Pastor Terry Jones defiantly refuses to stop his campaign even if it means American soldiers will die

The controversial pastor who has sparked riots in Afghanistan which have left at least 20 dead has said he would rather die than stop preaching against Islam.

Reverend Terry Jones said his right to speak out was more important than the lives of those who had died during the unrest - or any American soldiers who might be killed in the future.

He said he would continue his campaign against Muslims even though every single one of his 30 parishioners had deserted him.

The 59-year-old did however admit that he now carries a gun everywhere he goes because he has received more than 300 death threats and has a $2.4million bounty put on his head by the Taliban.

Seven UN workers and at least 13 others in Afghanistan were killed over the weekend when an anti-Jones mob attacked their compound in Mazar-e Sharif, the largest city in the north of the country.

More than 150 others were injured in related protests that spread to the capital Kandahar over three days.

They were furious after Jones burned a copy of the Koran at his Dove Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, on March 20.

Insist: Interview with Pastor Terry Jones in which he said he will not stop preaching against Islam even if it means innocent lives are at stake.Protest: A boy holds a copy of the Koran as he takes part in a rally against Terry Jones days before 20 people were killed, including seven UN workers.Reaction: Pakistani Christians burn an effigy depicting U.S. pastor Terry Jones in response to him burning the Koran outside his church in Gainesville, Florida.Defiant: Terry Jones said he is prepared to die for the cause and will not stop preaching against Islam even if it means more deaths

He had called off a previous attempt in the face of an international outcry but then staged a mock ‘trial’ of the Prophet Muhammad and burned the Islamic holy book as ‘punishment’.



Having been deserted by his parishioners he is now left with just one assistant to spread his hate-filled message.

In an interview with ABC News Jones was asked if he was willing to die for his cause.

He said: 'Yes we are, very definitely. That’s how important we feel about it.'

He said he would carry on speaking out even if it lead to the death of American soldiers.

‘Perhaps in the long run, we may save hundreds or thousands (of lives),’ he said.

He revealed he has received more than 300 death threats, some of which name the date, time and place where he will be killed - but he would carry on regardless.

Jones added that during the Koran burning on March 20 it was him who decided to put the Islamic holy book on trial.

‘I was the judge but I did not determine the verdict. I was just a type of referee so that people got their time to defend or condemn the Koran,’ he said.

Jones has been condemned by Barack Obama and General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, who called his actions ‘hateful and intolerant’.

As the protests against the Koran burning entered their fourth day, the latest casualties were two foreign soldiers on a training mission who were shot dead by a ‘rogue’ Afghan border policeman in Jalalabad.

In addition, up to a thousand angry residents in the city blocked the main highway to Kabul and set alight effigies of Jones.

‘We wanted to raise awareness of this dangerous religion and dangerous element,’ Jones said.

‘I think today’s attack proves that there is a radical element of Islam.’

Among the UN workers killed were 33-year-old Swede Joakim Dunel, who specialised in human rights.

Another fatality was Lt. Col. Siri Skare, a 53-year-old female pilot from Norway and Filaret Motco, a 43-year-old Romanian who worked in the political section of the UN.

Their bodies were found spread over three different parts of their compound.

Pastor Terry Jones defiantly refuses to stop his campaign preaching against Islam even if it means American soldiers will die

Defiant: Terry Jones said he is prepared to die for the cause and will not stop preaching against Islam even if it means more deaths

Two UN staff beheaded and five others murdered in protest against U.S. pastor who burnt Koran

*Koran burning pastor says 'The time has come to hold Islam accountable'
*U.N. sources say final death toll could rise as high as 20
*Taliban behind attacks, reports suggest
*Demonstrators at the burnings take place across the Middle East
*One of the dead is a 53-year-old female Norwegian pilot
*Mastermind behind attacks - a known militant - arrested say Afghan police
*Afghan authorities suspect insurgents blended into protesters
*Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish and Nepalese nationals among those killed

At least seven United Nations staff were murdered - two by beheading - after extremists stormed their compound in northern Afghanistan today.

