REUTERS: A Utah church is giving away free copies of the Koran in an Easter season ecumenical riposte to the recent burning of the Islamic holy book by a controversial Florida pastor.
The Wasatch Presbyterian Church has ordered 50 copies of the Koran to be distributed at a local bookstore starting on Monday.
"We're not promoting Islam, we're not saying the Koran is the Bible," said Scott Dalgarno, the church's pastor. "We're just saying that if people are curious, if they want their consciences informed on this issue ... then let them pick up a copy on us and read it and decide for themselves what to think."
Dalgarno says each Koran, which the world's nearly 1.6 billion Muslims believe is God's final testament, will have a bookmark insert that reads: "This book was donated by the leaders of Wasatch Presbyterian Church who are not afraid of truth wherever it can be found."
He said the giveaway was a response to Terry Jones, the leader of a fringe, fundamentalist church in Gainesville, Florida. » | James Nelson | SALT LAKE CITY | Friday, April 22, 2011
EXAMINER.COM: SLC Presbyterians provide free copies of Islam’s holy book: SALT LAKE CITY - The Wasatch Presbyterian Church is buying dozens of copies of the Quran and giving them away in the hope of bridging the gap created by extremists last March. » | Alison Peek, Salt Lake City Political Buzz Examiner | Sunday, April 24, 2011
