans being burned as every suicide vest tailor in Buttfuckistan is when someone lights an American flag on fire.



Oh, and here's a protip for the Army brass:  they want to kill you anyway.

Dude, no need to burn anything.  What's with the hate?

I was coming here to say the same.


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

This place can be too damned predictable sometimes.  Here's a quote from somebody 90% of ARFCOM would love to leg-hump as she jumped into the middle of the controversial GZ mosque issue:

"We all know that they have the right to do it, but should they?"

How about they do something christ-like, like, oh I dunno, feeding the needy instead of practicing the same type of intolerant hatred they are protesting.  Morons.

I really could give a shit if they build the mosque or not as long as it's not being funded by the taxpayers and they don't get special treatment.

This is about as stupid as stupid gets.  I just love a good book burning.

Dumb Ignorant "Christians" = Dumb Ignorant "Muslims"

Disclaimer because it is GD:  Of course the quotes are to emphasize the "extreme idiots" that claim to speak for a religion, and not an attack on those religions in general.

A lot of Christians aren't very Christian anymore.





 

Gotta love religion.... Good thing im athiest...you guys have fun...

Funny how that 1st Amendment seems to only apply to burning US flags and urinating on Christian symbols and nothing else.



Do your fuckin job General Petraeus and support and defend the Constitution, including the 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights.



And what are those headcutting cavemen gonna do anyway if they are offended? Try to kill our troops? Like they've been doing for the past 9 years? Behead their victims twice instead of once? Fuck em.

So can whack-jobs like Major Hasan.

Could someone send Petraeus a Memo. We are at war. He is evidently clueless. Its not like they will hate us any more than they do now.

I am sick and tired of it being OK for them, but we have to bend over and take it in the ass.

The Tom Pettyville Chapter of the Westboro Baptist Church is going to piss off the  Hizb ut-Tahrir?  Oh just fuck me.

They can burn books its just fucking stupid.





 

If Patreaus is gonna geg his panties in a wad over this, he needs to step down and let a real man run the war..

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

You know, you're right.  We should try to get along better with a religion that teaches it's OK to stone women and rape young boys.

I'm pretty sure that's a cultural thing, not so much endorsed by islam.  

Why are they burning them?  
Did they go out and buy the books just to burn?
If they feel the book is evil, (as many do) they is better ways of countering it than this.

Let them burn them, if the "news crews" would stay away it would just be a bonfire at a church gathering and no one would notice.

I feel the church is doing this for its own gain and not because they feel its the right thing to do in the eyes of God.

The  "muslim street"  if the idiots proceed with their plan to publicly burn a koran:




The "muslim street" if the idiots refrain from publicly burning a koran:

You guys have heard of the Crusades right?

I kinda think thats the idea.

I think they are trying to show that the left fucktards only believe in preserving the freedoms they support, namely burning the flag and pissing on a cross.

While the idea of burning the koran is somehow "way over the top" and insensitive.

Yup.

You caught me before I had the chance to post the second picture; here's a third one.

The muslim street after a mosque is erected at ground zero in NYC and the muslim call to prayers rings out over the area which was destroyed on 9/11:

Yeah fuck being the better person. If you sink to an idiots level they will win they have more experience.





 

Odd how the folks who asked the Muslims to move their mosque somewhere else were intolerant assholes, yet when someone exercises their first amendment right to freedom of expression to attack Islam all that tolerance and "respect for private property and constitutional rights" is not reciprocated...

hmmmm....

Typical fucktard liberal double-standard anyone???

BULLSEYE.

Doesn't teaching girls how to read and write coupled with giving them the vote raise holy hell in that area of the world?  What's burning a few books on top of that?

This.
 

I think they can build the mosque and the Christians can burn the books but they are both stupid ass ideas.



 

I think this is a calculated move designed to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the media and Islamic groups on things like religious tolerance and property rights.

Agreed, but see my post above on why I think they are staging this book burning shindig...

The outcry is that we should not stoop to their level, but that is completely lost on some people who can't take off their political goggles.  

Also, the same people raving about the Islamization of America are the same ones who constantly talk about fighting all these damn wars over there.  

News Flash......just ask the Romans.   The more you interact (wars and meddling) with these people; the more influence they will have on your society.  The Left will make sure of that.  

The truly patriotic and best argument for non-intervention, but many just can't seem to understand that.

they slaughtered the last group that tried to help heal the sick so what difference does a little bonfire make



 

Just in case anyone is keeping score, diplomacy has NEVER worked in dealing with the middle east. The only thing these cretins fear is a more powerful foe.
Being respectful isnt going to keep our troops safe....providing them with adequate training and weapons sounds like a much better idea to me.

I am sick and fkn tired of all the appeasement.
Screw these people.
I get offended by people every day....that doesnt give me the right to blow them up.
Muslims need to get over themselves.....their faith doesnt justify their actions.
I believe in God too.....but I dont get to kill you if you tell me I'm wrong.
That rule applies to everyone.

 

When will people realize that we are trying to not piss off the people who are helping us/not trying to kill us.

Seems like they think islam is at war with the west...  Can't say I disagree.  If it precipitates some jumping by some ROPers, that might make more people think we are at war with a group that doesn't share our beliefs in freedom.

Aah to late, I see US flags being burnt by ROPers constantly here in Europe, and if they really want to make a point a doll of the US president goes up in flames.

I'm sure Jesus would approve.....



Have you "Christians" forgot yourselves?



 

This is the same crowd (Islam) that burned CHURCHES just because someone published a cartoon picture of mohammed. I don't have much pity for their feelings.  I might have more if any of them had protested any of the atrocities committed in the name of Islam, but they never seem to...

True.  Change "Muslim" to pot smoker and the Koran to "High TImes" , and you would have a "Christian" or two here calling for their heads and encouraging the book burning.  I recall a thread a while back where the question was "Could you marry an ex-prostitute" and one of our Christians preaching tolerance in this thread said "once a whore, always a whore"  –– Very Christlike––  Some of the Christians in this thread calling for tolarance and "why don't they spend their time feeding the needy (not you specifically crush) instead of wasting it on this crap" applauded Midland TExas for running the Swingers out of town when they could have been feeding the poor instead.  How about a little consistency?  Tolerate things you like, but still turn around and do the opposite on things you don't?

I'm all out of give a fuck.

Those fuckers danced in the streets on 9/11/01....fuck 'em.

Sounds like appeasement to me....those who hate us are not going to hate us any more/ less because a couple of korans are set afire or not.