According to reports, protesters in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif beheaded two U.N. guards, seized their weapons and began shooting those inside the compound after a demonstration against Koran burnings in the U.S. turned violent.

Reports emerged tonight that the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were part of a campaign of violence in the run up to presidential elections.

The bloodshed is the worst attack on the U.N. in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.

 Firebrand: Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn a koran last year and carried the threat out last month

Victim: The first named victim is 53-year-old Norwegian pilot Lt. Col Siri Skare who was working as a UN military advisor in the country

 Protest: Thousands of protectors flooded the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif chanting anti-American slogans before the violence broke out

Controversy: U.S. Pastor Terry Jones, pictured last September, gained worldwide attention after he planned to burn a Koran

At least four Afghan workers were also killed and officials fear the total death toll could rise to 20.

The rampage began when over a thousand protesters flooded into the streets after Friday prayers where they heard reports about the Koran burnings in America last month.

After slaying the guards, the armed mob scaled the compound's blast walls before setting fire to a guard tower and several other buildings.

An Afghan police source, who asked not to be named, said the chief of the mission in the city was wounded but survived.

Among those murdered were Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish and Nepalese nationals. Two were decapitated, it is understood.

And tonight pastor Terry Jones, the man many hold responsible for instigating the wave of protests, remained defiant over his decision to hold the Koran burning, saying it was time for 'Islam to be held accountable'.

He said: 'We must hold these countries and people accountable for what they have done as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities. The time has come to hold Islam accountable.

'Our United States government and our President must take a close, realistic look at the radical element Islam. Islam is not a religion of peace.

'We demand action from the United Nations. Muslim dominated countries can no longer be allowed to spread their hate against Christians and minorities.

'They must alter the laws that govern their countries to allow for individual freedoms and rights, such as the right to worship, free speech, and to move freely without fear of being attacked or killed.'

They were protesting at last week's ceremonial burning of a copy of the Koran at a church in Florida.

The controversial pastor triggered international outrage last year when he urged Americans to burn the Koran on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

He relented following an intervention by President Obama but on March 21 he and pastor Wayne Sapp finally carried out their threat.

After Sapp set fire to the text, he let it burn for ten minutes.

Mohammad Azim, a businessman in Mazer-i-Sharif, said that before the violence, clerics with loudspeakers had driven around the city in two cars to invite residents to the protest.

As the violent mobs dissipated this evening, reports of the UN dead began to trickle in.

The Norwegian Defence Ministry said one of the victims was Lt. Col Siri Skare, a 53-year-old female pilot.

A Swede and four U.N, guards from Nepal were also killed. The nationality of the seventh victim has not been released.

According to Afghan officials it looks increasingly likely that the attacks were carried out by insurgents who had blended into the angry crowds.

This evening Afghan police said they had arrested the suspected mastermind behind the attack.

Rawof Taj, deputy police chief in Balkh province, said this evening he was one of more than 20 people arrested after the violence.

Taj said the suspected mastermind was from Kapisa province, a hotbed of the insurgency about 250 miles south east of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Staffan De Mistura, the top UN representative in Afghanistan, was heading to Mazar-i-Sharif to handle the matter personally.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Nairobi that the attack was 'outrageous and cowardly'.

The worst previous attack was in 2009 in an insurgent assault on a guesthouse where UN staff were staying. Five UN staffers were killed and nine others wounded.

In October 2010, several militants were killed when they attempted to ambush the UN compound in Herat dressed in burkas worn by women.

General Daud Daud, commander of Afghan National Police in several northern provinces, said those killed included five Nepalese guards who were working for the UN and two other foreigners employed at the complex.

A UN spokesman confirmed that workers had been killed at the mission, but he said the situation on the ground was still confusing and it was difficult to 'ascertain facts'.

The deaths are a major setback for the U.N. and international forces who want the Afghan government to take control of its own security by 2014.

Only last week President Hamid Karzai said the city of Mazar-i-Sharif would be one of the first areas handed over to Afghan control this year.

