Terry Jones the Florida pastor who intends on burning Qurans on September 11th was just interviewed on Thom Hartmann’s radio show. Thom isn’t normally an ambush kind of guy, but he had information on this man I haven’t heard anywhere else, and it is not a pretty picture considering this person currently has a national stage and I haven’t heard anyone discuss these issues with him before Thom.
In the United States, Jones has already attracted attention on several occasions as an Islamophobic provocateur. What is less well known is that the pastor led a charismatic evangelical church, the Christian Community of Cologne, in the western German city up until 2009. Last year, however, the members of the congregation kicked founder Jones out, because of his radicalism. One of the church's current leaders, Stephan Baar, also told the German news agency DPA that there had been suspicions of financial irregularities in the church surrounding Jones.
Must read article in Der Spiegel
Various witnesses gave SPIEGEL ONLINE consistent accounts of the Jones' behavior. The pastor and his wife apparently regarded themselves as having been appointed by God, meaning opposition was a crime against the Lord. Terry and Sylvia Jones allegedly used these methods to ask for money in an increasingly insistent manner, as well as making members of the congregation carry out work.
Must read article in Der Spiegel
The only thing I can do is encourage everyone to read the article. In short it looks like this person is a Jim Jones want to be and the national mega phone he is getting without question is indicative of how off the rails this new brand of Islamophobia has become.
Jones became increasingly radical as the years went by, former associates say. At one point he wanted to help a homosexual member to "pray away his sins." Later he began to increasingly target Islam in his sermons. A congregation member reported that some members were afraid to attend services because they expected to be attacked by Muslims. "Terry Jones has a talent for finding topical social issues and seizing on them for his own cause," says Schäfer.
By the end of 2007, the community had had enough. Members confronted him and tried to change the direction of the church. But Terry Jones refused to make changes, they say. In the end, Jones, his wife and their fellow preachers were expelled from the church and he moved back to the US. "The community imploded," says Schäfer. It only has some 80 active members today.
Must read article in Der Spiegel