Terry Jones may have canceled his plans, but someone attending the protest in New York against the construction of an Islamic Community Center two blocks away from Ground Zero decided to have his own “Burn A Koran” Day:
A hate-filled protester was escorted away from the Ground Zero mosque site this morning after tearing apart a Koran and burning some of the pages — an early sign that the rancor was ramping up as numerous protests were set to begin.
The man, who refused to identify himself, walked up the corner of Murray and Church streets with a green Koran in his hands. Amid a crowd of protestors and media, he first tore a page from the holy book and tossed it into the air.
He then ripped a couple of more pages from the book and lit them on fire.
Someone managed to capture it on video:
This guy may have been a lone nut, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the protest was any more rational:
At midday, most of Church Street had turned into a pedestrian mall, with people spilling out into the street at some points, though traffic still seems to be able to move. One anti-mosque man is shouting at the top of his lungs, carrying a copy of the Koran, and holding pages torn from it, toting a sign declaring: “Quran toilet paper.”
A retired firefighter lieutenant from Brooklyn’s Engine 226 angrily flipped the bird to a pro-mosque demonstrator wearing a Mao cap. He was there on 9/11, in the North Tower, he said.
“I don’t care if they build a mosque, but I don’t want to hear their Islamic prayers wafting over the grave site,” he fumed.
Some of the would-be protesters mistakenly fell for stereotypes. On Church Street, Kamal, a dark-skinned Muslim born in Guyana and now living in Queens, drew jeers and cat-calls for his clothing: an all-white long robe and white skull cap.
“Islam is a religion of hate,” screamed one woman at him.
“Shut up!” barked others.
Sigh.