Simmering anger at the burnings finally erupted across the Middle East today.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the western Afghan city of Herat.

There, protesters burned a U.S. flag at a sports stadium and chanted 'Death to the US' and 'They broke the heart of Islam'.

Around 200 also protested near the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Both protests remained relatively peaceful.

Demonstrations against the Koran burning also took place in Pakistan today.

Women representing the Working Women Welfare Trust marched through the streets of Karachi voicing their anger against Pastor Jones.

Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement calling the burning a 'crime against a religion'.

He denounced it as a 'disrespectful and abhorrent act' and called on the U.S. and the UN to bring to justice those who burned the holy book and issue a response to Muslims around the world.

He also said Mazar-i-Sharif would be one of the first parts

 Fight: It appears guards at the U.N. compound fought back injuring Afghan's who attacked the base

 Hysteria: Preachers rode around after Friday prayers encouraging the population to join protests directed against foreign forces in the country

 Suspects: Afghan officials suspect those who attacked the base were insurgents who had blended into the angry crowd before carrying out the violence

Protester who burned pages of Koran at Ground Zero mosque site is sacked from his job

A protester who burned pages of the Koran outside the site of the planned mosque near Ground Zero has been sacked from his job as a train conductor.

Derek Fenton, 39, of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, was photographed ripping up pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them alight on September 11.

He was removed from outside Park51, the site where the controversial mosque could be built, by police but was later released without charge.

But it now appears his former employer NJ Transit has taken more drastic action after confirming he had been dismissed.

A statement from the company said: 'Mr Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics.

Defiant: Derek Fenton was moved away by police after burning pages of the Koran near the planned mosque site in New York



'NJ Transit concluded that Mr Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and there he was dismissed.'

Mr Fenton was allegedly inspired to carry out the act by Reverend Terry Jones, the Florida clergyman who sparked international protests when he threatened to stage a Koran burning day on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

A police source told the New York Daily News: 'He said "this is America" and he wanted to stand up for it, in a Tea Party kind of way.'

Another police source said he described himself as exercising his 'right to protest'.

Mr Fenton was an assistant train-consist coordinator - which entails ensuring there are enough train cars positioned to be put into service.

New Jersey Transit did not give specifics behind why he was dismissed.

But if he was sacked because of his actions, he could be protected by his First Amendment rights, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Chris Dunn, from the union, said: 'The Supreme Court has recognised a constitutional right to burn the flag.

'As reprehensible as it may be, burning the Koran would be protected as well.'

Muslim Scholar: Don't Build Islamic Center - Says Plans for Controversial Center Near Ground Zero Grow From "War of Ideas" Among Muslims Worldwide

A respected Muslim scholar has a message for those planning to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York: It's a bad idea, and a window on sharply differing thinking among Muslims worldwide on how to best go about promoting Islam - and peace.

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, in Phoenix, a former Muslim U.S. Navy Commander, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Friday sharply critical of the planned Islamic center, urging organizer Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Muslims all over the world to show compassion and understand the American separation of church and state.

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, in Phoenix, on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," explaining why he opposes the proposed Islamic Center two blocks from Ground Zero in New York



Jasser says the Islamic Center as conceived is more about making a political statement that will seriously divide communities than about bringing them together.

He wrote, "We Muslims should first separate mosque and state before lecturing Americans about church and state." He continues, "American freedom of religion is a right, but … it is not right to make one's religion a global political statement with a towering Islamic edifice that casts a shadow over the memorials of Ground Zero. … Islamists in 'moderate' disguise are still Islamists. In their own more subtle ways, the WTC mosque organizers end up serving the same aims (as) separatist and supremacist wings of political Islam."

On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," Jasser regarded the rallies being planned at Ground Zero, for and against the center, and said he thinks, "Today is especially a day, as we remember and reflect upon 9/11 and looking over that pit of devastation there and feeling that, today, we look through that lens as Americans, not as a Muslim, not as of any faith. I don't look through this lens of trying to repair my - trying to promote Islam. It's about fighting the forces that caused this, and I think, if we're able to unite under that, that's why 71 percent of Americans are against (the Islamic center).

