US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday called a Florida church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."Others in the Obama administration weighed in against the proposed burning, including Attorney General Eric Holder, who called it idiotic and dangerous. A State Department spokesman branded the planned protest "un-American" while other officials warned that it could threaten US troops, diplomats and travelers overseas.
The Christian minister organizing the Quran burning said he will go ahead in spite of the government's concerns. Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, a small, evangelical Christian church in Gainesville, Fla, with an anti-Islam philosophy, said he had received more than 100 death threats and had taken to wearing a pistol on his hip.
In Washington, a broad coalition of religious leaders from evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim organizations called Jones' plan a violation of American values.
Clinton condemned the threat to burn the Quran during her remarks at a State Department dinner she hosted in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths," Clinton said.
Holder met Tuesday with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the United States. The meeting was closed to reporters, but a Justice Department official who was present confirmed that Holder said the plan to burn the holy book was idiotic. The official, who requested anonymity because the meeting was private, also said Holder was quoting Petraeus when he used the word "dangerous."
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said the administration hoped that more Americans would stand up and condemn the church's plan.
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