This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Speaking out
Pastor Terry Jones is under pressure to drop his plan to burn copies of the Muslim holy book Some of the criticisms of the plan on Wednesday:
Latter-day Saints
"A key tenet of our faith is to accord everyone the freedom to worship as they choose. It is regrettable that anyone would regard the burning of any scriptural text as a legitimate form of protest or disagreement."
— Scott Trotter,
LDS Church spokesman
Community of Christ, previously RLDS
"As a people who experienced religious persecution, we are alarmed by the growing tide of religious fear, intolerance and violence evident throughout the world. We join our voices with other religious leaders to denounce any religious persecution and specifically anti-Muslim actions, such as Dove World Outreach Center in the USA, which plans to burn the Quran on Sept. 11."
— First Presidency,
Community of Christ
Secretary of State
"It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Fla., with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world's attention, but that's the world we live in right now. It is unfortunate, it is not who we are."
— Hillary Clinton,
U.S. secretary of state
Secretary of Defense
"No one is questioning the right to do these things. We are questioning whether that's advisable considering the consequences that could occur. Gen. [David] Petraeus has been very vocal and very public on this, and his position reflects the secretary's as well."
— Pentagon spokesman,
Col. David Lapan
Vatican
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community." Every religion "has the right to respect and protection."
— The Vatican's
Pontifical Council for
Inter-Religious Dialogue