DUSHANBE, March 28, 2011, Asia-Plus — I am praying that the act by a controversial U.S. evangelical preacher from Gainesville and his few supporters will not lead to rupture of dialogue between civilizations, hatred between Muslims and Christians and hostility between representatives of different religions, known Tajik religious leader Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda told Asia-Plus today, commenting on Koran burning in Florida.
“I call on Muslims in Tajikistan not to express protest against this monstrous act through illegal ways,” said Turajonzoda, “Our protests must be in our hearts and our minds.”
According to him, no one educated Muslim could do that to holy books of other religions. “Islam recognizes the divine origin of Christian Scripture and would never show disrespect for it, though we, Muslims, make doubt about the Bible content,” Tajik religious leader noted.
Turajonzoda called the act by preacher Terry Jones ‘ideological terrorism.’ “The U.S. authorities that recommend the governments of other countries around the world to adopt anti-extremist and anti-terrorist laws, in this case, must show their decision in the United States itself.”
He added that the U.S. people or the Christian world are not to blame for what happened in Gainesville.
We will recall that APF reported on March 20 that the controversial US evangelical preacher oversaw the burning of a copy of the Koran in a small Florida church after finding the Muslim holy book “guilty” of crimes. The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Terry Jones, who last September drew sweeping condemnation over his plan to ignite a pile of Korans on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 attacks. The event was presented as a trial of the book in which the Koran was found “guilty” and “executed.” The jury deliberated for about eight minutes. The book, which had been soaking for an hour in kerosene, was put in a metal tray in the center of the church, and Sapp started the fire with a barbecue lighter. The event was open to the public, but fewer than 30 people attended.
Jones had drawn trenchant condemnation from many people, including US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, over his plan to burn the Muslim holy book in September.
Pakistan on March 22 strongly condemned the “deliberate desecration” of the Koran, calling it a setback for global efforts to promote harmony. “We condemn this act in the strongest possible words,” President Asif Ali Zardari said during a televised address to the federal parliament, APF reported on March 23. “It is a serious set back to the efforts at promoting harmony among civilized communities throughout the world,” Zardari said asking the parliament to pass a resolution and urge the United Nations to address the issue. Pakistani foreign ministry also condemned the desecration of the Koran as “despicable act.” “This has deeply hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and Muslims all over the world.”
