GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, emerged Wednesday from a meeting with the Rev. Terry Jones and said he was hopeful that the fervently anti-Islam church leader would call off plans to burn copies of the Koran on Saturday’s anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“I think the man wants to do the right thing, wants to properly represent his faith and does not want to be called ‘bigot’ or ‘racist’ or ‘anti-‘ anything,” Musri said after a 30-minute summit with Jones, head of the Dove World Outreach Center, a tiny nondenominational church. “He’s anti-terrorist, as we are all.”
Jones, who in July published a book titled “Islam Is of the Devil,” preceded the unplanned meeting between the two men of faith with a brief announcement in which he affirmed his commitment to burning the Muslim holy book.
Global furor ignited
The plan has ignited an international firestorm and has been decried by Army Gen. David Petraeus, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pope Benedict XVI.
“As of this time, we have no intention of canceling,” Jones told reporters. “We are not convinced that backing down is the right thing.”
Jones, who took no questions, later released a statement to the Orlando Sentinel about his meeting with Musri.
“Our meeting with the imam was pleasant,” the statement read. “He was very respectful towards us. He was in agreement with us that it is necessary that both Muslims and Christians condemn acts of terrorism by radical Islam.”
Musri described Jones as both attentive and considerate during the meeting. He said he found common ground with Jones in condemnation of terrorists, including those who committed “that atrocity on our nation” on Sept. 11.
But Musri said he also expressed his concern about the effect of desecrating a text that is sacred to more than a billion people.
He said he appealed to Jones with biblical scripture.
“He said he will consider. . . . He will pray about it. I told him that Christ in the Bible has offered a different solution, a different way,” said Musri, whose organization represents 50,000 Muslims.
Security checks urged
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the State Department has ordered U.S. embassies to assess their security ahead of Jones’ planned Koran burning amid fears it could spark anti-American violence. Officials said U.S. diplomatic posts have been instructed to convene “emergency action committees” to determine the potential for protests.
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States called on conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck to denounce the planned burning to show that Americans are tolerant of other faiths.
“I think it would help if Mr. Glenn Beck came out against it and said that people of faith do not burn the books of people of other faith,” Husain Haqqani told AP on Wednesday.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, meanwhile,in a statement posted on Facebook, urged Jones and his supporters to consider the ramifications of their planned event, which she said would “appear as nothing more than mean- spirited religious intolerance.”
