Terry Jones' Quran Burning Will Require Permit from Polk County

Terry Jones, Pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Bradenton.

ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 11:44 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 11:44 p.m.

MULBERRY | Controversial Florida Pastor Terry Jones must get a county permit to use Loyce E. Harpe Park near Mulberry for his Sept. 11 protest burning of 2,998 Qurans, Polk County officials said Thursday.

Jones said he'll apply for a facility use agreement, but he's not expecting the county to approve it.

That won't deter him from moving ahead with his plans, he said.

"Quite honestly, we all know what this application means," Jones said Thursday. "It's a way for them not to approve it. We'll fill out the application, but we're also going to proceed with our event."

Jones said he has had more than 400 death threats against him and knows he has a bounty on his head for his protests against Islam, but it hasn't stopped him before and won't stop him now.

"They can't think that I will back down because of a piece of paperthat some city or county may not give me," he said. "We are convinced of what we are doing. We are convinced of sounding the alarm and raising awareness about Islam."

Mianne Nelson, spokeswoman for the Polk County Commission, said facility use agreements aren't required for every event, but the scope of this one mandates the pere_SDHpmit.

"If you have an organized group and we are put on notice of an upcoming event, that organization will be required to submit an application," she said.

The scope of the event, which Jones anticipates will attract from 20 to 50 people, creates a safety issue for the county, Nelson said.

"It raises the level of liability for the county," she said. "It puts the county at risk for something going wrong or somebody being hurt."

Nelson said the application can take up to two weeks to process, and the event is 12 days away.

She also said fires are prohibited in Harpe Park because there are no fire provisions there, including picnic grills or fire pits. Jones faces a $250 penalty if he proceeds with an unauthorized fire in the park, according to the county's parks ordinance.

Jones has said he has an enclosed facility for burning the Qurans. Nelson said he would need to list that on his application, and using it would be subject to approval by county administrators.

Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center, has staged several protests against Islam since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. This time, he plans to burn a Quran, the Muslim holy book, for each American life lost in that attack.

Staging the event in Mulberry wasn't always the plan.

When Jones sold his church and property in Gainesville earlier this summer, Mulberry resident Bill McKinney offered his home for the Sept. 11 burning of the Qurans. But on Tuesday, McKinney withdrew his offer, saying heavy rains have left his property flooded.

That's when Jones decided to move his event to the 535-acre Loyce E. Harpe Park, which includes sports fields and a dog park.

Jones said he could stage the event on land his church recently purchased east of Bradenton, but supporters are expecting the burning to take place in Mulberry.

"We don't want to move it to another city at this point," he said. "I'm not going to be intimidated."

[ Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached atsuzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533- 9070. ]

World Muslim Congress' Unity Ceremony Set to Counter Mulberry Quran Burnings

World Muslim Congress' Unity Ceremony Set to Counter Mulberry Quran Burningshttp://www.theledger.com/article/20130826/NEWS/130829384&tc=ix?p=2&tc=pg

Mike Ghouse  talks about his plans Monday with Curtis Rahman, Suzanne Carter-Moore and Lynne Weatherholtz Broom.

CALVIN KNIGHT | THE LEDGER

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 12:21 a.m.

MULBERRY | It's not the sprawling Unity Church of Dallas, but Mike Ghouse said Monday he's pleased to stage his group's annualUnity Day ceremony Sept. 11 at the less imposing Mulberry Civic Center.

"This is where we need to be," he said. "We are going to show the world that this is how we do it."

Ghouse, president of the Dallas-based World Muslim Congress, is bringing his group's annual ceremony to Mulberry to counter a Florida minister's plan to burn 2,998 Qurans at a Mulberry resident's home a few miles away. Ghouse traveled to Mulberry on Monday to scout locations for the peaceful ceremony and to meet with others who oppose Pastor Terry Jones' protest.

City Manager Rick Johnson said the city has no reason not to rent the Mulberry Civic Center to the Muslim-based group, but said he hopes ongoing construction at the center won't pose a problem.

The city has been battling water intrusion in the basement, and tests are underway now to determine how the water is seeping in.

"We've been taking reservations for the civic center through January, and this one is no different," Johnson said.

"There just may be some work going on, and the building may not look very good."

Ghouse estimated the ceremony could draw 100 participants. The civic center can accommodate 180 people.

The program at the Dallas church, in contrast, has attracted as many as 500 participants, Ghouse said

He said the ceremony will promote unity among all faiths and peaceful resolution to conflict.

Suzanne Carter-Moore said she's glad to see Ghouse in Mulberry.

Soon after Jones announced his plans to burn 2,998 Qurans at a home near Mulberry — one for every American who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — she's been on a crusade to counter the demon­stration.

