How much hate is being promoted in the churches of America? This isn't the first story I've read about churches preaching intolerance... http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/29/florida.burn.quran.day/index.html Church plans Quran-burning event (CNN) -- In protest of what it calls a religion "of the devil," a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Florida, plans to host an "International Burn a Quran Day" on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Dove World Outreach Center says it is hosting the event to remember 9/11 victims and take a stand against Islam. With promotions on its website and Facebook page, it invites Christians to burn the Muslim holy book at the church from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. "We believe that Islam is of the devil, that it's causing billions of people to go to hell, it is a deceptive religion, it is a violent religion and that is proven many, many times," Pastor Terry Jones told CNN's Rick Sanchez earlier this week. Jones wrote a book titled "Islam is of the Devil," and the church sells coffee mugs and shirts featuring the phrase. Muslims and many other Christians -- including some evangelicals -- are fighting the initiative. The church launched a YouTube channel to disseminate its messages. "I mean ask yourself, have you ever really seen a really happy Muslim? As they're on the way to Mecca? As they gather together in the mosque on the floor? Does it look like a real religion of joy?" Jones asks in one of his YouTube posts. "No, to me it looks like a religion of the devil." The Islamic advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Muslims and others to host "Share the Quran" dinners to educate the public during the monthlong fast of Ramadan beginning in August. In a news release, the group announced a campaign to give out 100,000 copies of the Quran to local, state and national leaders. "American Muslims and other people of conscience should support positive educational efforts to prevent the spread of Islamophobia," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper in the release. The National Association of Evangelicals, the nation's largest umbrella evangelical group, issued a statement urging the church to cancel the event, warning it could cause worldwide tension between the two religions. "The NAE calls on its members to cultivate relationships of trust and respect with our neighbors of other faiths. God created human beings in his image, and therefore all should be treated with dignity and respect," it said in the statement. Dove's Facebook page, set up for the September event, has more than 1,600 fans. "Eternal fire is the only destination the Quran can lead people to, so we want to put the Quran in it's [sic] place -- the fire!" the page says. But another Facebook group with more than 3,100 fans says it stands "against the disrespect and intolerance that these people have for the Muslim people" and encourages people to report Dove's page to Facebook. Targeting another group it calls "godless," the Dove center is also hosting a protest against Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe, who is openly gay, on Monday at Gainesville's City Hall. The group previously fought -- unsuccessfully -- to derail Lowe's election campaign. "We protest sexual perversion because the Bible protests it. ... What is acceptable to today's leadership becomes acceptable to tomorrow's society," the church says in its blog entry about the event. Lowe and other government figures and media outlets received e-mails from the church about the event, The Gainesville Sun reported. Lowe isn't concerned with Monday's event. "I've got other things to do," he said, The Sun reports. On the outreach center's front lawn, alongside a sign reading "Aug. 2 Protest, No Homo Mayor, City Hall," stands not just one, but three signs bearing the slogan "Islam is of the Devil." One of the signs -- one reading "Islam" on one side, "Devil" on the other -- was vandalized. On its blog last week, the church said the sign will be replaced. "This is private property and vandalism is a crime here in America," the blog says. "In Islam, many actions that we consider to be crimes are encouraged, condoned or sheltered under Islamic teaching and practice, though. Another reason to burn a Quran." Aroundtheworld, are you going to be at this event?
I stopped reading there. I couldn't take it. I cannot believe they're actually using the victims of 9/11, many of whom were Muslim, as a reason/scapegoat to spread their hateful filth. I am continually amazed by the willful stupidity and intolerance of human beings. "Draw a Muhammad Day" was bad enough, but this is on another level. Anyone who condones this event is a complete idiot, hands down. Yes, you, the religious zealot reading this that thinks it's a good idea: you are an idiot.
Maybe this is just a radical way to promote e-Qurans and fight the use of paper/trees? But yeah, I see what they mean. It must be a religion of the devil, it's COMPLETELY different to Christianity. It's just so different. In all seriousness though, I wish they would just recycle the paper instead of burn it. So much drama.
I would love it if some atheist group held a bible burning simultaneously next door and watched them all get apoplectic and try and explain how burning bibles was different.
You must understand. It's like the World Cup. Everyone's own team is the only right team. Your example would annoy them because they would get confused about which book to burn in retaliation.
Can't really blame a Christian for disliking Islam or a Muslim for disliking Christianity based on how each faith dogmatically views the other according to scripture. When you claim to know all the answers, suddenly every other explanation becomes heresy. And yeah, I lol'd at the thought of a bunch of Christians trying to figure out how to get back at a bunch of atheists for burning the Bible.
It tickles me pink that they're doing this. I hope the church leaders realize that their little Guy Montag stunt is only going to help get more Qurans distributed. fundamentalism is amazing
I see a slight parallel between this fundamentalist backfire and the drawing muhammed dust-up a few months back.
If I was a Christian burning "atheist" books, I'd throw in copies of Slaughter-House Five, Cat's Cradle, Catch-22, and in a fit of irony, Fahrenheit 451. that's just me though
