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Video: Man Rips, Burns Pages From Koran At Mosque Protest
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 11, 2010
Modified Sep 11, 2010
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Bucky Turco/Animal
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 11, 2010
Modified Sep 11, 2010
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[Updated with video below] An unidentified man began ripping pages of the Koran and burning them today at a protest of the proposed Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero. "If they can burn American flags, I can burn the Koran. America should never be afraid to give their opinion," the Daily News reports he shouted.
According to Maggie Haberman, he also screamed, "I'm Mapplethorping the Quran!" Animal adds that the man was quickly taken by the NYPD and escorted away from the protest, trailed by a group of reporters.
The News attributes the unidentified man's behavior to Pastor Terry Jones, who earlier this week threatened to hold a Koran-burning on Sept. 11. But didn't the man hear, Jones called off the burning this morning on The Today Show! Doesn't he watch NBC on Saturday mornings?
Update: You can see video of the scene, including the man tearing the pages and the resulting media crush, courtesy of Animal's Bucky Turco.
Tagged
burning
ground zero
koran
mosque
park 51
protest
terry jones
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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