On Sept. 11, 2010, members of the Dove World Outreach Center — a non-denominational Christian church of dubious credibility in Gainesville, Florida — plan to burn copies of the Koran in a public ceremony billed as a memorial for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“Uh, what?” you may be asking. How about we let Dove World pastor Wayne Sapp explain it:
“Why would we burn the Koran?” he says in a video the church posted to YouTube last week. “The Koran, the holy book of Islam? Because we’re Christian.”
Prior to the whole book burning scheme, Dove World Outreach Center was best known for using the slogan “Islam Is Of The Devil,” which it has plastered across its website and in large signs outside the church’s headquarters. Sapp says in the video that Islam’s devilishness is why the Koran must burn.
“Being Christian does not mean you go to church. Being Christian does not mean you believe in God. Being Christian means you are Christ-like, or at least attempting to go in that direction,” he says. “And Jesus, the Christ, he was sent — he appeared — to destroy the works of the Devil. So that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Sapp then proceeds to put his money where his mouth is and sparks up a copy of the Koran, spraying lighter fluid on it as it catches fire.
Point proven, or something.
Watch:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.