Indian church threat over Qur’an burning

(September 09, 2010) Christians have sought protection for a church in Madhya Pradesh state after an anonymous letter threatened to blast it if a US Evangelical group went ahead with its plan to burn Qur’ans. The threat came as the Dove World Outreach Centre in Florida reportedly confirmed its plans to host the controversial event on September 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of terror attacks in the United States. The letter posted on August 31 threatened to blast the Church of North India’s 53-year-old Bethlehem Church situated in Bhopal, the state capital. The church’s pastor Reverend Sanjay Solomon told UCA News on September 8 that the letter said it would hold the church responsible if a Qur’an was burned. “Don’t treat it as a mere threat,” it said according to the priest. He said church authorities “immediately approached” the police for protection who have strengthen their presence in the area, the pastor said. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, who heads the Catholic Church in the state, said anonymous letters are normally a “ploy” to create sectarian discord. He said he will talk to leaders of the Muslim community to avoid confusion. He had already met Muslim leaders in the city soon after media first reported about the Qur’an burning plan early last month. The archbishop said Christian groups condemn the plan because burning a Holy Book “is a serious crime that cannot be pardoned.”