Obama: Quran burning is recruiting tool for Al-Qaida
U.S. President Barack Obama says an American pastor's plan to burn Qurans outside his Florida church on September 11 would be a recruiting tool for al-Qaida.
In an interview broadcast on the U.S. ABC television network Thursday, President Obama said the pastor's plan would greatly endanger U.S. soldiers in places like Afghanistan.
The president called the plan a destructive act, but also said the U.S. has laws that protect such unpopular actions.
Why burn Qurans?
American Pastor Terry Jones, who leads the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center, has said his intention to set fire to Islam's holiest symbol is directed at radical Islam.
The president's comments come after the leader of the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, urged Mr. Obama to personally intervene in the matter.
A spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he has sent a letter to Mr. Obama expressing his concerns.
Jones is refusing to back down from plans to burn Qurans despite widespread opposition from religious and political leaders
Worldwide condemnation
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that it is regrettable that a pastor who leads a tiny church can get the world's attention with what she calls a disgraceful plan.
A spokesman for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the act would hurt the chance for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The Vatican says the burning would be an outrageous and grave gesture.
The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said setting fire to the qurans could endanger the lives of U.S. soldiers. They say the Taliban could use the burning for propaganda.
Pastor Jones says he takes these warnings seriously, but is not convinced that backing down is the right thing.
VOANews
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