Book burning plans to be countered by Quran distribution by Islamic group

A major Islamic group announced an initiative, in response to Jones’s plans, to distribute 200,000 Qurans to replace what it says are the 200 copies the small Florida church leader plans to burn.

Jones, who leads a small evangelical church in Gainsville, wants to go ahead with the gesture in order to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks. It has sparked controversy worldwide, including comments from the Vatican deeming the act as “outrageous and grave”.

Top US military commander in Afghanistan General David Petraus said the plan "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas. President of the General Assembly Ali Abdussalam Treki said the book burning will "lead to uncontrollable reactions" and spark tension worldwide.

Jones has rejected the pleas, saying the intention was to target radical Islamists. "The general needs to point his finger to radical Islam and tell them to shut up, tell them to stop, tell them that we will not bow our knees to them," he said.

"We are burning the book," Jones said. "We are not killing someone. We are not murdering people."

The Council on American-Islamic relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, announced the “Learn, don’t burn” initiative, which includes distributing 200,000 Qurans and other educational activities planned for Friday and Saturday.

"This educational initiative is designed for those who seek a proactive and constructive response to the church's very un-American actions," said Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is one of the few public officials who defended Jones' right to go ahead.

"I don't think he would like if somebody burned a book that in his religion he thinks is holy. ... But the First Amendment protects everybody, and you can't say that we are going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement," Bloomberg said, citing the section of the Constitution that promises freedom of speech.

General Petraeus has warned that the burning will endanger the lives of the 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement.