On the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US, an American religious group plans to host what they’re calling “International Burn a Quran Day”, in a move seen as an act of ideological hostility toward an already highly stigmatized religion in the US.

The Dove World Outreach Center describes Islam as a “religion of the devil” and has been inviting people via Facebook and its own Web site to attend the event at its premises in Gainesville, Florida and burn the Quran, the Muslim equivalent to the bible.

The group’s leader, Terry Jones, has self-published a book entitled “Islam is of the Devil” and his church sells trinkets such as coffee mugs and T-shirts promoting the book’s title.

The group also has a You Tube page and a video which claims all Muslims are unhappy.

Although creating significant disgust and opposition across a range of religious and cultural groupings, the church’s event is largely isolated to its local community.

It’s Facebook page has attracted just 1,666 supporters (at the time of writing), while a page created in opposition to the event has over 3,400 supporters.

The “In Protest of ‘International Burn a Koran Day’” page, which is not aligned to any religion or culture, states, “The mission of this group is to peacefully show opposition to the disrespect that Dove World is exhibiting towards the Muslim people” and employs a quote by the late civil rights figure Martin Luther King, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic advocacy group, has responded to the Dove World Outreach Centre by encouraging Muslims across the US and the world to host “Share the Quran” dinners whereby Muslim residents of a community encourage non-Muslims to attend and learn more about the culture and religion.

The centre will also distribute 100,000 copies of the Quran to state and national leaders in the US as part of a similar gesture.

The National Association of Evangelicals, the largest evangelical group in the United States, has condemned the event and called on the church in Gainesville to cancel it, warning that such an event will heighten tension and cultural isolation between Christianity and Islam.

“The NAE calls on its members to cultivate relationships of trust and respect with our neighbors of other faiths. God created human beings in his image, and therefore all should be treated with dignity and respect,” the NAE declared in a statement.