GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The imam of a New York mosque said Thursday he has not agreed to relocate a planned community center, contradicting a Florida pastor who said he had.
Pastor Terry Jones Thursday canceled plans to burn Korans at his Florida church, saying Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf had agreed to relocate Cordoba House, a $100 million Islamic community center planned for two blocks from Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people were killed and the World Trade Center twin towers were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Jones, accompanied by Imam Muhammad al-Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said he will meet Saturday in New York with Rauf.
"He has agreed to move it. And we have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday. … Americans don't want the mosque there and of course Muslims don't want us to burn Korans," Jones said.
However, Rauf subsequently issued a statement saying he has not agreed to relocate Cordoba House, ABC News reported.
"I am glad that Pastor Jones has decided not to burn any Korans," Rauf said. "However, I have not spoken with Pastor Jones or Imam Musri. I am surprised by their announcement.
"We are not going to toy with our religion or any other," Rauf said. "Nor are we here to barter. We are here to extend our hand to build peace and harmony."
Rauf said if he were to move the project "under this current circumstance with this dialogue," the story would be played in the Muslim world as "Islam under attack in America."
"That will feed the radicals," he said.
SoHo Properties, the developer of Cordoba House, also known as Park51, said the plans have not been changed, ABC News reported.
"The Muslim Community Center called Park51 in Lower Manhattan is not being moved," the developer said in a statement.
Leaders from across the political spectrum, including President Barack Obama and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, have issued statements in recent days urging Jones to call off the planned book-burning.
