Florida Pastor May Reconsider Cancellation of Quran Burning

(Sept. 9) -- A Christian pastor today canceled his controversial plan to burn copies of the Quran, saying he had received a "sign from God" when a Muslim cleric agreed to move an Islamic center planned for a site near ground zero in New York. But the cleric said there was no such deal, and the preacher later said he was having second thoughts.

Terry Jones said tonight he had been "clearly, clearly lied to" about what he said was a promise to change the location of the New York mosque.

Jones, head of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., sparked an international uproar when he announced his church would burn copies of the Muslim holy book on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. President Barack Obama condemned the plan and Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, warned it could endanger American troops. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates telephoned Jones earlier today and urged him to reconsider.

Jones announced this afternoon he had decided to call off the Quran burning and would instead fly to New York on Saturday to meet with the Muslim cleric who wants to build an Islamic center a few blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center.

"Our thought was the American people do not as a whole want the mosque at ground zero. If they were willing to cancel the mosque at the ground zero location or if they were willing to move that location, we would consider that a sign from God," Jones told reporters today.

"We have been in contact with the imam in New York City. I will be flying up on Saturday to meet with the imam at the ground zero mosque. He has agreed to move the location," Jones said.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said in a statement that there had been no such agreement and that he had not been involved in any negotiations with the Florida preacher.

"I am glad that Pastor Jones has decided not to burn any Qurans. However, I have not spoken to Pastor Jones," he said, adding that he was "surprised" by the announcement.

"We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we here to barter. We are here to extend our hand to build peace and harmony," he said.

The property developer also denied any deal had been reached.

"The Muslim community center called Park51 in lower Manhattan is not being moved," said a statement issued by SoHo Properties that was obtained by ABC News. "The project will proceed as planned."

Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, appeared with Jones at his news conference but later hastened to say he had never given any guarantee that the Park51 Islamic center would be moved. Jones, however, stuck to his assertion that the New York imam had promised to move the mosque.

"I was told exactly the imam would move the mosque from ground zero," Jones said. "I have his word he will move the mosque to a different location."

Later in the evening, Jones said he was reconsidering the move to call off the Quran-burning event. He did not say when he would announce a final decision.

Jones, the author of a book called "Islam Is of the Devil," had never previously cited the New York Islamic center as a reason for Quran burning.

Meanwhile, real estate mogul Donald Trump said he had offered $6 million to buy out a major investor in the planned Park51 Islamic center -- 25 percent over the $4.8 million purchase price of the location, the New York Daily News said.

"I am making this offer as a resident of New York and citizen of the United States, not because I think the location is a spectacular one (because it is not), but because it will end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation that is destined, in my opinion, to only get worse," Trump told the investor in a letter released by his publicist.

The investor, Hisham Elzanaty, rejected the offer. "This is just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight," said his attorney, Wolodymyr Starosolsky, according to The Associated Press.

Opponents of the Islamic center say it is unfair to families whose loved ones died on 9/11 to locate a mosque so close to the World Trade Center, where Muslim extremists flew hijacked planes into the twin towers. Others, including President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, say it would be un-American to try to stop any religious group from building a house of worship.