KORAN BURNING, At Ground Zero on "9-11", Protesting Mosque There===See update at bottom: Man was identified and fired from his job! Is this America with Free Speech? Or is USA UnAmerican Socialists of Atheism? === An unidentified man walks through lower Manhattan after ripping and burning pages from the Koran on the 9th Anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11. He lit them aflame at a protest near the proposed site of a community center and mosque near Ground Zero on Saturday. "If they can burn American flags, I can burn the Koran," shouted the unidentified man. "America should never be afraid to give their opinion." The man was led away by police but did not appear to be arrested. The display - possibly prompted by Florida Pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn the holy books - occurred as families who lost loved ones during the attacks commemorated the ninth anniversary at Ground Zero. Hours earlier, Jones told NBC's "Today" that he would not burn Korans and instead wanted to meet with the imam from Park51. Official demonstrations - sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots and Stop Islamization of America - were slated to start following the Ground Zero ceremony. But protestors on both sides of the controversy arrived mid-morning. Many held American flags and signs reading "Honor the Fallen. Honor Our Freedoms." "Muslim and democracy are irreconcilable," said Lance Corey, 61, a retired history teacher from the Bronx. "I have a problem with fundamentalists." "Muhammad is very intolerant. There's a dark side to Islam. I cannot tolerate intolerance," he said. Counter protestors also filled the streets near Ground Zero to stand up for the Park51 project. "This is our country too. We are as much a victim as everyone else," said Mosad Almontaser, 55, of Brooklyn Heights. The school teacher said he moved to the U.S. 40 years ago from Yemen. "It's very hurtful that a couple of nuts ruined how people see us. We have nothing to do with 9/11," he said. In Kabul, more than 10,000 Afghans set fire to tires in the streets and shouted "Death to America" for a second day in a row, also prompted by calls to burn the Islamic holy book. === UPDATE!The protestor who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero was fired from NJ Transit over the controversial act, sources and authorities said yesterday. Derek Fenton's 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers. Fenton was ushered from the protests by police and questioned, but he was released without charges. "He said this is America, and he wanted to stand up for it, in a Tea Party kind of way," a police source said. Another police source said Fenton described himself as a "loyal American" exercising his "right to protest." Still, that source said Fenton looked like he was having second thoughts as he was released. "He looked nervous, like he was starting to think it wasn't such a good idea," the police source said. Fenton burned the book during a protest on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 outside of Park51, the controversial mosque slated to be built near Ground Zero. He was apparently inspired by Pastor Terry Jones, the Florida clergyman who threatened to burn the books that day but later changed his mind. Described by neighbors as a likable family guy with two children, Fenton was an assistant train consist coordinator, a job that entails ensuring there are enough train cars positioned to be put into service, sources said. He previously worked as a NJ Transit conductor. NJ Transit confirmed Fenton was fired but wouldn't elaborate. "Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said. "NJ TRANSIT concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore was dismissed." Several neighbors in Fenton's Bloomingdale neighborhood stood up for his right to express himself with flames. "Good for him for burning the Koran," neighbor Jacqui Marquez, 40, said. "Everybody's entitled to their opinion ... by firing him, they're sending a message that there's no freedom of speech. They're completely wrong for doing this." "He's a family man," neighbor Randy McConnell, 43, said. "He loves his kids and he loves trains. I don't agree with what he did, but he shouldn't lose his job over it. That's his right." === A nation wide poll of over 80% said he was exercising his American tight and should not be fired!
  
Most Important Questions You'll Ever Answer? Search Web's Most Comprehensive Christian Site  
|
