GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - As thousands of Afghans protested a tiny Florida church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book, the church's pastor said he won't follow through with the burning if he's able to meet Saturday with the organizers behind a mosque planned near ground zero in New York.
In Afghanistan, at least 11 people were injured Friday in protests.
Police in the northern province of Badakhshan said several hundred demonstrators ran toward a NATO compound where four attackers and five police were injured in clashes. Protesters also burned an American flag at a mosque after Friday prayers. In western Farah province, police said two people were injured in another protest.
Speaking to NBC's "Today" show, the Rev. Terry Jones said if he meets with the imam in New York, he won't burn the Koran. It wasn't clear if he meant the burning would be halted indefinitely or just for Saturday.
Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, told CBS' "The Early Show" he had a commitment for Jones and himself to meet in New York with the imam there.
City officials in Gainesville said Friday that no matter what Jones says he'll do, they planned to stick with their plan to increase security in response to the event.
Earlier, Jones and Musri had disagreed sharply on the terms of their agreement.
Jones said Thursday he would call off the planned burning of Korans based on a deal negotiated with Musri that the location of a mosque planned near ground zero in New York would be changed.
But Musri said he was clear on Thursday when he told Jones that he could only set up a meeting with planners of the New York City mosque. Jones responded by suggesting that he would go forward with his plan on Saturday after all.
"We are just really shocked," Jones said of Musri. "He clearly, clearly lied to us."
For U.S. political leaders and Muslims around the world who have been outraged by Jones' antics, the on-again, off-again threat bred even more frustration.
Cleric Rusli Hasbi told 1,000 worshippers attending Friday morning prayers in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, that whether or not he burns the Koran, Jones had already "hurt the heart of the Muslim world."
"If he'd gone through with it, it would have been tantamount to war," the cleric said in the coastal town of Lhokseumawe. "A war that would have rallied Muslims all over the world."
Muslims consider the book the sacred word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect.
In Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of U.S. troops are in harm's way, President Hamid Karzai said he heard Jones had perhaps abandoned his Koran-burning plan.
"The holy book is implanted in the hearts and minds of all the Muslims," Karzai said. "Humiliation of the holy book represents the humiliation of our people. I hope that this decision will be stopped and should never have been considered."
Previously, Jones had not invoked the mosque controversy as a reason for his planned protest at his Dove World Outreach Center. Instead, he cited his belief that the Koran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.
Opponents of the New York City mosque argue it is insensitive to families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists flew planes into the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Proponents say the project reflects religious freedom and diversity and that hatred of Muslims is fueling the opposition.
President Barack Obama urged Jones to listen to "those better angels," saying that besides endangering lives, it would give Islamic terrorists a recruiting tool. Defense Secretary Robert Gates took the extraordinary step of calling Jones personally.
Outside London's Central Mosque across from Regent's Park, worshippers chatted, fed geese or posed for pictures Friday by the children's boating pond. Those interviewed about the threatened Koran burning seemed more upset by the media coverage of it than the threat itself.
Medhat Singab, a 47-year-old Egyptian-born Briton, said the media was making a circus of "a church with 30 followers and an idiot."
"They can go on burning the Koran," he said, "It's not going to destroy Islam."
Jamal Ali, 17, said he was talking about the issue with his friends on his way to the mosque. The Sudanese-born student said he thought rowdy protests weren't the right reaction.
Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the intent to burn copies of the Koran is Jones' "expression of hatred of Islam" but called on Muslims to restrain their reactions and not offend Christians in any way.
"This disgraceful act contradicts the very duties of religious and spiritual leadership to enhance the value of peaceful coexistence and safeguard the rights and mutual respect among religions," al-Sistani said in a statement posted on his website Friday.
Jones' church, which has about 50 members, is independent of any denomination. It follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day.
News of the possible cancellation also was welcomed by Jones' neighbors in Gainesville, a city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus. At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in the city had mobilized to plan inclusive events, including Koran readings at services, as a counterpoint to Jones' protest.
