Gainesville pastor cancels Quran burning

Pastor Terry Jones is not reconsidering burning Qurans on Saturday, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

A previous report was issued saying Jones wasn't canceling Saturday's event, but merely suspending it.

Jones told News 13 he is not reconsidering burning Qurans, but also said he’s not happy about a meeting with Imam Muhammad Musri.

Apparently, there is some confusion. Jones and Musri said they agreed to two very different promises.

"We have accomplished what we feel God wants us to do," Jones said.

Jones announced Thursday he was canceling Saturday's scheduled Quran burning.

Earlier in the afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates personally called Jones.

"He was very gracious and, of course, he encouraged us not to continue with the 9/11 event," Jones said.

The pastor also met with Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.

During their private meeting, they agreed Jones would not burn any Qurans. Instead, they would both fly to New York City and meet with the director of a proposed Islamic center near ground zero.

"He told me three times that the imam in New York said he would move the mosque,” Jones said. “That is what he told me three times. I have witnesses."

But Musri said neither he nor the director agreed to this.

"We do not have a commitment as of this hour to move,” Musri said. “We have a commitment to meet."

Musri said personally, he does want the center to be further away from ground zero, but can't speak for its director.

"He is not under any influence from my side and it's his decision, and it’s the decision of his leadership," Musri said.

It's a comment that has Jones fuming. While he is still agreeing to go to New York, his previous optimism has vanished.

"Do I feel what? Do I feel tricked? Yes of course. I don’t feel tricked.  I was lied to. Of course, that’s why at this time I am not prepared to believe that. I am not prepared to make that accusation. I want to just wait and see, and right now I am believing his word, and I find it very hard to believe that he would lie to me," Jones said.

Neither Jones nor Musri have personally spoken with the center's director. They said they have simply spoken with his office.

As of now, both are still planning to head to New York on Saturday.

But what happens if the director does not agree to move the site of the Islamic center?

Musri said he is still optimistic, while Jones said he will obviously be very upset if the site remains the same.

Sharif El-Gamal, the developer of Park51 where the mosque is planned to be built, issued the following Thursday in response to media reports on the movement of the Park51 community center.
 
"It is untrue that the community center known as Park51 in lower Manhattan is being moved. The project will proceed as planned. What is being reported in the media today is a falsehood."

Trump offers to buy mosque site

An offer by Donald Trump to buy out one of the major investors of the proposed Islamic center near ground zero has been rejected.

In a letter, Trump offered to buy the investor's stake in the lower Manhattan building for 25 percent more than whatever he paid, and wanted any other mosque to be at least five blocks farther away from the World Trade Center site.

The investor's lawyer called Trump's offer "a cheap attempt to get publicity."