Man ignites Koran near Ground Zero, apparently prompted by Terry Jones; crowd appalled by zealot
BY Henrick Karoliszyn, Matthew Lysiak and Samuel Goldsmith
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Saturday, September 11th 2010, 12:56 PM
Updated: Saturday, September 11th 2010, 10:49 PM
An unidentified man walks through lower Manhattan after ripping and burning pages from the Koran on the 9th Anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11.
A hate-filled fanatic ripped pages out of a Koran and lit them aflame Saturday amid the chaos outside the planned community center and mosque near Ground Zero.
"If they can burn American flags, I can burn the Koran," the unidentified zealot shouted. "[Americans] should never be afraid to give their opinion."
Witnesses said it was a ghastly display of fervor - apparently inspired by the Florida pastor who vowed to torch the holy books earlier in the week - overshadowing what should have been a somber day.
"Burning Korans is like setting up a recruitment to Al Qaeda - it does nothing for the cause and only brings problems," said Lance Corey, 61, a retired history teacher from the Bronx who opposes Park51.
Those on both sides of the argument over the Muslim community center rejected the actions of the Koran burner, who was escorted away but not arrested.
Corey was there in protest of Park51, but nonetheless condemned the hateful display. "I think it was irresponsible and unnecessary," he said.
Mosad Almontaser, 55, a teacher from Brooklyn, said it was simply "ugly."
"Is that supposed to bring people together? What's the point? I thought that was horrible. It helps no one," he said.
Another man walked up Church St., ripping pages from a Koran and offering them to passersby as "toilet paper."
The spark that ignited plans to burn Korans on the Sept. 11 anniversary came from Florida pastor Terry Jones, who flew to New York to appear on NBC's "Today" show yesterday morning. He promised not to burn Islam's holy text in the early morning interview - "Not today, not ever."
Jones also hoped to meet with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a leader of the Park51 project, before he returned to Florida, but said no meeting was planned. "We just have that hope that one would take place," Jones said.
Gov. Paterson lashed out at Jones for coming to New York as the city mourned on the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"Who's going to be the next person looking for their next 15 minutes of fame? I'm appalled by it," Gov. Paterson said. "More and more, particularly this year, I feel that the memory of those who were lost is being disrespected."
The Koran burning was not just confined to New York. In Springfield, Tenn., two pastors, Danny Allen and Bob Old, were photographed lighting Korans on fire.
At Jones' Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., protesters arrived early yesterday along with a heavy police presence equipped with bomb sniffing dogs.
"There have been several threats to the church and church members," said Tscharna Senn, an officer with the Gainesville police.
Cops pounced on one protester, 29-year-old Sebastain Bagby, when he held up a Koran and whipped out a lighter. The officers grabbed the items out of Bagby's hand but didn't arrest him.
Jean Albiges, 21, drove with friends from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg to rally against Jones.
"I think there will be massive repercussions for our troops, and people need to understand that he does not represent all Americans," he said.
Indeed, outcry against Jones spanned the globe, with violent protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia, as well as pleas from U.S. military commanders, President Obama and even Jones' own daughter.
In Kabul, more than 10,000 Afghans set fire to tires in the streets and shouted "Death to America" for a second day in a row, also prompted by Jones' calls to burn the Islamic holy book.
Jones said the publicity he received bolstered his "mission" to bring attention to Islam's "radical" elements. "We feel we have accomplished our goal," Jones said. "We feel that God has told us to stop."
The unidentified man said 'America should never be afraid to give their opinion.'
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