Published August 26, 2010, in The Gainesville Sun
Quran burning raises fear of violence
As he took the pulpit to deliver his sermon Sunday, Terry Jones acknowledged the potentially violent firestorm that has erupted in response to his church’s plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11.
“Anybody bring a gun to shoot us?” Jones asked, eliciting a smattering of laughs.
But some posting comments on jihadist websites are not laughing, vowing revenge against his church, the Dove World Outreach Center, which had about 30 attendees at its worship service Sunday.
“Now, I wish to bomb myself in this church as revenge for the sake of Allah’s talk,” wrote one person who identified himself as Abu Dujanah, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
As area law enforcement form their response, the reporting of Jones’ plans has gone international – from Mumbai to Melbourne, with some media outlets, including the Journal, describing Dove World as a Gainesville “mega-church.”
While city officials are concerned about the effect on Gainesville’s image, they say the more pressing matter is the potential for trouble.
