Terry Jones, the pastor of the Florida church who pledged to burn copies of the Qu'ran on Sept. 11 has announced that he will cancel the planned televised book-burning - in response, he says, to a promise from Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf that he will move his planned Islamic cultural center further from Ground Zero.
At a late afternoon press conference today, Jones said, "The American people as a whole do not want the mosque at the Ground Zero location. If they were willing to cancel the mosque, or if they were willing to move it from that location, we would consider that a sign from God. He has been in contact with the imam in New York City; I will be flying up on Saturday to meet with the imam at the Ground Zero mosque; he has agreed to move the location.
"The American people do not want the mosque at Ground Zero and Moslems do not want us to burn the Qu'ran. The Moslems have agreed to move their mosque, and I have agreed to cancel the event."
Earlier in the day, Jones had been visited by FBI agents and reportedly contacted by White House officials who urged him to call off the book-burning.
Feds' hands were tied in stopping book-burning
The pastor's statement that he is calling off the Qu'ran burning as a quid pro quo caught most observers by surprise. Last night on "Larry King Live," Rauf had stated that the Islamic cultural center had to proceed at the site near Ground Zero and that a relocation would trigger violent protests from Muslims elsewhere.
As of this writing, NBC News reports that sources close to Rauf say that he has made no agreement to relocate the center.
Despite widespread opposition in the United States to Jones' planned burining of Islam's holy book, there was nothing the Federal, Florida or local governments could do to stop the event prior to its occurrence beyond denying local permits for outdoor fires, as the action qualifies as political speech protected by the First Amendment. As this right is limited or nonexistent in many countries in the Islamic world, there was also much puzzlement among observers in those countries that the government could do no more than plead with the pastor to call off the event.
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