 A small Christian group tore a few pages from a Quraan in a protest outside the White House Saturday to denounce what they called the “charade of Islam” as they marked the anniversary of 9/11.
“Part of why we’re doing that, please hear me: the charade that Islam is a peaceful religion must end,” said Randall Terry, one of the six members in the group.
Another activist, Andrew Beacham, read out a few Quraan passages calling for hatred towards Christians and Jews, and then ripped those pages from an
English paperback edition of the Islamic holy book.
He carefully put the torn pieces into a plastic bag, in order not to litter, and said: “The only reason I will not burn it at the White House is because to burn anything on the Capitol grounds is a felony.”
A few curious tourists stopped to watch the huddle outside the White House, while police took down the names of the participants but did not intervene.
The tiny protest came as the United States marked the somber ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks amid heightened tensions following a radical Florida pastor’s threat to burn the Quraan.
President Barack Obama told a deeply polarized America on Saturday that Islam was not the enemy as the 9/11 ceremonies took place.
“As Americans we will not and never will be at war with Islam. It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was Al-Qaeda, (a) sorry band of men, which perverts religion,” Obama said. |
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