"It's not because they don't want mosques there, there [are] even other mosques closer. Many of us have built over 2,000 mosques in the United States with very little problem. But, I think what unites us is the freedoms and liberties our Constitution gives us, and it's time for Muslims to look less about promoting ourselves, (have) less of a victimology and (be) more about feeling the pain of the families of 9/11 and understanding what we have to do to repair the house of Islam."

Still, Jasser told anchor Chris Wragge he "absolutely" doesn't think America has become Islama-phobic since 9/11. "I think we're getting a crash course on Islam," Jasser observed, "and we Muslims have to do more work to separate spiritual Islam of the faith we love from political Islam that creates the (accused Fort Hood gunman) Nidal Hasans ... and has a continuum from moderate to radical. That's what we have to do to separate them. And there's some confusion, there, understandably, because it's not a binary equation of good Muslim-non-violent, bad Muslim-violent There's a continuum that's confusing. But that is some part of the educational process, part of the war of ideas we have to fight within. This isn't a fight between Islam and Christianity or Islam and the West. It's a fight within the house of Islam we need to focus on, not just focus on victimology."

Jasser blasted the would-be Quran (Koran)-burner, the Rev. Terry Jones, saying, Book-burning has never been anything that's been followed by anything good in history. Book burning is something that is clearly against the Constitution and the First Amendment, and shows a complete disrespect. And he's a speck of humanity of just 30 congregants and doesn't represent America, but yet feeds into the Islamist narrative overseas, across the world, that America is against Islam, America is against Muslims. So, he used it to have his 15 minutes of fame, and it fed interest that narrative."

Koran burning Pastor arrives in New York - Pastor's Son: 'No Quran Burning' for Now - Quran burning called off again

Florida pastor terry Jones will 'not today, not ever' burn Quran

A Florida pastor says his church will "not today, not ever" burn a Quran, even if a mosque is built near ground zero.

Pastor Terry Jones had threatened to burn the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks over plans to build an Islamic center near where terrorists brought down the World Trade Center nine years ago.

He flew to New York and appeared on NBC's "Today" show. He says that his Gainesville, Fla., church's goal was "to expose that there is an element of Islam that is very dangerous and very radical."

He tells NBC that "we have definitely accomplished that mission." He says no meeting is planned with the imam leading the center but he hopes one will take place.

A "Burn a Koran Day" banner outside his church has been taken down.

Pastor Terry Jones is surrounded by reporters as he arrives at Laguardia airport, Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 in New York

Koran Burning Pastor arrive in New York

Violent backlash across Muslim world continues as Pastor Terry Jones finally calls off 9/11 Koran-burning at church

A violent backlash spread across the Muslim world today over an American pastor’s threat to burn the Koran - even after he agreed to put it on hold.

Dozens were injured when a mob attacked a Nato compound in north Afghanistan as thousands took to the streets to condemn Pastor Terry Jones.

There were conflicting reports that one protester had been shot dead.


* Islamic leaders say plans have caused lasting damage
* Jones: 'They lied about moving Ground Zero mosque'
* Afghan protester 'shot dead outside Nato base'



Controversial: Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Centre has said that he still might burn the Koran on September 11

 
Anger: Muslims around the world have been angered by Reverend Terry Jones's desires to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks


Conflict: Reverend Terry Jones's threat to burn the Koran has caused outrage in the the Muslim world

Pastor Jones and members of his Dove Outreach Church in Gainesville, Florida, had intended to throw 200 copies of the Islamic holy book on a bonfire tomorrow, the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America.

But on a day of confusion over his intentions, the pastor said tonight he would not hold the book-burning event and would now meet tomorrow with the New York Imam at the centre of the affair to settle the dispute.

