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Thom Hartmann: Well, are they still going to Burn the Quran down in Florida? Doctor Terry Jones, the pastor of the Dove World Church, DoveWorld.org, back on the show with us. Pastor Jones, welcome back.
Terry Jones: Thank you, thank you.
Thom Hartmann: Thank you for joining us again. A week or two ago when you were on here I suggested to you that you were basically doing the work of Osama Bin Laden for him. It appears that General Petraeus and Secretary of State Clinton agree with me. I'm wondering if you're going to continue with this planned Koran burning on 9-11?
Terry Jones: Yeah, as of right now we are planning to continue on.
Thom Hartmann: How do you respond, Der Spiegel this morning broke a story, "Islamophobe's Past in Germany: Terry Jones Accused of 'Spiritual Abuse' at..." Köln, Cologne is how you would say it in English, Church. Is it true that you ran a church in western Germany until last year when your parishioners kicked you out?
Terry Jones: Until a couple of years ago I was a missionary there in Germany for quite a long time, yes. You know what, people have asked me, people have been asking over and over what would it take for us not to burn the Koran.
Thom Hartmann: Mhm.
Terry Jones: I've given that actually a lot of thought, I'm probably going to say this today in a press conference here. It seems as though that the majority of Americans do not want the mosque in New York, that is what I understand, that is what some of the polls that I have"
Thom Hartmann: Yeah, but you're in Florida. You know, sir, this Der Spiegel article points out that you and you and your wife were"
Terry Jones: My proposal is that I will talk about the past, it just is a deflection of what we're doing right now, it has nothing to do with right now.
Thom Hartmann: Well I think the past is pretty important, because I think it's a reflection of what you're doing right now.
Terry Jones: Actually not important.
Thom Hartmann: The, Mr. Schäfer, the government official from Germany, said that you are a fanatic who is courting global media attention because you can't cope with the immense loss of power and significance of being kicked out of an 800 member church in Germany and having only a 50 member church in the United States. Your response?
Terry Jones: Our proposal is, as I said, I've been asked many times, and our proposal would be if they would not build the mosque in New York, what the American people do not want, we will not burn the Koran which is also what I assume most Muslims do not want us to do.
Thom Hartmann: The Germans are suggesting in Der Spiegel, in today's edition of Der Spiegel, that the reason that you're doing this is just to get publicity for yourself, self-aggrandizement. That you and your wife suggested to your parishioners that you were divinely appointed by the lord, "meaning opposition was a crime against the lord," opposition to you. And that you were asking money in an increasingly and insistent manner, this led to your congregants basically kicking you out of the country. Why should anybody take you seriously?
