Terry Jones

Terry Jones Threatens To Sue MI Officials After Arrest Over $1 Peace Bond

Jillian Rayfield | April 25, 2011, 10:53AM

Anti-Islam pastor and Quran-burner Terry Jones is threatening to sue the Wayne County Prosecutor's office in Dearborn, Michigan, after he was briefly arrested on Friday for initially refusing to pay a $1 peace bond related to his planned protest in front of a mosque.

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Terry Jones

Quran-Burning Pastor's Gun Accidentally Goes Off In Michigan

Eric Lach | April 22, 2011, 9:55AM

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

Just when you thought the sad saga of Quran-burning Florida pastor Terry Jones couldn't get more absurd...

According to Southfield, Michigan police, Jones' .40-caliber handgun fired accidentally as he was leaving a television studio there on Thursday night. This is presumably the same handgun he said he intended to bring to his planned anti-sharia law protest in Dearborn, Michigan on Friday, though he's said he's come to Dearborn "totally in peace."

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Terry Jones

Dearborn Mayor To Terry Jones: If We Were Under Sharia Law Would We Have Three Strip Clubs?

Jillian Rayfield | April 21, 2011, 5:35PM

Mayor of Dearborn M Jack O'Reilly Jr. and Pastor Terry Jones

Jack O'Reilly Jr., the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, has written an open letter to publicity-seeking, Quran-burning Florida pastor Terry Jones, in an effort to dissuade him from protesting in front of a Dearborn mosque. In the letter, O'Reilly tells Jones it's ridiculous to believe that the city is under Sharia law: "If Dearborn practiced Sharia law, would we have three adult entertainment bars and more alcohol-licensed bars and restaurants per capita than most other cities?"

"None of that should be allowed under Sharia law," O'Reilly said.

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Afghanistan

As Protests Continue, Petraeus Says Quran Burning Hurts War Effort

Eric Lach | April 4, 2011, 9:54AM

After a weekend of deadly riots in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus issued a statement on Sunday publicly condemning the Quran burning that sparked the unrest. And in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in the country admitted that the burning has created an "additional serious security challenge."

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Frank Gaffney

Gaffney, Jones Fight For Soul Of Anti-Sharia Movement At Rally By White House (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 4, 2011, 8:50AM

Frank Gaffney

Rev. Terry Jones, the man who rose to national prominence last fall when he announced (but later backed off off) a plan to burn copies of the Koran, was clad in a beat-up black leather jacket when he showed up to a park across the street from the White House a few minutes before noon on Thursday.

His black sunglasses resting a few inches above his signature handlebar mustache, Jones hopped up on a bench in Lafayette Park and announced that his organization Stand Up America was holding a rally.

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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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Sharia

Anti-Muslim Protestor Throws Crosses At Feet Of Man Praying By White House (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 3, 2011, 2:30PM

A group of anti-Sharia protestors who planned to counter-protest the planned pro-Sharia rally by the radical provocateur Anjem Choudary in front of the White House on Thursday found themselves without an opponent to debate.

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Roman Otto Conaway

Lawyer: Guy Who Allegedly Wanted War Between Muslims And Christians Not Crazy

Ryan J. Reilly | January 18, 2011, 3:44PM

Roman Otto Conaway, the 50-year-old Army vet who allegedly wanted to launch a war between Muslims and Christians, threatened to kill President Barack Obama and announced on his Facebook page plans to burn a Koran, is sane enough to stand trail, his lawyer said this week.

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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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Terry Jones

British Anti-Islam Group: Terry Jones Is Too Radical For Us

Jillian Rayfield | December 15, 2010, 8:36AM

Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center

A British anti-Islam group is denying reports that Pastor Terry Jones will be speaking at their event in February, claiming that they "disapprove" of his thwarted plan to burn copies of the Koran last September 11.

Though the English Defence League does not condone Jones' infamous plan, it might not be for the reasons you think. "We do not believe the Koran should be burned, but rather read, so that people come to understand its inherent violence, supremacism, and hatred and contempt for non-Muslims," the group wrote on its Facebook page.

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Roman Otto Conaway

Man Allegedly Wanted To Start War Between Christians And Muslims, Kill Obama

Ryan J. Reilly | September 23, 2010, 10:43AM

A 50-year-old Army veteran who was arrested after an eight-hour standoff with federal agents was charged on Wednesday with threatening to kill President Barack Obama. Officials said he planned to ignite a war between Muslims and Christians and "start an apocalypse," and his Facebook page showed that he planned to burn a Koran.

