Detroit, USA - A Quran-burning pastor says he's "putting his life on the line" to protest outside a Dearborn mosque Friday and remains undeterred by city officials who denied him a permit for public safety reasons.
But if violence breaks out, Terry Jones doesn't intend to turn the other cheek. He's bringing a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and vows to protect himself if the riot that Wayne County prosecutors fear materializes.
A police escort will pick him up from Metro Airport to attend a court hearing today, he says, where a judge will consider a request for a "peace bond" to cover police costs for security.
Jones says he's not changing his mind about the protest, despite pleas from interfaith leaders, Dearborn Mayor John "Jack" O'Reilly Jr. and the imam at the Islamic Center of America.
"This will not stop us," he said about the permit.
Dearborn city spokeswoman Mary Laundroche said Jones "is welcome to use City Hall, as it is a free-speech zone and no permit is required."
He could be arrested if he proceeds with the protest outside the mosque without a permit, she said.
The city also cited traffic and disruptions to nearby churches as reasons for the permit denial.
Jones, who sparked violent protests in parts of the Middle East after burning a Quran last month, has for weeks publicized his plans to demonstrate outside the Ford Road mosque with or without a permit. He is the pastor of the small Dove World Outreach Center church in Gainesville, Fla. Jones said the mosque is the ideal site for the protest against "radical Islam" and sharia, or Islamic law, because is it is the largest mosque in the area and Dearborn is the "Mecca of America."
"There is no place better than there to present this message," Jones said Wednesday.
Jones says he has no plans to burn an Islamic holy book.
"We are coming there totally in peace," said Jones, who will be accompanied by a handful of supporters. He said he has invited Muslims to join his demonstration.
Also on Wednesday, O'Reilly released a copy of an "open letter" he wrote to Jones in a last-ditch attempt to persuade him to cancel his protest.
In the three-page letter released to the media, O'Reilly urges Jones to conduct his demonstration at one of the city's "free speech" areas. O'Reilly also questioned the logic of protesting Sharia in Dearborn, home to a large population of Arab-Americans.
"Our commitment to the Constitution is unwavering, not merely convenient, which makes your hyperbole about sharia law being practiced in the courts or civil law of Dearborn nonsensical," O'Reilly wrote. "So, you are coming to protest against an imaginary threat that doesn't exist in our community? Not in our courts, not at our City Hall, not on our streets and not in any of our places of worship."
The mayor also pointed out to Jones that several churches near the mosque will be conducting Good Friday services and Jones' protest will be disruptive to their traffic as well.
"The members of the Christian churches on Altar Road asked me last week if they should cancel their Good Friday services because of your planned visit. I assured them that they should not because the Constitution does not allow you to violate their rights," O'Reilly wrote.
Today, local religious leaders will take part in a prayer vigil and silent procession at the Islamic Center of America at 4 p.m.
"We, as Americans, Muslims and Christians, in particular, want to show our support together of American values and our collective opposition to extremists of all faiths," said Victor Ghalib Begg, a Muslim American, senior adviser/chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan and co-founder of the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
By Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,000 people had signed an online petition called "A Simple Affirmation for our Community" sponsored by the Interfaith Leadership Council in response to Jones' planned protest.
The petition reads, "In metropolitan Detroit, we reject hate and fear."