VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — American Baptist leaders joined at regional and national levels in a joint statement April 8 denouncing the burning of a Quran at a Florida church.
The general executive council of American Baptist Churches USA called the March 20 desecration of the Muslim holy book by Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., a violation of Jesus’ command to love “the neighbor as ourselves.”
“The recent burning of the Qur’an by a church that is not representative of the larger American Christian community is an act that we deplore and causes us to reaffirm our historic Baptist commitment to religious liberty for all people and all faiths,” Baptist leaders said. “In our religiously diverse world we believe it is vitally important that we all reach out to each other with respect and openness to advance mutual understanding and cooperation among faith communities.”
Jones, who threatened to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary last year of the 9/11 terrorist attacks but backed off after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called it dangerous, six months later burned the Quran after finding the book “guilty” in a mock trial.
As warned, the act prompted violence in the Muslim world. In Afghanistan, religious extremists killed 24 people, including six U.N. workers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Shariff.
The action and reaction caused fear and sadness for Muslims in the United States.
American Baptist leaders said, “We are especially grateful for the current and continuing dialogue between Muslims and American Baptists."