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WASHINGTON DC, United States?US diplomatic chief Hillary Clinton late Tuesday joined the general condemnation in the United States of a Florida pastor's "disrespectful" plans to burn hundreds of Korans on the anniversary of 9/11.
"I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths... as well as secular US leaders and opinion makers," Clinton said as she hosted an iftar meal at the State Department to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."
Clinton's spokesman Philip Crowley earlier denounced Florida pastor Terry Jones's plans to mark Saturday's ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by burning Korans as "provocative" and "un-American."
"We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values," he added. "The potential act of burning a Koran... is contrary to our values, contrary to how civil society has emerged in the country."
On the other hand, a religious leader who met with Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday said the top US law enforcement official described the planned burning as "idiotic and dangerous.?
"He said, I quote him, 'The Gainesville plan is idiotic and dangerous,'" said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates.
Rabbi David Sapperstein of the Religious Action Network added that they held a "vigorous discussion," even though the attorney general has no power to intervene to stop the planned burning of Muslim holy books.
"A lot of protection is to come from local law enforcement," he told reporters. "We are confident that the attorney general, when he speaks, speaks very strongly to the American people."
Holder held the talks with religious leaders to discuss ways of confronting an anti-Islamic wave in the United States, amid plans by an evangelical pastor to hold a Koran-burning ceremony in Florida on Saturday.
The ceremony is to be led by Pastor Terry Jones, who has said the Koran torching aims "to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11," and to send a warning "to the radical element of Islam."
The small Florida church's planned open-air burning ceremony triggered a wave of concern and condemnation from military leaders that the incendiary move could spark outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.
