General David Petraeus, a U.S. commander in Afghanistan, released a statement on Monday, criticizing a church in Gainesville, Florida for planning to burn copies of Quran on September 11.

Petraeus said, “It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan.”

Around 120,000 NATO and U.S. troops are still in battle with the al Qaeda and the Taliban movement.

He also said, “Burning Qurans is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems – not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community…Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday. Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”

The church involved here is the Dove World Outreach Center. According to it, burning Qurans is “neither an act of love nor of hate, but a warning against the threats posed by Islam.”

Several religious organizations in the U.S. and all over the world have expressed their opposition to the Quran-burning. They are all calling for the Gainesville church to cancel the event.

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