Hillary Clinton rejects and considers it “shameful” initiative for a Florida pastor:
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, rejected the initiative of a pastor from Florida to burn hundreds of copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, calling it disgraceful.
Hillary Clinton expressed satisfaction with the sentence “clear and unequivocal ” and lay leaders of other religions who have denounced the proposal unanimously pastor Terry Jones.
”I am satisfied by clear and unequivocal condemnation of this act disrespectful and disgraceful that has come from leaders of all religions in the United States from evangelical Christians to Jewish rabbis, including opinion leaders and lay people,”he said.
”Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the principles of our nation,”Clinton said during a speech after offering an iftar meal at the State Department to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. The State Department spokesman, Philip Crowley, had described as”provocative,”the pastor Terry Jones’s proposal to mark the ninth anniversary of 11 September.
”We expect that between today and Saturday has a lot of voices throughout the United States will make clear to the community that this is not the way in which we commemorate the September 11,”Crowley said.
Jones, pastor of the Christian church Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville (Florida), has announced the burning of the sacred book of Muslims on Saturday in an outdoor ceremony to commemorate the terrorist attacks in U.S. in September 2001.
The criticism of Clinton joined the White House, which was concerned that could have negative effects on the troops fighting in Afghanistan. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, agreed with General David Petraeus, head of NATO troops in Afghanistan, who said the initiative of this church could trigger retaliation against its troops in that country.
As Petraeus said,”puts our troops at risk and is therefore a matter of concern to this government,’’said Gibbs, who said he was unaware if any member of the Executive has been in contact with the pastor to ask him to leave his initiative.
The secretary general of the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in Washington that the burning of copies of the Koran could have “serious negative impact.”
President Barack Obama will commemorate the attacks of September 11, 2001 with an act of homage to the victims at the Pentagon, where one of the planes crashed, while Vice President Joe Biden will travel to New York to
attend the acts of ground zero.”
For its part, the U.S. first lady, Michelle Obama, and former first lady Laura Bush will travel to Pennsylvania to participate in a ceremony in homage to the occupants of United Airlines Flight 93, the only one of the four planes abductees who did not reach its goal.
