page_title: Terry Jones (pastor)
section_title: Koran burnings
hierarchical_section_title: Terry Jones (pastor) / Protests / Koran burnings
caption_attribution_description: Pastor Terry Jones' March and Counter-protest in DC, March 3 2011.
context_page_description: Terry Jones is an American anti-Islamic right wing activist and the pastor of Dove World Outreach Center, a small nondenominational Christian church located, until July 2013, in Gainesville, Florida, United States. He is the President of a political group, Stand Up America Now. He first gained national and international attention in 2010 for his plan to burn Korans, the scripture of the Islamic religion, on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
  He was a self-declared independent U.S. presidential candidate in the 2012 U.S. presidential election and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
  In 2011, he was listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as one of 10 people in the United States' "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle".
context_section_description: Jones believes Islam promotes violence and that Muslims want to impose sharia law in the United States.  He did not become widely known until after announcing plans to burn copies of the Koran.
  The plan to burn Korans was first announced on Twitter on July 12, 2010, and was promoted on Facebook and on YouTube. National and International discussion, objections and protests contributed to extensive media coverage. 
  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "It's regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida with a church of no more than fifty people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world's attention."
  The commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus said, "It 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." The pastor responded to Petraeus' statement that, "We understand the General's concerns. We are sure that his concerns are legitimate. [Nonetheless] [w]e must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats."
  President Barack Obama was asked on September 9, 2010, on ABC's Good Morning America about the Quran burning controversy. He said, "You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities." He said, "I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan. We're already seeing protests against Americans just by the mere threat that he's making." "I just hope he understands that what he is proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans, that this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance," Obama said.  "He says he's someone who is motivated by his faith ... I hope he listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act that he's engaging in." Asked if the event could be stopped, Obama replied, "My understanding is that he can be cited for public burning … but that's the extent of the laws that we have available to us."
  US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called Jones asking him not to go through with his Koran burning.
  Later on September 9, Jones announced the cancellation of the event and a plan to fly to New York to meet with the Imam of Park51, Feisal Abdul Rauf. Jones alleged that Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, had arranged the meeting and that a promise had been given him to move the Park 51 mosque in exchange for the event cancellation. This claim was denied by both Imams.
  On March 21, 2011, Jones and some supporters held a mock trial of the Koran and set a copy on fire as a "punishment" for "crimes against humanity." Jones was assisted by Ahmed Abaza, an Egyptian ex-Muslim, and a Texas Imam, Mohamed El Hassan who argued for and against the accusations. Reaction to the event resulted in riots and deaths in Afghanistan.
  On April 28, 2012, Jones burned a copy of the Koran, protesting the imprisonment of an Iranian-American Pastor, Saeed Abedini in Iran.
  An arrest defeated Jones' effort to hold a Koran-burning protest on September 11, 2013, but Jones and Sapp held a protest on September 11, 2014, in which the ISIS flag and hundreds of Korans were burned.
caption: Jones and his followers at a march in Washington DC.
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