Randall Terry

Randall Terry Says Terry Jones 'Blinked' On Koran Burning (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 3, 2011, 3:36PM

Anti-abortion rights activist Randall Terry and anti-Islam Rev. Terry Jones -- undoubtably two of slickest self-promoting crusaders for their respective causes -- ran into one another outside the White House on Thursday, where Terry said the pastor "blinked" on his plan to burn copies of the Koran.

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Islamophobia

This Year In Islamophobia

Rachel Slajda | December 29, 2010, 8:46AM

Protesters In New York oppose the Park51 Islamic center.

Nine years after Sept. 11, 2001, America saw perhaps its worst outbreak of Islamophobia since the attacks. Experts wagered it came from the aimless fear and the anger people feel in times of economic crisis, exploited by certain politicians looking to give their party an advantage in the midterms and turned toward American Muslims.

Such an outbreak was possible in the days and months after Sept. 11's attacks. It never really materialized, experts say, in part because President George W. Bush stood up and told the nervous country that Islam is a religion of peace, and that American was not at war with Muslims.

He made no such appeal this year, and President Obama's pleas fell on deaf ears or, more accurately, ears that believe Obama himself is secretly, and sinisterly, Muslim.

Without further ado, then, is This Year in Islamophobia:

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Roman Otto Conaway

Feds Evaluating Competency Of Man Who Wanted To Kill Obama, Muslims

Ryan J. Reilly | November 9, 2010, 8:38AM

A 50-year-old Army veteran who was arrested after an eight-hour standoff with federal agents back in September and charged with threatening to kill President Barack Obama will undergo a competency evaluation at a federal institution in Colorado.

The trial of Roman Otto Conaway was set to begin on Nov. 15. But last week federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Illinois agreed to a defense motion which delayed the trial so Conaway could undergo a competency evaluation in Englewood, Colorado. The U.S. Marshal's Service removed Conaway from Illinois in late October and as of last week were transferring him to the new location in Colorado, according to court documents reviewed by TPMMuckraker.

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Randall Terry

Randall Terry Planning Koran Tearing For Tea Partiers (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2010, 1:04PM

Randall Terry

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is upping the ante on his as-yet widely unknown campaign against Islam by creating a video instructing Tea Party leaders how to pull their own Koran-tearing stunts and garner media attention.

"To my fellow Tea Party activists, listen to me: you're about to see instructions on how to get into real battles, not just in front of our computers, not just blogging, but to go to the public square like Samuel Adams and like other great patriots did," Terry says in the video.

The video is part of Terry's campaign for anti-Islam activists to rip passages of the Koran printed on posters at the potential location of the Cordoba House Islamic Center in New York, in Washington D.C. and in other cities on Oct. 6 and 7.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Terry Jones May Be Charged $200K For Canceled Koran-Burning Security Costs

Jillian Rayfield | September 20, 2010, 4:38PM

Pastor Terry Jones in front of "International Burn A Koran Day" sign in Gainesville, FL

Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center may be charged $200,000 by the city of Gainesville, Florida, for security costs incurred by the canceled Koran-burning originally planned for September 11.

Jones' announcement of "International Burn-A-Koran" day resulted in some violent protests in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and threats against Americans. In response, Gainesville upped its security. According to The Associated Press: "Police Maj. Rick Hanna said more than 200 officers were on duty last weekend patrolling the church, the University of Florida football game and "soft targets" like the mall. Another 160 sheriff's deputies were also working because of the planned protest at Dove World Outreach Center."

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Repent Amarillo

Koran-Burner Thwarted By Skateboarder Has Day Job At A Nuke Facility

Jillian Rayfield | September 14, 2010, 12:57PM

A mushroom cloud, and David Grisham, director of Repent America.

David Grisham had hoped to burn a copy of the Koran last weekend when he was thwarted by a dissenting skateboarder.

But it's not all lighting up religious books and dodging long-haired youths for Grisham: Apparently he has a day job as a security guard at nuclear-bomb facility.

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Islam

Skateboarder Foils Would-Be Koran Burner In Texas (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2010, 12:21PM

A would-be Koran-burner in Amarillo, Texas was foiled by a 23-year-old Texas skateboarder named Jacob Isom, who was among a group of people protesting a planned burning on Saturday. As Isom described it: "I snuck up behind him and took his Koran, he said something about burning the Koran, I said 'Dude you have no Koran,' and ran off."

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Terry Jones

Koran-Burning Pastor Was Once The GOP's Poster Child For German Intolerance Of Christians

Megan Carpentier | September 9, 2010, 2:47PM

Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center

Terry Jones, the pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center who plans to burn Korans on Saturday to the chagrin of many anti-Islam and anti-mosque advocates, has a long history of claiming that he is the one subjected to discrimination. Before he moved to Florida in 2008 to take the helm of the DWOC, he had a small church in Cologne with some pretty big problems -- and plenty of prominent Republicans had his back.

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Afghanistan

NATO Chief Condemns Koran Burning Ahead Of Meeting With Obama

Rachel Slajda | September 7, 2010, 12:28PM

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

The chief of NATO agrees with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan: A radical Florida church really shouldn't burn copies of the Koran.

"I strongly condemn that. I think it's a disrespectful action and in general I really urge people to respect other people's faith and behave respectfully. I think such actions are in strong contradiction with all the values we stand for and fight for," said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, according to The Cable.

"Of course, there is a risk that it may also have a negative impact on the security for our troops," he added.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Fire Department Blocks Florida Church's Plan To Burn Korans

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 20, 2010, 11:59AM

Dr. Terry Jones, leader of the Dove World Outreach Center

Remember that Florida "church" with the plan to torch a pile of Korans in commemoration of 9/11? Turns out there's one thing they weren't counting on: a local Fire Department that's stingy with outdoor fire permits.

According to the Gainesville Sun, fire chief Gene Prince told the church "that under the city's fire prevention ordinance, an open burning of books is not allowed." Turns out town code 10-63, a "General prohibition on outdoor burning and open burning," specifically outlaws the burning of (section 6) "Newspaper" and (7) "Corrugated cardboard, container board, office paper."

Apparently, bound copies of Islam's holy text fall into those categories. But you didn't really think the Dove World Outreach Center was going to let a pesky fire chief stop its planned tribute to the men and women who died in the terror attacks, did you? The Sun reports that in an email message sent out by the church Wednesday, Dove World proclaims, "City of Gainesville denies burn permit -- BUT WE WILL STILL BURN KORANS."

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