The Dove World Outreach Center had hovered on the brink of obscurity in Gainesville, Florida since its founding in 1986. According to reports, the non-denominational church’s membership has fluctuated between 50 and 30 persons and though it operates a charity which provides food, clothing and furniture to the less fortunate, it seemed unable to attract followers.
Pastor Terry Jones, who took over the leadership of the church some ten years later, is using quite unorthodox methods to change this, it would appear. Last year, he put the Dove World Center on the front pages of several national US news organizations, when he posted a sign in front of the church which read “Islam is of the Devil.” (He has also written a book with the same title.) It generated tons of negative publicity and offended most of the people in Gainsville, some of whom, reports said, removed it and defaced it to show their disapproval.
Two months ago, Jones announced publicly and on the church’s website, that September 11, has been earmarked ‘Burn a Koran’ day. At first, not many persons seemed to be taking him seriously. However, as the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the US, which saw the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers, damage to the Pentagon and the loss of almost 3,000 lives, drew closer, Jones stepped up his rhetoric. A Facebook page ‘International Burn a Koran Day’ appeared in the blogosphere announcing that “On September 11, 2010, from 6pm – 9pm, we will burn the Koran on the property of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!” As at Tuesday evening, some 11,000 people on Facebook had indicated that they “liked” the page and it had drawn a slew of comments for and against it – some mild, some rabid and others downright offensive. Heightened tension in the US over opposition to build a mosque and community centre in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site, appeared to have assisted Jones’s ill-conceived proposal.
The city of Gainsville had last month denied the Dove Center a permit for the activity, but Jones said it would be held anyway. This week, in the face of his determination to carry on at all costs, condemnation for Jones’s plans came from the US military commander in Afghanistan, who said the action could endanger American soldiers and retard current attempts to control the Afghan situation, even as Muslims in that country and other Islamic states mounted street protests, spouting the familiar ‘Death to America’ slogan.
The Obama administration made it clear that it deplored the “un-American” idea with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling it disrespectful and disgraceful at an Iftar, the meal at which Muslims break their daily fast during the month of Ramadan, which she hosted at the State Department on Tuesday.
In recent times, extremism has been linked mainly to Islam because its religious terrorists have been the most active. However, there are documented instances of Christian and other religious terrorism in which extremists use the Bible and other sacred texts to justify violent, sometimes deadly, activities.
The question is whether Jones really is an extremist or just an opportunist looking for fame. Extremist sects tend to have large followings and Jones has failed miserably in this area, unless he is simply looking to recruit Facebook fans who are known to be fickle, quickly moving on to “like” the latest cause. All the same, Jones should be taken seriously as he may very well have provided an opening for someone who is extreme. Jones and those who follow him, blinded by their hate and ignorance, fail to see that in their intolerance they have become the true counterparts of those they profess to hate.
