Quran burning not on says Petraeus

Albuquerque Express Monday 6th September, 2010

A planned Quran-burning could endanger troops, according to the US commander in Afghanistan, David Petraeus.

General Petraeus has warned such an event would play into the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan by giving them a platform against Christian values.

He said: "A church’s Quran-burning is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses."

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida has suggested the book-burning protest as a way to warn against Islam’s "hateful" ideology.

Its pastor, Terry Jones, has written a book entitled "Islam is of the Devil," which the church has also emblazoned on coffee mugs and T-shirts.

The religious center has made plans to mark the anniversary of al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington by burning copies of the Muslim holy book.

Even though the suggestion has already drawn criticism from Muslims in the United States and overseas, the Outreach Center has insisted the event is a warning against what it calls the threats posed by Islam.

But General Petraeus, in a statement sent out on Monday, said: "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan. Burning Qurans is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems; not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."

On Sunday, thousands of Indonesians gathered outside the US Embassy in Jakarta, to protest the planned Quran burning.