Presidentappeals to pastor notto burnthe Koran

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has made a direct appeal to a Florida pastor to halt plans to burn the Koran, warning he is putting the lives of innocent Americans in danger and would only boost support for terrorism.

As international condemnation of the September 11 protest mounts, President Barack Obama called the plan a “stunt” and said he hoped the Rev Terry Jones would call it off.

In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America he said the nation was built on principals of “freedom and religious tolerance” and what Jones proposed “is completely contrary to our values as Americans”.

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“This could increase the recruitment of individuals who’d be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities,” he added.

“I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan. We’re already seeing protests against Americans just by the mere threat of it.”

Pastor Jones, who preaches against Islam, announced in July he would be staging an “International Burn-a-Koran Day” at his church in Gainesville in Florida.

City officials have refused him a burning permit but are powerless to prevent the protest taking place, protected as it is by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, guaranteeing freedom of speech.

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Outside the US, political leaders have joined the chorus of disapproval, urging the church leader not to go ahead.

In London, Foreign Secretary William Hague last night called the clergyman’s plans “selfish and provocative in the extreme”.

In a statement, Mr Hague said the plan was “offensive not just to Muslims but to all supporters of religious freedom and tolerance worldwide”.

Commons Leader Sir George Young was cheered by MPs when he described the pastor as a “stupid bigot”.

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In a statement, former Prime Minister Tony Blair – who founded a Faith Foundation to promote understanding between religions – said: “I deplore the act of burning the Koran. It is disrespectful, wrong and will be widely condemned by people of all faiths and none. In no way does this represent the view of any sensible person in the West or any other part of the world.”

Euro-MPs have also joined the condemnation, following pleas from the Vatican and the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was deeply disturbed by the idea, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel decried it as “abhorrent.”

Demonstrations against the planned burning continue to spread throughout the Muslim world.

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About 200 lawyers and protesters marched and burned a US flag in the central Pakistani city of Multan, demanding Washington halts the burning of the Muslim holy book.

“If Koran is burned, it would be beginning of destruction of America,” read one English-language banner held up by the demonstrators, who chanted “Down with America!”

Hundreds of angry Afghans burned an American flag and chanted “Death to the Christians” in a demonstration yesterday in Mahmud Raqi, the capital of the Kapisa province some 60 miles north-east of Kabul.

Nato spokesman James Judge said the protest numbered between 500 to 700 people.

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Afghan national police prevented the protest from overwhelming an Afghan military outpost and dispersed the demonstration.

Pastor Jones told a press conference on Wednesday evening that he has received encouragement for his protest, with supporters posting copies of the Koran to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers.

He plans to burn the books in a bonfire tomorrow to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America on September 11 2001.

“As of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing,” said the gun-carrying Pentecostalist.