The US Muslim Brotherhood is reacting to the plan by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Quran in order to mark the anniversary of the 911 attacks. According to one US media report, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a news conference as well as handing out 200,000 replacement Qurans:
An Islamic advocacy group will hand out 200,000 replacement Korans – 1,000 for each copy a controversial Florida-based pastor plans to burn on 9/11. The Council on American-Islamic Relations will hold a news conference to announce their “Learn, Don’t Burn” initiative on Thursday morning, according to a press release. “This educational initiative is designed for those who seek a proactive and constructive response to the church’s very un-American actions,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. According to fire chief Gene Prince, “under the city’s fire prevention ordinance, an open burning of books is not allowed.” Gainesville code 10-63, states a “general prohibition on outdoor burning and open burning.” Section 6 specifically outlaws the burning of “Newspapers” and section 7 outlaws the burning “corrugated cardboard, container board, and office paper.”…Awad said that he sent a letter to Commander Gen. James N. Mattis asking that he personally visit the Florida church to request the rally be cancelled. The replacement Korans, he said, will be distributed on Friday and Saturday. “The tiny group of extremists carrying out the book burnings clearly do not represent our society or its values and have been repudiated by all mainstream religious and political leaders,” Awad said.
The Muslim American Society (MAS) issued a press release which states that the group is seeking support for using local fire ordinances to stop the burning:
On September 7th, a MAS Freedom team traveled to Gainesville, Florida in support of the Gainesville community positively responding to the proposed Sept. 11th burning of the Qur’an. Muslim American Society Freedom (MASF) is the civil and human rights advocacy component of the Muslim American Society (MAS), America’s largest grassroots Muslim organization. MAS Freedom has requested a local law firm to seek to have the proposed Qur’an burning activities of Rev. Terry Jones and his small fringe religious group stopped because they have not obtained a fire permit as required by city law…. Mahdi Bray, executive director of MAS Freedom stated, “The current climate of Islamophobia in our nation certainly has emboldened people like Rev. Jones and those of his ilk. The classic definition of a bigot is one who is intolerant of another based on race, political views, or religion. Clearly Rev. Jones fits this definition. His group is in financial trouble with financial notices visibly posted on the church’s property. Clearly he is seeking money and his fifteen minutes of fame as a bigot. It’s wonderful to see that the Gainesville community has rejected his venom and hate. This is a community that has rejected hate and intolerance and is moving on with a message of respect, service, and dignity for all of its residents.”
An adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) made an appeal based on interfaith grounds:
Speaking on the incident, senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Dr. Maher Hathout has said, “We should not honor it with any strong reaction. At the same time, we should invite people, our fellow citizens, for meetings, discussions, and symposia to let them know what this Qur’an is, suffice it to know that this person who is burning these copies will be burning the story of Moses, the story of Jesus, the honor of Mary, the whole saga of great Prophets, and the three religions from Noah to Abraham to Muhammad (PBUH).”
A Hudson Institute report has identified all three groups as part of the US Muslim Brotherhood and all have a history of fundamentalism, anti-Semitism, and support for terrorism.