A US pastor last night called off his plan to burn copies of the Koran tomorrow, claiming he had struck a deal that involved moving the planned location of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque in New York.
Terry Jones, who heads the tiny Dove World Outreach Center church based in Gainesville, Florida, told reporters an Islamic leader in New York had agreed to shift the planned site of the Muslim centre and mosque there away from near the Ground Zero location of the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
However, in New York, sources close to imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said that there was no agreement to relocate the mosque.
US defence secretary Robert Gates had earlier called the pastor to urge him not to burn the Koran, the Pentagon said. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Mr Gates had expressed “grave concern” in the brief telephone call that the Koran burning “would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
“The imam has agreed to move the mosque, we have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday,” Pastor Jones told reporters outside his church. He was accompanied by imam Muhammad Musri, head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
He said he would fly to New York to meet imam Rauf. However, the imam said he not spoken to either Pastor Jone sor imam Musri.
Sharif el-Gamal, the project developer for the New York mosque, said in a statement: “It is untrue that the community centreknown as park 51 in lower Manhattan is being moved. The project will proceed as planned. What is being reported in the media today is a falsehood."
The planned location of the project has been opposed by many who have said it is insensitive to families of the victims of the 2001 attacks.
The Koran-burning planned for tomorrow on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the US triggered worldwide condemnation and outrage, protests in some Muslim countries and warnings that Americans abroad could face violent retaliation.
President Obama had denounced Pastor Jones’s “stunt” as “a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda” which could unleash suicide bombers on the streets of US and European cities.
The state department cautioned US citizens travelling abroad, and Interpol issued an alert. “I just hope he understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,” Mr Obama said.
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