Jones said at the news conference that he prayed about the decision and concluded that if the mosque was moved, it would be a sign from God to call off the Koran burning.
Part of the pressure exerted on Jones came from Gates who briefly spoke to the pastor before his first announcement to call it off. Gates expressed "his grave concern that going forward with this Koran burning would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
Last day of Ramadan overshadowed by controversy
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Members of the Islamic community in Syracuse say the ongoing debate over a mosque planned for New York City and a Florida minister's plan to burn the Quran foster an environment of hatred.
Thursday, the last day of Ramadan was overshadowed by a climate of controversy and demonstrations, both anti-Muslim and anti-Christian-American. Within the local Islamic community, members say their faith keeps them from taking part.
"We don't like this. We deny this and in the end we have to abide by God himself tell us to be patient and that's all we can do," said Yaser Alkhooly, Imam of the Islamic Society of CNY.
Alkhooly says the latest debates have only perpetuated the misinformation about their beliefs. He says it is a daily struggle in a country where freedom is its cornerstone. "This freedom should not be abused to that extent to violate other religion and other people and nothing except that we are spreading hatred," he said.
Islamic Society of CNY Member Moveet Chohan says he believes the hatred stems from a fear of the unknown. "I don't think hatred is at a very high level but I definitely think fear exists and then fear will breed hatred and I think one of the things we need to counter that with is education," he said.
"When it's twisted and thought of differently and taken out of context and people who are ignorant will exploit that and unfortunately it was being exploited in Florida," said Islamic Society of CNY Member Samah Mohiuddin.
The Syracuse Diocese says it agrees with the United States Conference of Bishops which issued a statement Thursday saying "All acts of intolerance aimed at a religious community should find no place in our world, let alone in our nation which is founded on the principle of religious freedom."
Imam: Pastor misrepresented Quran-burning deal
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An imam says the leader of a small Florida church told him that he would call off a plan to burn the Quran because it would endanger troops, not because they had a deal to move the location of a mosque planned near ground zero.
Imam Muhammad Musri said late Thursday that he and the Rev. Terry Jones agreed to have a meeting in New York about the location. He says Jones told him he would cancel the burning after a call from the Secretary of Defense and because other religious and political leaders including the president all came out against it.
When they spoke to the media after the meeting, Musri says Jones "stretched my words" about what was said about the mosque.
Jones said at that news conference that he'd cancel the event Saturday. Later he said he was rethinking that and that Musri "clearly, clearly lied to us."
Pastor cancels Quran-burning, then reconsiders
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.
The Rev. Terry Jones generated an international firestorm with his plan to burn the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he has been under intense pressure to give it up. President Barack Obama urged him to listen to "those better angels" and give up his "stunt," saying it would endanger U.S. troops and give Islamic terrorists a recruiting tool. Defense Secretary Robert Gates took the extraordinary step of calling Jones personally.
Standing outside his 50-member Pentecostal church, the Dove Outreach Center, alongside Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, Jones said he relented when Musri assured him that the New York mosque will be moved.
Hours later, after Musri and the leader of the New York mosque denied such an agreement, Jones said Musri "clearly, clearly lied to us."
"Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision," Jones said. "So as of right now, we are not canceling the event, but we are suspending it."
Jones did not say whether the Quran burning could still be held Saturday, but he said he expected Musri to keep his word and expected "the imam in New York to back up one of his own men."
Jones had never invoked the mosque controversy as a reason for his planned protest. He cited his belief that the Quran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.
But he said Thursday afternoon that he prayed about the decision and concluded that if the mosque was moved, it would be a sign from God to call off the Quran burning.
"We are, of course, now against any other group burning Qurans," Jones said. "We would right now ask no one to burn Qurans. We are absolutely strong on that. It is not the time to do it."
Musri thanked Jones and his church members "for making the decision today to defuse the situation and bring to a positive end what has become the world over a spectacle that no one would benefit from except extremists and terrorists" who would use it to recruit future radicals.
