Counter Terry Jones; Movement Started in Michigan

 

"It's a violation of Christianity. It's a violation of Judaism. It's a violation of Hindu. It's a violation of every major faith in the nation and in the world," said Rev. Ed Rowe with Central United Methodist Church. Muslims, Christians and Jews -- all faiths calling out for people to stand up and do something about Pastor Terry Jones' visit on Friday. Jones is planning an appearance in front of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Several Christians and Muslims are coming together and planning peaceful demonstrations leading up to the event. They're calling theirs "I Am American". "There has been a man who has planned a trip to Dearborn to harm and hurt our relationship that we have here in this city and this region with Muslims," said Rev. Charles Williams II with Historic King Solomon Baptist Church.

"He burns the Koran. Indeed it is an insult against Christianity, against Jesus because the Koran mentions Jesus for more than 124 times," said Imam Sayed Hassam Al-Qazwini. Security will be tight on Friday in and around the Islamic center. Counter protests against Pastor Jones include an Episcopalian church holding a demonstration against "Islam-a-phobia", as they call it. Their main messenger, they believe, is Pastor Jones himself. "It's un-American for Pastor Jones to provoke and to try to polarize our brothers and sisters as less than American," Rowe said. There is so much going on with these meetings to counter the pastor's visit. One of the things you can do is come to the Islamic Center of America at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday for a prayer service. On Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Dearborn Civic Center, they're inviting anybody to show up. Whether your Jewish, Christian or Muslim, it doesn't matter, they say. Staying home is part of the problem.

A Michigan judge has ordered a Florida pastor to appear in court ahead of a protest scheduled for later this week outside a mosque in Dearborn. Wayne County prosecutors say they fear the Rev. Terry Jones' appearance outside the Islamic Center of America on Friday could lead to violence.

Dearborn's 19th District Court Judge Mark W. Somers on Monday ordered Jones to appear Thursday to answer questions about the event. The Detroit News says prosecutors want Jones to post a "peace bond" to pay for additional police officers during the demonstration. A burning of the Quran last month at Jones' small church in Gainesville, Fla., inflamed anti-Western sentiment in Afghanistan, inciting riots and an attack on a U.N. facility that killed seven staff workers.