Roman Otto Conaway, 50, was arrested at his home in Fairview Heights, Illinois in the early morning hours Wednesday and was scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday. During the standoff, Conaway allegedly said a bulky belt he wore and three storage containers on his property were packed with explosives, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

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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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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart To Terry Jones: Did God Tell You 'Don't Be A F---ing Idiot, Dude'? (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 14, 2010, 10:18AM

Jon Stewart was incredulous that Florida pastor Terry Jones decided not to burn copies of the Koran because God supposedly told him not to. "Oh really," Stewart said last night. "God's telling you to stop? When God told you to do it originally, he hadn't anticipated the backlash?

"I think you might be confusing 'God' with 'everybody else in the world,'" he said.

Stewart continued: "Let me ask you this. When God told you not to burn the Koran, did it sound something like this: 'Don't be a fucking idiot, dude!' Cause that's not God. That's everybody."

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Terry Jones

Jones On Koran Burning: 'Not Today, Not Ever' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 11, 2010, 12:00PM

Pastor Terry Jones

Pastor Terry Jones said this morning that his church has canceled its planned Koran burning permanently.

"Not today, not ever," Jones said on the Today show this morning after flying to New York last night. "We're not going to go back and do it. It is totally canceled."

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Barack Obama

Obama, On Jones, Says He's 'Concerned' About Copycats

Rachel Slajda | September 10, 2010, 12:37PM

In his news conference today, President Obama said he is concerned about copycat Koran-burners even after a Florida pastor has suspended his planned bonfire.

"Part of my concern is that we don't have a whole bunch of folks across the country thinking, this is the way to get attention," he said. "This is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters."

"You don't play games with that," he said.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Koran Burning Still Off, For Now, As One Dies In Afghanistan Protest

Rachel Slajda | September 10, 2010, 9:46AM

Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center, with Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida

Pastor Terry Jones, appearing on today's morning shows, says he will not be burning Korans on Saturday even though the imam of a planned Islamic center near Ground Zero did not agree to move his project further from the site.

"Right now, we have plans not to do it," Jones said on Good Morning America.

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Rev. Bob Old

Tennessee Copycat: My Koran Burning Stunt Is Still On!

Ryan J. Reilly | September 10, 2010, 9:26AM

It's not clear whether Florida pastor Rev. Terry Jones will go forth with his plan to burn Korans tomorrow.

But the Rev. Bob Old of the Disciples of Christ ministry -- who was inspired by Jones and planned to burn the Koran on Saturday at his home and post the video on YouTube -- said he's pushing forward. He also says that Jones backing down shows he wasn't committed to the cause.

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Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes: Both 'Ground Zero Mosque' And Koran Burning Can Be Stopped (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 9, 2010, 5:28PM

Consider Alan Keyes a subscriber to the Sarah Palin theory on the Florida pastor who plans to burn a Koran on the anniversary of Sept. 11. The theory goes like this: Koran burning is offensive -- just like building a place of worship near the former location of the World Trade Center.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Jones Agrees Not To Burn Korans, Claims NYC Imam Has Agreed To Move Park51 (He Hasn't) (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2010, 5:12PM

Pastor Terry Jones

In a press conference just now, Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones announced that he will not burn Korans on Saturday.

Jones said he agreed to cancel "Burn A Koran Day" in exchange for Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf agreeing to move the proposed Islamic center further away from Ground Zero. Jones claimed Rauf said he will move the center.

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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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Dove World Outreach Center

FBI, Everyone Else Trying To Convince Jones Not To Burn Korans

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2010, 1:30PM

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

MSNBC and CNN are reporting this afternoon that FBI agents have visited Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones.

Details were sketchy, but MSNBC reported they were there as part of security measures.

A spokeswoman for the Gainesville Police Department told TPMmuckraker that the department has been working with state and federal agencies on security and has been preparing for Saturday's "Burn A Koran Day" for more than a month.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Interpol Issues Global Terror Alert If Koran Burning Happens

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2010, 12:12PM

Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center

Interpol today warned its 188 member countries that there may be a higher threat of terrorism if a Florida fringe pastor burns Korans on Saturday as planned.

"One of INTERPOL's primary functions is to prevent crime, and given that we have been made aware of a significant threat to public safety - an assessment which we share - it is our duty to ensure that we pass this information on to law enforcement agencies around the globe so that they can take appropriate measures," Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in a press release.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Koran-Burning Church Has Cultish Tendencies, Protests With Westboro Baptist

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2010, 10:36AM

Dove World pastor Terry Jones at a Westboro Baptist Church protest in April 2010.

The Dove World Outreach Center, the church in Florida whose pastor is planning to burn a pile of Korans this Saturday, trains new ministers in its "Academy" program, which requires students to work in the church's used furniture store unpaid and have no contact with their family.

A "rulebook" for the academy, as well as news reports and the church's own web site, paint a picture of a church that teaches followers total obedience. It's also a church that has expressed solidarity with the Westboro Baptist Church, with pastor Terry Jones and other members wearing "Islam is of the devil" T-shirts at a Westboro protest.

