Oklahoma City Terrorism Expert Says Burning Quran Could Endanger Americans

A counterterrorism specialist based in Oklahoma City says the proposed burning of the Quran in Florida is dangerous for all Americans.

Wednesday, September 8th 2010, 8:09 pm

By: News 9


By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A counterterrorism specialist based in Oklahoma City said the proposed burning of the Quran in Florida is dangerous for all Americans.

David Cid is the Executive Director of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. MIPT focuses on preventing and reducing terrorism.

Cid, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, called the Dove World Outreach Center's Quran burning proposal absurd.

"To offend an entire religious community to simply make a point against a fringe of that community that is acting badly does not make sense," Cid said. "This could put Americans abroad and at home in danger. We've worked really hard to improve the image of Americans outside of this country. This would be a major setback."

MIPT plans to monitor the situation and the effects if Pastor Terry Jones goes through with the planned burning of the Muslim holy book.

Meanwhile, the Council on American Islamic Relations is campaigning for understanding on behalf of Muslim Americans. The organization has created three public service announcements. Two feature first responders who experienced the devastation of September 11, 2001 firsthand. The end of the segments feature a statement that says, "9/11 happened to us all," followed by the first responders saying they are Muslim.

Watch the PSA's

"Muslims died on September 11, Muslims also responded on September 11. There are 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. We shouldn't be held accountable for what criminals do," said CAIR Oklahoma Executive Director Razi Hashmi said.

A third PSA features religious leaders from all different faiths talking about the Golden Rule and how the freedom of religion is the heart of America.

"There is a common thread between all our faiths. We forget that, but I think it's really important that we come back to that," Hashmi said.

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