Editor's note: Shortly after posting this report, the story changed with the news that Rev. Terry Jones has said he has canceled plans to burn copies of the Quran.
Two days before the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, a Florida pastor remains steadfast in his plan to burn copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, in a bonfire on Saturday.
Reaction to Rev. Terry Jones, of the Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., has come from myriad political, religious, media and community arenas.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama implored the minister to "listen to those better angels" about the weekend protest. "This is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda," Obama said, calling it a "stunt."
Meanwhile, a Springfield, Tenn., minister now says he also plans to burn a Quran on Saturday. The Rev. Bob Old told The Tennessean that Rev. Jones is doing the right thing by burning the Quran, and so he's going to do likewise. Rev. Old intends to post a video of the burning book online, it was reported.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Islamic Society of North America, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Southern Baptist Convention all joined other religious and government entities in speaking out against the planned event.
The number of organizations and individuals speaking out against the scripture burning continues to grow, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Gen. David Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, Glenn Beck and the Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, who said Rev. Jones is going too far if he burns Qurans this Saturday.
The news is leading many national and world newscasts, blogs and sites as the Voice of America, the Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek and CNN took a critical look at the issue with their reports.
Also Thursday, public radio's Diane Rehm hosted a panel discussion about religious intolerance in the U.S. that included Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Robert Destro, professor of law at The Catholic University of America; Azizah al-Hibri, professor of law, University of Richmond; and Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
On the Huffington Post website, journalist Naazish YarKhan issued "An Open Letter to Pastor Terry Jones, the Brain Behind 'Burn-A-Quran Day'."
While guest blogger Isaac Chotiner states at The New Republic: "The Koran Burning is Very Wrong. The Koran Burning is not THE END OF CIVILIZATION."
Finally, Poynter Institute faculty member and media ethicist Kelly McBride advised news outlets covering the event with this piece: "How to Report on Quran Burning and Other Hate Speech."