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. ]

Pastor Looking for New Place to Burn Qurans Due to Flooding in Mulberry - Ledger

Pastor Looking for New Place to Burn Qurans Due to Flooding in Mulberryhttp://www.theledger.com/article/20130827/NEWS/130829333/1001/business?p=3&tc=pg

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

ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.

MULBERRY | Terry Jones is searching for a new place in Mulberry to burn 2,998 Qurans on Sept. 11 because his first site is under water.

Bill McKinney, the Mulberry resident who offered his home for the protest burning, said Tuesday the event won't take place in his yard because it's flooded.

Jones, a Florida pastor who's organizing the protest, said he remains committed to staging the event near Mulberry and is looking for another site.

"I'm not worried," he said Tuesday. "Something will come along."

Tuesday afternoon, Jones, and a friend and his daughter drove around Mulberry looking for possible sites, including the Carter Road Sports Complex on South Carter Road. He hasn't found one yet.

McKinney said he's disappointed he had to cancel two weeks before the protest, but he doesn't expect his 1-acre yard to dry out before then.

"This is an old cow pasture," he said, "and with all the rain, I've been under water for about a month. If it wasn't for my property being under water, this (event) would happen. I haven't changed my mind about that."

McKinney, 58, said the water is up to his 4-year-old grandson's knees.

McKinney, who lives off Shepherd Road, said he told Jones Tuesday he would have to find another venue. He said no one has pressured him into pulling out of the protest.

Despite plans by groups to challenge his protest, Jones said he won't be intimidated into leaving the Mulberry area.

"If we have to, we will fill up the back of a pickup truck with (Qurans) and set them on fire in front of City Hall," he said. "We are going to do what we're going to do. We will stay within the confines of the law, but we will push it as far as we can."

Jones said he plans to burn 2,998 Qurans in memory of each American lost in the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. He staged a similar event in March 2011, burning a single Quran and sparking deadly violence in Afghanistan.

Jones said he didn't set out to stage this latest protest in Mulberry. He was searching for a location earlier this summer after selling the Dove World Outreach Center, his church in Gainesville, when McKinney stepped forward, saying he shares Jones' ideology.

"I really wanted to do this," McKinney said Tuesday. "We have got to stop the Islamification of America. They said they were going to take over America and we have to take them at their word."

McKinney, who said he's a faithful man but practices no specific religion, said he doesn't consider Islam a religion, but rather a geo-political system.

"If it's a religion, that gives it standing and protection under our Constitution," he said.

He said he'd been telling Jones for the last month that his yard might be too soggy for the event.

The call from McKinney on Tuesday sent Jones to Mulberry in search of a new location. He said his church has purchased land near Bradenton for a new worship center, and he could stage the Sept. 11 protest there, if need be.

"But we are determined to go ahead and keep it here," he said during his visit to Mulberry. "People are expecting it to be here."

Jones said he's anticipating about 20 to 50 participants.

Since Jones announced his plans in July, others have scheduled Sept. 11 events in Mulberry to counter the protest.

Suzanne Carter-Moore, who grew up in Mulberry, initiated a Facebook page entitled "Not In Mulberry Terry Jones," and the Dallas-based World Muslim Congress is bringing its annual Unity Day ceremony to Mulberry.

Mike Ghouse, resident of the World Muslim Congress, finalized plans Monday for the celebration designed to counter the burning of the Muslin holy books with peaceful prayer.

Ghouse said the ceremony celebrates the unity among faiths and ways in which communities promote that unity.

"We want (the protestors) to know that violence is a behavior that will not be tolerated," he said.

The Muslim group also is sponsoring a blood drive in conjunction with the ceremony.

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

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.