"We don't want to stand for radicalism, regardless of where it comes from," she said.

Her high school friend, Lynn Weatherholtz Broom, has joined her in organizing an effort against Jones' protest, and now a 17-year-old George Jenkins High School senior, Curtis Rahman, is taking up their cause as well.

"My brother was just deployed to Afghanistan," he said. "I'm standing up for what I believe in."

Since Carter-Moore initiated a Facebook page called Not In Mulberry Terry Jones, 400 people have indicated they support the effort.

Ghouse announced last week that the World Muslim Congress is moving the one-day event to Mulberry.

Jones said last week he welcomed the event, which he said won't interfere with his plans to burn 2,998 Qurans at the home of Bill McKinney off Shepherd Road.

Jones said McKinney offered his home for the event after Jones sold his church and property, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, earlier this summer.

Jones said he's anticipating about 20 to 50 supporters will attend the burning.

[ Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached atsuzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. ]

Response to Muslim Questions on Quran Burning - World Muslim Congress

The following responses were given to Questions 
PRESS RELEASE is at:  http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

At least we can expect two outcomes, as it will be watched world wide and some one will torch our embassy somewhere or become destructive and media will go berserk. 

1. Let the Muslims around the world watch, and they will, that violence is not the behavior of Muslims- that is not what Prophet taught or Qur'an says. They all know it, but a reminder is good, isn't it? 

2. Let the World know that there is a standard set of behavior for the followers of the man who is considered a mercy to mankind - those who don't follow, did not get their religion right, and hope some sane minds will consider that and not blame Islam, but blame the individual criminals for their wrong doing. 

Just because nothing is happening now, it does not mean that many a people think Islam is the religion of peace like every religion. should we wait something to happen and react?

No religion should ever be blamed for the acts of individuals, get the rascals and punish them and get it over instead of nagging the religion for ever. NO religion, yes, No religion ever teaches to hate, kill, maim, rape, loot and violate others freedom. 

Prophet Muhammad was a man of peace, like Jesus, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zarthustra, Mahavira, Nanak, and several others in formal and informal religious traditions along with Gandhi, MLK and others.

To build cohesive societies, we have to remove the myths about each other. Place the blame where it belongs, punish the wrong doer individual and keep the society safe. You cannot punish, kill, hang, bury or beat up religion- its intangible,so why blame?Each one of us has to contribute our individual share of good in building cohesive societies, and this is our humble effort. If it fails, so be it. We are not here to win or loose, but to do our Dharma and let God's grace work its own ways. 

REQUEST

We are preparing to publish, "What do they say" - a collection of sane wisdom in response to the Press release below. If you could compose a note in 100 words (not a word more please), we will place it before our advisory to select those that go towards building cohesive societies, where we all can get along and live without fear of each other. Please remember, it is not a Muslim thing, it is an American thing and about living in America.

 

THANK YOU

Muslim Group Will Protest Quran Burning - Mulberry Ledger

Muslim Group Will Protest Quran Burning

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER
Published: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 4:31 p.m.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20130820/NEWS/130829938?Title=Muslim-Group-Will-Protest-Quran-Burning-

MULBERRY | As a Florida pastor plans to burn 3,000 Qurans in protest at a home near Mulberry next month, members of the Dallas-based World Muslim Congress are planning a counter demonstration of their own.

 

Mike Ghouse, the organization's president, said he hopes his group's peaceful gathering in Mulberry will stand in contrast to Terry Jones' burning of the Muslim holy book.

 

 

“Everybody in the world is going to be watching what happens in Mulberry,” he said. “We want them to know violence is not a behavior that will be tolerated.”

 

 

The Muslim group is moving its Unity Day ceremony, held annually in Dallas since the 2001 attacks on the United States, and will stage the Sept. 11 event in Mulberry.

 

 

“We usually have about 500 people of all denominations at the ceremony,” he said today. “I don't expect that many people to come to Mulberry, but we're hoping people from the community will turn out.”

 

A separate group of residents in Mulberry already is planning its own protest to the burning. Suzanne Carter-Moore, a Lakeland resident who works and grew up in Mulberry, initiated a local effort upon learning of Jones' plans in July.

 

“I just don't want Mulberry to appear like we are condoning his actions,” she told The Ledger last week.

 

Jones, who couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday, is planning to burn the Qurans in Mulberry also on Sept. 11. He has said he plans to burn a holy book for every person who died in the 2001 attacks.

 

He said he chose the Mulberry area after a resident, Bill McKinney, offered his property for that purpose. Jones has sold the Gainesville property where his church, Dove World Outreach Center, was the setting for a similar burning in 2011 that sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan.