JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- The Organization of the Islamic Conference from Saudi Arabia expressed alarm over reports a Florida church was planning a Koran burning.
The ultraconservative, non-denominational Dove World Outreach Center on its Web site said it would burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the al-Qaida attacks on Washington, New York City and Pennsylvania.
The OIC, an international group, said in a statement it was "alarmed and disturbed" by the reports from the Florida church.
The National Association of Evangelicals, the largest evangelical group in the United States, issued a statement calling for the cancellation of the Sept. 11 event, saying it shows disrespect for Muslims and would "exacerbate" tensions between Christians and Muslims.
The Florida church in a statement on its Web site, however, lists 10 reasons it said it believes it should stage the Sept. 11 event.
"We are using this act to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful," a Dove statement read.
The OIC said it has raised its concern over the event with U.S. authorities and hoped the American people and the U.S. government "would take appropriate steps to protect the sacred religious sentiments of Muslims of America and of the Muslims across the world."
