By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended a Florida pastor who has threatened to burn korans to mark the anniversary of Sept. 11 during a press conference Tuesday to mark progress made at Ground Zero.
While Bloomberg said the burning would be "distasteful," he said the pastor had the First Amendment right to do what he wishes.
"In a strange way, I'm here to defend his right to do that," Bloomberg said, according to the New York Post.
"I don't think he would like it if somebody burned a book in his religion that he thinks is holy," Bloomberg said, according to the Post. "But the First Amendment protects everybody and you can't say we're going to apply the First Amendment in only those cases where we are in agreement."
Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has warned that the act could incite violence and put troops in danger.
Nonetheless, Terry Jones, a senior pastor at the Dove World Outreach Center, continued to threaten to burn copies of the holy book to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
He has been advertising the event on Facebook as "International Burn a Koran Day."