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart On Koran Burners: 'Who's Funding These Radical Christian Clerics?' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 9, 2010, 9:52AM

Jon Stewart was very troubled last night by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who is planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11. "I'm seeing a pattern now of extremism in Christianity that a lot of Americans are finding very troubling," he said.

But Daily Show correspondent John Oliver defended Christians: "That radical hate-spewing extremist does not reflect the views of the vast majority of moderate, peaceful Christians. In fact, this man is fucking crazy. He no more represents Christians than Dr. Laura represents the United Negro College Fund."

But Stewart still had questions: "Where's the money coming from for these extremists? Who's funding these radical Christian clerics?"

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Dove World Outreach Center

Obama: Koran Burning 'Stunt' Could 'Greatly Endanger' Troops (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2010, 8:45AM

President Obama

President Obama urged fringe pastor Terry Jones not to burn Korans this Saturday, saying it would be "completely contrary to our values as Americans." Further, he said, it could lead to a "recruitment bonanza" for al-Qaeda.

"If he's listening, I just hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values of Americans. That this country has been built on the notions of religious freedom and religious tolerance," Obama said on Good Morning America. "And as a very practical matter, as commander of chief of the Armed Forces of the United States 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 he's making."

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Even The Mosque-Hatingest Of Mosque-Haters Think Koran Burning Is A Bad Idea

Jillian Rayfield | September 8, 2010, 5:14PM

As Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center gets ready to burn copies of the Koran at his Gainesville, Florida church this Saturday (September 11), many national voices are calling for him to change his plans. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour have all criticized the planned Koran burning. And Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander of the Afghanistan War, has gone as far as to say that the plan could put American troops in danger.

But as Jones forges full-speed ahead with his incendiary event, some of the nation's most prominent Islamophobic voices have expressed their opposition (though usually with caveats), to Jones' idea....

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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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Terry Jones

Koran-Burning Pastor Sticking To Plans Despite Petraeus Warning (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 7, 2010, 10:30AM

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

Terry Jones, the pastor of a small radical church who plans to burn Korans on Sept. 11, said this morning that, although he takes the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan's warning seriously, he will still go ahead with "Burn A Koran Day."

Yesterday, Gen. David Petraeus said that Jones' demonstration could endanger American troops in Afghanistan. Geoff Morell, the Pentagon spokesman, echoed those concerns today on MSNBC, saying burning Korans would put troops in more danger throughout the Muslim world.

But Jones, in an interview with CNN this morning, said he isn't swayed.

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Afghanistan

Petraeus: Koran Burning Could Endanger Troops

Rachel Slajda | September 6, 2010, 12:39PM

General David Petraeus

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander of the Afghanistan War, said today the planned burning of Korans by a Florida church could put American troops in danger.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," Petraeus told the Wall Street Journal. "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."

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Dove World Outreach Center

Afghans Protest FL Church's Koran-Burning Plans: 'Death To America'

Rachel Slajda | September 6, 2010, 10:40AM

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

Hundreds of Afghans demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul today against a Florida church's plan to burn Korans on Sept. 11, shouting "Death to America" and "Long live Islam."

The AP reports that members of parliament and religious leaders spoke at the rally, where protesters called for the death of President Obama and burned Rev. Terry Jones in effigy.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Koran-Burning Pastor: We Want To Send A 'Clear, Radical Message' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 26, 2010, 4:40PM

Pastor Terry Jones

Terry Jones, the Dove World Outreach Center pastor who plans to lead a mass Koran-burning on -- and in commemoration of -- 9/11, said on MSNBC today that his intent is to send a "very clear, radical message to Muslims," that the United States will not tolerate sharia law in its courts.

Jones said he fears that the U.S. will become like Europe, where as the Muslims "gained in population, they also began to demand sharia law, sharia courts, which is a very violent form of punishment." The Koran-burning day, he said, is about sending a "warning" that "that is not welcomed in America."

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Muslims

Koran-Burning Pastor: Muslims Are Welcome In America (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2010, 12:38PM

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

Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones -- the man who hopes to lead his flock in a mass Koran-burning in September to commemorate 9/11 -- says that he's as welcoming of other faiths as the next guy. Assuming, that is, that the next guy also thinks that "Islam Is Of The Devil," as Jones likes to say to anyone and everyone who drives past his Gainesville, Florida church.

In a recent interview with CNN's Rick "The List" Sanchez, Jones said that the book burning was all part of his plan to welcome Muslims to American while simultaneously reminding them that their faith is an evil thing that must be destroyed at all costs (or, saving that, desecrated publicly in the name of Jesus.)

"We have nothing against Muslims," Jones told Sanchez. "They are welcome in our country."

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