Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie slam Pastor over Qu'ran burning

Washington - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned a Florida Pastor over his planned burning of the Qu'ran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

During a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday morning, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Terry Jones, Florida Pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, over his planned book burning of the Qu’ran on Saturday, according to MSNBC. “It's regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, FL, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan, and get the world's attention,” Clinton said. The former Presidential candidate added that the burning could put U.S. troops in harm’s way. She further urged the media to not cover this event on Saturday “as an act of patriotism” because, says Clinton, it doesn’t represent the United States’ citizens, government, political and religious leadership. In an interview with CNN, Jones said that he’s “weighing” his decision as U.S. General David Petraeus also urged Jones not go through with burning, reports Bloomberg News. The Vatican put in their two cents by saying the burning would be “outrageous and a grave gesture.” According to ABC News, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie stated during a news conference that she would never support Jones’ move because it would create even more religious hatred. Jolie added that she had “hardly the words” to describe how much she opposes Saturday’s event. Defence Minister Peter MacKay sent a note to The Canadian Press which described the Pastor’s plans as “insulting to Muslims and Canadians of all faiths.”