Vatican Says Koran Buring Would Be 'Outrageous'

AFP - The planned mass burning of copies of the Koran in Florida on Sept. 11 would be "an outrageous and grave gesture," the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said Wednesday.

Florida pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, vowed to burn the Muslim holy book in a protest against extremism.

"No one burns the Koran," read the headline in Tuesday's L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's paper.

The Vatican's condemnation added to a chorus of voices asking Jones to reconsider his protest.

The planned Koran burning drew widespread protest from leading figures, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus.

Last month, The Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville made international headlines when it announced on its Facebook page that members of its congregation would burn copies of the Koran to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Church leaders asked other religious groups to join in standing, "against the evil of Islam," and saying "Islam is of the devil!"

Rev. Jones -- who has written a book titled "Islam is of The Devil" and sells T-shirts bearing the same message -- has defended the controversial event.

The Facebook event had received thousands of "Like" recommendations by users, but had also been attacked with a number of threatening messages posted on the page and received corresponding anti-Islam rants.