New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is defending the Rev. Terry Jones' right to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday, in what the controversial pastor has deemed "International Burn-a-Quran Day."
"In a strange way, I'm here to defend his right to do that. I happen to think that it is distasteful. I don't think he would like it if somebody burnt a book that in his religion he thinks is holy," Bloomberg said Tuesday at a news conference about the status of the World Trade Center site, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"But the First Amendment protects everybody," Bloomberg continued. "And you can't say that we're going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement."
Bloomberg has been a staunch defender of Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf's right to build the so-called "ground zero mosque," officially called Park51, near the World Trade Center site.
"Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion?" Bloomberg said in an emotional speech on Aug. 3. "That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another."
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Jones' planned book burning on Sept. 11 has been met with widespread protest. Earlier this week, Gen. David Petraeus said the act could endanger American troops abroad and the war effort. Attorney General Eric Holder called the plans "idiotic and dangerous." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."
Last night, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the plans were "un-American." The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, echoed Clinton's words today in a statement saying Jones' plans were "disrespectful, intolerant and divisive." And Angelina Jolie condemned the protest today while on a humanitarian
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Thursday, September 9th 2010 at 3:21AM
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