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North Carolina pastor apologizes for anti-Muslim sign
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 25, 2005 - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) tonight applauded the decision of a North Carolina Baptist pastor to apologize for an anti-Muslim sign displayed outside his Forest City church.
Until today, Danieltown Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Creighton Lovelace refused calls to take down the sign, reading "The Koran needs to be flushed," posted in front of his church.
CAIR reacted to the controversy yesterday by calling on mainstream religious and political leaders to repudiate the sign's bigoted message. The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group also urged Americans of all faiths to obtain and read a free Quran available through CAIR's new "Explore the Quran" campaign. (http://www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/)
In today's apology, Lovelace said in part:
"When I posted the sign in front of the church, it was my intent only to affirm and exalt the Bible and its teachings. It was certainly not my intent to insult any people of faith, but instead to remind the people in this community of the preeminence of God's Word.
"When I posted the message on the sign, I did not realize how people of the Muslim faith view the Koran-that devoted Muslims view it more highly than many in the U.S. view the Bible.
"Now I realize how offensive this is to them, and after praying about it, I have chosen to remove the sign. I apologize for posting that message and deeply regret that it has offended so many in the Muslim community."
Baptist leader condemns anti-Muslim church message
In an earlier statement sent to CAIR, Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee, condemned the message on the sign and called for "respectful" relations with American Muslims.
"It is lamentable that Rev. Lovelace displayed a message on the sign in front of his church that applauds the desecration of the Koran. I do not know Rev. Lovelace personally, but no doubt he believes strongly in the Bible as God's Word and Jesus Christ as the sole means of salvation for mankind, as do all Southern Baptists.
"Of course, the Koran does not support the beliefs of Southern Baptists, but we recognize and respect the rights of Muslims to believe as they choose. Furthermore, Southern Baptists wish to relate to our Muslim neighbors in a respectful manner that allows mutual sharing of our beliefs.
"The Southern Baptist Convention does not control the actions of any member church. It is not a denominational hierarchy. We cooperate as a network of churches and each church is autonomous, acting under its own authority. However, I know the heartbeat of Southern Baptists and I'm confident they will deeply regret the public display of this disrespectful comment about the Koran."
N.C. church stands by sign saying Quran "should be flushed"
CHARLOTTE, N.C. May 24, 2005 - The pastor of a small Baptist church has refused calls to take down a sign posted in front of his church reading "The Koran needs to be flushed," saying Tuesday he has nothing to apologize for.
"My creed is the Bible, which tells me I am supposed to stand up and defend my faith," said the Rev. Creighton Lovelace, pastor of the 55-member Danieltown Baptist Church in Forest City. "I don't hate Muslims, I just hate their false doctrines."
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C., called on Americans of all faiths to demand the message displayed outside the church be removed.
"Christians often ask themselves, 'What would Jesus do?"' said the group's spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper. "I don't think Jesus, who is loved by Muslims and mentioned frequently in the Quran, would use such hate-filled and divisive rhetoric."
Earlier this month, Newsweek magazine apologized for errors in a story alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, desecrated the Quran, including flushing one down a toilet.
Following the story's publication, 15 people died and scores were injured in violence between protesters and security forces in Afghanistan, prompting U.S. promises to investigate the allegations.
Charles Kimball, a religion professor at Wake Forest University, called the church's decision to put up the message "highly inappropriate and deliberately provocative."
"It also shows a great deal of ignorance and a lack of civility," he said Tuesday from his office in Winston-Salem. "What is most distressing is that this sort of self-righteous speech suggests a total disregard for the words of Jesus, who told us to love our neighbor."
Lovelace said he knew before he put up the sign that some people would disagree with its message.
"I expected some people would be offended, just as if someone put up a sign that said the Bible should be flushed," he said. "That would offend me as a Christian.
"This is America and we have the freedom of the press, so I have the right to put up this sign."
Hooper said while he agreed the church's pastor has that right, the sign harms Christian-Muslim relations and does further damage to America's weakened international image. (Media Reports)
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