WASHINGTON (RNS) — The National Association of Evangelicals has condemned plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., announced its plans on a Facebook page “in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam,” reads the announcement. “Islam is of the devil!”
Evangelical leaders said the plans should be canceled.
“The proposed burning of Qurans would be profoundly offensive to Muslims worldwide, just as Christians would be insulted by the burning of Bibles,” an NAE statement said. “Such an act would escalate tensions between members of the two faiths in the United States and around the world.”