08/09 Profile: Dove World Outreach Center

Mr Jones says he sincerely hopes burning Korans will not lead to violence

The plan by the Dove World Outreach Center, a small evangelical church in the US state of Florida, to burn Korans on 11 September has drawn worldwide condemnation.

Its pastor, the Reverend Terry Jones, says that as an American Christian he has a right to burn Islam's holy book because it is "full of lies".

“We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats”
The Reverend Terry Jones

Despite acknowledging that he has "no experience... whatsoever" of the Koran, he argues that it is "evil" because it espouses something other than Biblical truth and incites radical, violent behaviour among Muslims.

The 58-year-old recently wrote a book entitled Islam is of the Devil.

Muslims consider the Koran the sacred word of God and consider any intentional damage or show of disrespect towards it as deeply offensive .

There are fears that the planned burning will spark international protests by Muslims on a scale similar to those seen after the publication of satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper in 2006.

Already, protesters in Afghanistan have burned an effigy of Mr Jones to chants of "death to America".

"Even the rumour that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul," warned the top US and Nato military commander in the country, Gen David Petraeus, earlier this week.

Protesters burned an effigy of Mr Jones in Kabul

"Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy, and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult," he added.

Mr Jones says he sincerely hopes burning Korans will not lead to violence, and dismisses the idea that it may put American troops at greater risk.

"We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats," he says.

Mr Jones has received more than 100 death threats in recent days and says he has started carrying a pistol as a precaution.

'Stand up'

The Dove World Outreach Center, a 50-member church in the city of Gainesville, was founded in 1986 by Donald Northrup.

“Christians must return to the truth and stop hiding. We need to speak up against sin and call the people to repentance”
Dove World Outreach Center website

After he died in 1996, the leadership of the church was taken over by Mr Jones, who had been running a sister church in Cologne, Germany.



Under the pastor, it has been transformed "from a local church to an apostolic church with a world vision", according to its website.

The church follows the Pentecostal tradition, which emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct experience of the presence of God by the believer.

Pentecostals base their theology on the text of the Bible, which they believe to be the word of God and totally without error. They believe their movement is returning Christianity to a pure and simple form.

"Our purpose and our goal here at Dove World Outreach Center is to get people to stand up. We, as the church, need to stand up for righteousness and for the truth of the Bible," a statement on the church's website states.

"Christians must return to the truth and stop hiding. We need to speak up against sin and call the people to repentance."

It later adds: "Any religion which would profess anything other than this truth is of the devil. This is why we also take a stand against Islam, which teaches that Jesus is not the Son of God, therefore taking away the saving power of Jesus Christ and leading people straight to Hell."

On its blog, the church describes International Burn a Koran Day, on the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks, as "neither an act of love nor of hate".

"We see... that Islam is a danger. We are using this act to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful," it says.

"We do not hate any people, however. We love, as God loves, all the people in the world and we want them to come to a knowledge of the truth. To warn of danger and harm is a loving act. God is love and truth. If you know the truth it can set you free. The world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam."

The church has been denied a permit for a bonfire by the authorities in Gainesville, but Mr Jones plans to go forward with the Koran burning and pay any fines incurred.


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