Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore has asked the U.S. government
to take action over the burning of a Quran by a Christian pastor in
Florida.
“The U.S. government talks about religious freedom – but we call upon
the U.S. government to prevent such actions by extremists and other
fundamentalist Christians,” the president of the Pakistan bishops’
conference told Aid to the Church in Need.
“The U.S. government should detain the pastor for some time,” the
archbishop continued. “In view of the effects his actions have had all
over the world, he should be controlled and understand the harm that has
been done.”
On March 20, Florida pastor Terry Jones of the non-denominational 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida presided over what he called an “International Judge the Koran Day.”
He supervised the burning of the book in front of about 50 people.
Video posted on the church’s website showed a kerosene-soaked book
going up in bright flames in a metal fire pit located inside the church.
News of the event enraged thousands of protesters in northern
Afghanistan, according to news reports.
They stormed a United Nations
compound on April 1 and killed at least seven U.N. staff. At least 24
have been killed in protests in Afghanistan and demonstrations have also
taken place across Pakistan.
Archbishop Saldanha questioned reports from Pakistan that unrest
sparked by the Florida event led to recent attacks on three churches.
However, he stressed the strength of feeling expressed by Muslims.
“Although there have not been any reactions against Christians, it could become ugly,” he continued.
Churches in Pakistan have put extra security measures in place in
recent months, including armed guards, concrete blocks, security cameras
and sand bags.
On April 2 President Barack Obama responded to the Quran burning and the violence.
“The desecration of any holy text, including the Quran, is an act of
extreme intolerance and bigotry,” he said. “However, to attack and kill
innocent people in response is outrageous and an affront to human
decency and dignity.”
Shortly after the burning, Rev. Jones said the event participants
believe that parts of the Quran “if taken literally, do lead to violence
and terrorist activities, do promote racism or prejudice against
minorities, against Christians, against women.”
He told the BBC he did not feel responsible for the killings of the U.N. employees in Afghanistan.
In September the 58-year-old pastor drew international condemnation
for his announcement that he would burn the Quran on the anniversary of
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
International figures such as Pope
Benedict XVI asked him not to go through with his plans, which he
canceled.