Firestorm of protest over plans to burnthe Koran

“We are still determined to it, yes,” the Rev Terry Jones said yesterday.

He said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a pistol since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect.

The 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Koran Day” at his church in Gainesville, Florida.

Supporters have been mailing copies of the Koran for him to put on a bonfire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US.

The fire department has denied him a permit but he has vowed to go ahead, claiming lawyers have told him his right to burn the Koran is protected by the First Amendment whether he has permission or not.

General David Petraeus, head of the US military in Afghanistan, has already warned “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.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added her disapproval at a dinner in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths,” she said.

The Vatican denounced it “outrageous and grave” and said every religion had the right to expect that its sacred books, places of worship and symbols would be respected.

The White House has also spoken out about the plan and at a meeting with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the US, Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning both idiotic and dangerous.

David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Barack Obama said yesterday: “The reverend may have the right to do what he’s doing but it’s not right. It’s not consistent with our values.”

The Rev Jones said he was concerned about worldwide reaction to the protest at his Dove World Outreach Centre but was “wondering, ‘When do we stop? How much do we back down? How many times do we back down?” he said.

“Instead of us backing down, maybe it’s time to stand up. Maybe it’s time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behaviour.”

In Afghanistan, Jones’ planned burning has provoked outrage. Hundreds marched on the capital Kabul on Monday, chanting “Death to America”.

Aid workers have called on the church to halt its planned day of action as warnings of violence against Americans flood in.

“It is the duty of Muslims to react,” said Mohammad Mukhtar, a cleric and candidate for the Afghan parliament. “When their holy book Koran gets burned in public, then there is nothing left. If this happens, I think the first and most important reaction will be that wherever Americans are seen, they will be killed. No matter where they will be in the world they will be killed.”

Kabul resident, Rajab Ali said, “If this (burning of the Koran) happens there will be chaos in Afghanistan and being a Muslim, if we don’t defend the Koran then what else we can do?”

The Koran, according to Jones, is “evil” because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behaviour among Muslims.