NYC imam says no meeting planned with Pastor Terry Jones

The imam leading an effort to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site said Friday that he has no plans to meet with Rev. Terry Jones, the Gainesville pastor who has threatened to burn copies of the Quran.

"I am prepared to consider meeting with anyone who is seriously committed to pursuing peace," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said in a prepared statement. "We have no such meeting planned at this time. Our plans for the community center have not changed. With the solemn day of September 11 upon us, I encourage everyone to take time for prayer and reflection."

The statement was an apparent response to the Jones, who said he would put off plans to burn the Muslim holy book if he was able to meet with Rauf or other organizers of the Islamic center.

It appeared to leave open the possibility of a meeting but did not mention Jones by name or say specifically whether Rauf believed the pastor was a peacemaker who deserved a meeting.

Jones created outrage in the U.S. and around the world by threatening to have his small congregation burn the Quran.

Speaking to NBC's "Today" show Friday morning, the Rev. Terry Jones said if he meets with the imam in New York, he won't burn the Qurans. It wasn't clear whether he meant the burning would be halted indefinitely or just for Saturday.

Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, told CBS' "The Early Show" he had a commitment for Jones and himself to meet in New York with the imam there.

Earlier, Jones and Musri had disagreed sharply on the terms of their agreement.

Jones said Thursday he would call off the planned burning of Qurans based on a deal negotiated with Musri that the location of a New York mosque would be changed.

But Musri said he was clear Thursday when he told Jones that he could only set up a meeting with the mosque's planners. Jones responded by suggesting that he would go forward with his plan to burn Qurans at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"We are just really shocked," Jones said of Musri. "He clearly, clearly lied to us."

Previously, Jones had not invoked the mosque controversy as a reason for his planned protest at his Dove World Outreach Center. Instead, he cited his belief that the Quran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

Opponents of the New York mosque argue it is insensitive to families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists flew planes into the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Proponents say the project reflects religious freedom and diversity and that hatred of Muslims is fueling the opposition.