The attempt by Pastor Jones to defuse the growing international row appeared to have backfired after at least three Americans came forward to say they would burn copies of the holy book, shattering hopes the row could be resolved.
President Barack Obama issued an emotional appeal, saying the burning of the Koran would endanger the lives of ‘our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives’ fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The President said: 'It is in the age of the Internet that something can cause us profound damage around the world, so we have to take it seriously.

‘This is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives who are sacrificing for us to keep us safe, and you don’t play games with that.’

Protests took place throughout the Muslim world in Pakistan, Iraq and on the Gaza Strip.

But the riot in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan was by far the most serious.

It began when several hundred young men attacked a Nato reconstruction team base that is staffed by German soldiers who are part of the international force in the country.

The mob overpowered Afghan security guards on the outer wall and, armed with sticks and rocks, tried to storm the inner wall but were forced back when the Nato troops fired into the crowd.

Claims that a protester had been killed could not be confirmed, with some reports saying no one had been killed.

Other protests took place in the capital Kabul and two other towns, leaving two men injured.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, effectively the head of world’s most powerful military force, took the extraordinary step of phoning Pastor Jones who has a congregation of between 30 and 50 people.

A deal was then brokered with Florida Imam Muhammed Musri, but that was immediately called into question.

Pastor Jones claimed he was told that if he did not burn the Koran, the Ground Zero mosque would be moved, although this was denied by the developers.

He has now apparently settled for a meeting with Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Imam behind the project and was due to fly to New York on Saturday to see him.

However, in a further twist, Imam Rauf disputed the claim that he would meet with Pastor Jones tomorrow.

Pastor Jones has called on Imam Rauf to urgently respond to offers of talks.

This evening, Imam Rauf replied: ‘I am prepared to consider meeting with anyone who is seriously committed to pursuing peace.

'We have no such meeting planned at this time. Our plans for the community centre have not changed. With the solemn day of September 11 upon us, I encourage everyone to take time for prayer and reflection.’

Pastor Jones said the episode had proved that ‘radical Islam is much more dangerous and violent than we thought.

‘The American people do not want the Mosque there, the Muslims don’t want us to burn the Koran, so let’s do something that will make everybody happy,’ he said.

Arab newspapers described his threat to burn the Koran as a deliberate attempt to infuriate Muslims.

‘It is Satanic, a sin of the worst kind because it is a deliberate one. That makes it far more than an act of ignorant stupidity,’ the Arab News said.

In New York a memorial for those killed on 9/11 looked to be overshadowed by protests for and against the Ground Zero mosque and police were expected to deploy several hundred officers.

Three other Koran burnings could also take place across the US.

In Topeka, Kansas, the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, which pickets funerals of American soldiers with anti-gay placards, vowed to set alight a copy as a riposte to the ‘bullying’ of pastor Jones.

In Springfield, Tennessee, pastor Bob Old said he was going to burn the Koran because followers of Islam ‘worship a false god, have a false text, a false prophet and a false scripture'.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, protester Duncan Philp plans to set the book alight on the steps of the State Capitol building to spite Muslims and Mr Obama.

And today in England, an estimated 11,000 Muslim gathered at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, south London, to hear a sermon by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, world head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

He said Mr Jones had spread ‘hatred’ around the world.

Earlier at the mosque, the largest in western Europe, church leaders of different religions joined Rafiq Hayat, National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, in condemning Mr Jones for ‘creating disorder in society’ and calling for a non-violent response to his inflammatory threat.

Mr Hayat said: ‘If somebody is going to do this act [burn the Koran] there is no doubt there will be fundamentalists in Muslim countries who will want to react in a violent way.

'That is sad and will create further discord. The promotion of peace is the essence of all religions.’





Flag burning: Muslims show their anger at American pastor Terry Jones's ideas to burn the Koran - some 10,000 protested outside the NATO base in Afghanistan

 

Chilling: The Muslim community stood together in the face of America after Rev Terry Jones said that he would burn the Koran

Burning: Muslim protesters burn an effigy of Reverend Terry Jones to show how offensive they find his suggestion of burning the Koran