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US Jury Bars Pastor From Protesting at Islamic Center

   VOA News  April 22, 2011
   Pastor Terry Jones, right, and Wayne Sapp react to the jury's verdict,
   that both of them are likely to cause a breach of the peace with their
   proposed protest against at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn,
   Mich., April 22, 2011

Photo: AP

   Pastor Terry Jones, right, and Wayne Sapp react to the jury's verdict,
   that both of them are likely to cause a breach of the peace with their
   proposed protest against at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn,
   Mich., April 22, 2011

   A U.S. jury has banned a Christian pastor who burned a Quran last month
   from protesting at a large Islamic center.
   The jury denied a request by Terry Jones to protest at the Islamic
   Center of North America in Dearborn, [in the midwestern state of]
   Michigan, home to one of the country's largest Muslim communities.
   The panel sided with the city's attorney, ruling that such a protest is
   "likely to breach the peace."
   The city's attorney argued a protest by the pastor and his supporters
   would disturb the peace and create a security risk. He told jurors such
   a demonstration would draw an estimated 10,000 counter-protesters to an
   area that cannot safely handle such a large crowd. He also said Jones
   and his supporters would be carrying guns, creating what the attorney
   called "a recipe for disaster."
   Jones argued there is no proof a protest at the center would create a
   dangerous situation and accused the city of disregarding his right to
   free speech. He also denied his intention is to incite violence.
   After the verdict, Judge Mark Somers ordered Jones and another pastor,
   Wayne Sapp, to stay away from the Islamic center for at least three
   years. Somers ordered the two be held on a $1 peace bond, a nominal fee
   meant to ensure they understood the restrictions placed on them. The
   pastors paid the $1 fee and left the courthouse, where rival
   demonstrators had gathered outside.
   Last month, Jones burned a Quran, the Muslim holy book, sparking
   several days of deadly protests in Afghanistan. He is the head of a
   small fundamentalist church in the [southeastern] state of Florida.
   Jones' burning of the Quran initially received little press coverage in
   Afghanistan. But after Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the act
   and religious leaders called for justice in their Friday sermons,
   thousands of people took to the streets across Afghanistan in protest.
   Jones has denied responsibility for the violence.
   Jones made international headlines last year when he announced he
   intended to burn the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11
   terrorist attacks on the United States, claiming Islam incites violence
   and terrorism. He later canceled those plans after many people,
   including top U.S. officials, urged him not to do it.

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