Two months ago, he was an obscure pastor leading a small congregation in Florida. That was before Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, created a global firestorm by declaring Sept. 11 “International Burn a Koran Day.” It’s a threat Jones has since abandoned amid pleas and outrage from not only the Muslim world but people of all faiths.

“Muslims take the value of the Quran very seriously as divine scripture, and we are very careful to handle it and store it properly,” explained Safaa Al-Hamdani, a member of the Anniston Islamic Center. “It is never allowed to be kept in unsanitary places, is never allowed to touch the ground, and we must have clean hands to touch it.

“I cannot emphasize enough the value of this book to all Muslims.”

And yet Jones appeared oblivious as to why his threats were so offensive. The reason? Jones knew nothing about the Quran.

“I have no experience with it whatsoever,” he told the New York Times. “I only know what the Bible says.”

Jones’ ignorance about the teachings and beliefs of Islam is not uncommon. More than half of respondents in a recent poll by the Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life said they knew little or nothing about the Muslim faith.

Had Jones or any of his followers bothered to read the Quran before threatening to burn it, they might have been surprised by what they found.

Moses is mentioned more than 130 times. Jesus is mentioned more than 100 times. Mary is mentioned more in the Quran than in the New Testament, and Muhammad is only mentioned four times, explained Gordon Newby, chair of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies at Emory University in Atlanta.