After the news conference, however, Musri told The Associated Press there is no deal to move the mosque. He said there was only an agreement for him and Jones to travel to New York and meet Saturday with the imam overseeing plans to build a mosque near ground zero.
"I told the pastor that I personally believe the mosque should not be there, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is moved," Musri said. "But there is not any offer from there (New York) that it will be moved. All we have agreed to is a meeting, and I think we would all like to see a peaceful resolution."
Musri did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Thursday night after Jones accused him of lying.
In New York, the leader of the Islamic center project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, issued a statement saying he was glad Jones had decided not to burn the Quran but that he had spoken to neither the pastor nor Musri.
"We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter," Rauf said. "We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony."
Jones' decision to call off the Quran burning was made after a firestorm of criticism from leaders around the world. The pope and several other Christian leaders were among those urging him to reconsider his plans, which generated a wave of anger among Muslims. In Afghanistan, hundreds of Afghans burned an American flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" to protest the planned Quran burning.
Obama told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an interview aired Thursday that Jones' plan "is completely contrary to our values as Americans."
"And as a very practical matter, I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform," Obama said.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed that Gates called Jones about 4 p.m. EST Thursday - shortly before the pastor's announcement. During the "very brief" call, Gates expressed "his grave concern that going forward with this Quran burning would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan," Morrell said.
Morrell said earlier that the decision to issue a personal appeal was not easy because it could provoke other extremists "who, all they want, is a call from so-and-so." After Gates' call to Jones, Morrell said the secretary's "fundamental baseline attitude about this is that if that phone call could save the life of one man or woman in uniform it was a call worth placing."
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., thanked Obama, Gates and other administration officials for their efforts. "This is definitely a positive moment in showing America's tolerance and pluralism and should not go unappreciated in the Muslim world," Haqqani said.
The cancellation also was welcomed by Jones' neighbors in Gainesville, a city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus. At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in the city had mobilized to plan inclusive events, including Quran readings at services, as a counterpoint to Jones' protest.
Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. It follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.
The pastor was not the only person to inject confusion into the debate over the New York mosque, which is planned to go up two blocks north of the trade center site. Donald Trump, who made a fortune in real estate, offered Thursday to buy out a major investor in the real estate partnership that controls the site where the 13-story Islamic center would be built.
Opponents argue it is insensitive to families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists flew planes into the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Proponents support the project as a reflection of religious freedom and diversity and say hatred of Muslims is fueling the opposition.
In a letter released Thursday by Trump's publicist, Trump told Hisham Elzanaty that he would buy his stake in one of the two lower Manhattan buildings involved in the project for 25 percent more than whatever he paid - if the mosque is moved at least five blocks farther away from the trade center site.
"I am making this offer as a resident of New York and citizen of the United States, not because I think the location is a spectacular one (because it is not), but because it will end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation that is destined, in my opinion, to only get worse," the letter said.
Elzanaty's response: No sale.
"This is just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight," said his lawyer, Wolodymyr Starosolsky.
He added that the offer's lack of seriousness is evident in the price.
The group collectively paid $4.8 million for the building Trump offered to buy. The other is being leased.
Starosolsky said the real estate partnership had already received two offers in the ballpark of $20 million.
"He knows what the value of the building is. If he were really interested in buying the building, he would have come forward with at least $20 million," Starosolsky said.
Starosolsky added that Elzanaty remains committed to the idea of having a mosque built on at least part of the property.
It's unclear how much control Elzanaty has over the property, which is owned by an eight-member investment group led by El-Gamal's real estate company, Soho Properties.
El-Gamal said Soho Properties controls the site, but didn't elaborate. His spokesman said he couldn't answer questions about the investment team or ownership issues.
In a pair of interviews with the AP this week, Elzanaty said he had invested in the site with an intention of making a profit and was willing to half the land for private development, and maybe all of it if a Muslim group doesn't come forward with enough money to build the mosque.
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Associated Press Writers David B. Caruso in New York, Anne Flaherty and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and AP Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.
