Fla. church wants to burn Quran on 9/11 anniversary

Claiming on their website that they are “a new testament church, based on the bible,” the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., tends to attract media attention by engaging in activities that rank high in shock effect.

On Monday, the group plans on holding a protest against Gainesville’s first gay mayor. In the past, they had held up signs saying, “No homo mayor,” The Huffington Post said.

On the ninth anniversary of 9/11, the church plans on celebrating the tragedy by burning the Quran.

Last year on its front lawn they put up signs that said “Islam is of the devil,” which left residents aghast, causing some to say the message is hateful, The Christian Post said.

A number of Christians question the methods of this church believing it conveys more hate than love, but Dove’s senior pastor Terry Jones is nonplussed.

He says Christian critics should “stop criticizing and find another way to raise awareness about Islam or to share the Gospel,” The Christian Post said.

Jones authored a book called “Islam is of the Devil” and admits that protests are one of the key missions for his church. He says the goal is to warn, and help Muslims to convert, the Religious News Service said.

Jones said people have been giving him Qurans to burn. The idea for burning Qurans, he added, partly came from a Facebook page which called for an “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” RNS said.

On Sept. 11, Muslims will celebrate their Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. Ramzy Kilic, communications director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the organization does not wish to be reactive in how they will commemorate the holiday. They hope to share Islamic traditions and Qurans with churchgoers and the community.

A LifeWay Research survey that was released in April discovered that six out of 10 pastors believe that Christianity and Islam should attempt to live together peacefully in the United States, The Christian Post said.