The Detroit Free Press is reporting that a group of Christian and Muslim leaders are set to speak out today in a Detroit church against Jones. Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, told the Free Press that Jones is bringing “a message of hate.”
Jones was widely criticized for planning to burn 200 Korans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. President Obama said the move would be a “recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda.”
Christian leaders also widely denounced the plan, with Samaritan’s Purse founder Franklin Graham urging Jones to cancel the event and the Vatican calling Jones’ effort “outrageous and grave.”
Jones cancelled his “International Burn a Koran Day,” but that didn’t stop members of his Gainesville, Fla. church from leaving. Jones attributed the exodus to a disinterest in hearing the “truth” about radical Islam.
The controversy and the lost church members have not stopped Jones from his campaign. He has yet to burn the Koran, but continues to keep his name in media headlines with his quest to draw attention to radical Islam.
Adrienne Gaines contributed to this article.
