Hundreds of Afghans demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul today against a Florida church’s plan to burn Korans on Sept. 11, shouting “Death to America” and “Long live Islam.”
The AP reports that members of parliament and religious leaders spoke at the rally, where protesters called for the death of President Obama and burned Rev. Terry Jones in effigy.
Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., has announced that he will burn copes of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, on Sept. 11, prompting protests around the world. Several other Christian churches in Gainesville have planned counter-demonstrations on Sept. 11 to condemn Jones’ plans.
One protester told the AP that Jones is representative of America itself.
“We know this is not just the decision of a church. It is the decision of the president and the entire United States,” said Abdul Shakoor, an 18-year-old high school student.
The embassy pushed back, releasing a statement denouncing Jones.
America is “deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups,” the embassy said.
Some protesters threw rocks at a passing U.S. convoy, but the protest was mostly peaceful.
And on Sunday, thousands of Muslims protested outside the Koran burning outside the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“We hope that the U.S. government to stop this plan. We represent Muslim, Christians and other religions who all wants to avoid any clashes as a result,” one group said in a statement.
Protesters carried signs reading “Jihad to protect Koran” and “You burn qu’ran you burn in hell,” according to CNN, but the protest was peaceful.
