SMITHFIELD -- A mosque leader wants other religious leaders to join him in opposing Florida pastors who burned the Islamic holy book last month.
Dr. Mir Mumtaz Ali is founder of the Jaama Masjid Muslim Community Center and Social Welfare Organization of Johnston County on River Road in Selma. On Wednesday, he invited local Christians to his Smithfield office.
He told his guests about Pastors Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp of Gainesville, Fla., who held a mock trial for the Quran on March 20 and later burned the book - an act Muslims find offensive. Jones had planned to burn the holy book last year on Sept. 11, but he backed down under pressure from President Barack Obama and religious leaders around the world. Government officials had told Jones the act might provoke violence against American troops in Muslim countries.
"This has to be the work of Satan," Ali said of the Quran burning. "No good Christian, and for that matter any human being belonging to any faith, would do this shameful act. This has to be condemned in the strongest words by all peace-loving people belonging to all faiths."
Ali said Christians and Jews should be offended by Jones' act too. The Quran encompasses the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible as well as the teachings of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Muslims also believe in earlier prophets, from Adam to Abraham to Jesus. All appear in the Quran.
"In so many places, the word of Jesus Christ in there - how can you burn this book?" Ali said. "That's not freedom of speech; that's blasphemy and burning."
If religious leaders don't speak out against Jones and Sapp, Ali worries that others might follow their lead and burn the Quran. "Jones and Sapp must be excommunicated from the Christian faith and condemned by the churches all over the world," Ali said.
If nothing is done, Ali said he fears Allah - the Muslim word for God - might take out his anger on the entire country. That could take the form of natural disasters, he added. If people of faith don't condemn the pastors, Ali said, "we should be ready to face Allah's anger and punishment."
Two Christians attended Wednesday's interfaith meeting, though Ali said he invited a number of others, including a rabbi. One pastor didn't show because he feared backlash from his congregation, but he sent an anonymous statement. "Love is the core value of the Christian Gospel," he wrote. "The burning of the Quran or any other sacred text must be condemned because it is not an act of love."
Walton Parker Jr. of Smithfield said he was concerned to learn of the Quran burning. "My response would be why hasn't anybody done anything," he said.
But Kelton Hinton said he was not ready to take a position on the Quran burning. Hinton works for the Johnston Baptist Association but said he attended the meeting as a private individual.
"The Lord spoke to me, and I touched base [with Ali], because I don't personally know any Muslims," he said, adding that he wants to learn more about Islam. "My interest is getting to know Dr. Ali as a person."
For his part, Ali said he wants to continue the dialogue with area Christians and Jews. "We are like cousins, for God's sake," he said. "Love is the bottom line for all the religions."
