Pastory Terry Jones was denied entry into Britain on Wednesday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Pastor Terry Jones denied entry to Britain
- He is threatening legal action
- "Numerous comments made by Pastor Jones are evidence of his unacceptable behavior," a Home Office spokesperson says
London (CNN) -- Britain has denied entry to the Florida pastor who said last year that he was "praying about" whether to burn Qurans to protest the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"The government opposes extremism in all its forms which is why we have excluded Pastor Terry Jones from the UK," a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement. "Numerous comments made by Pastor Jones are evidence of his unacceptable behaviour."
Jones vowed to take legal action to change the decision. "Just as a human being, I believe it is restrictive, against my right to travel, against my right to my opinion, to express my opinion, against basic principles of freedom of religion and freedom of speech," he said in a telephone interview.
He said he had planned to go to Britain February 9 and to spend a week to 10 days there with his church group. He has been invited to speak at several rallies in England and do book signings, he said.
Jones, the pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, threatened last September to burn the Quran. "We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it," Jones had told CNN.
But he changed his mind after his proposal drew sharp criticism from Muslims around the world and from U.S. officials. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said the burning of Islam's holy books "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.
His book, "Islam Is of the Devil," is ranked at number 960,762 by Amazon.com.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/01/19/britain.terry.jones/
