THE TAMPA TRIBUNE: TAMPA - Terry Jones, the Gainesville preacher who has enraged Muslims around the world with his Quran burnings and mock trials of the prophet Muhammad, is about to sell his 20-acre Dove World Outreach Center and says he will be moving his 15-member congregation to Tampa.
The deal to sell the Alachua County land is scheduled to close on July 15. Jones said he is eyeing Tampa because he is familiar with the area — he and his wife already own a condominium on Treasure Island — and the small university town of Gainesville has never really embraced his message.
“Tampa is a much larger area,” he said. “Gainesville has a small mentality. The whole world here revolves around whether the Gators will win a football game. We’re more concerned about national and global events.
“We are going full steam ahead for the Tampa Bay area,” he said. “We definitely have support in the Tampa Bay area.”
Jones has evolved in the past few years from the pastor of a tiny rural church into a lightning rod for Muslim extremists. He has written a book titled “Islam is of the Devil” and sells T-shirts espousing the same message.
The reaction among local, moderate Muslims: a shrug of the shoulders. » | Keith Morelli | Tribune Staff | Wednesday, April 03, 2013
