Dove World Outreach Center was a 50-member (as of 2010) non-denominational charismatic Christian church led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia.

After spending more than 25 years in Gainesville, Florida, the church sold its 20 acres (8 ha) of property in July 2013 with plans to relocate to Tampa.

The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and criticism of Islam and gay people, and was designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On September 11, 2010, Jones announced his church would never be burning Qur'ans and that he had reached his goal of exposing elements of Islam as dangerous and radical.

The congregation held rallies against Gainesville mayor Craig Lowe for being openly gay, and his staff for their purported liberal policies.

[9] The Dove World Outreach Center was founded in 1985 by Donald O. Northrup, and his wife, Delores,[10][11] Richard H. Wright was another early pastor.

Delores Northrup subsequently left Dove World, telling a reporter who contacted her regarding Jones' 2010 proposed Koran burning, "I was not happy with the program.

During the mayoral run-off elections against Don Marsh, Lowe and his staff were harassed for their progressive views by pastor Wayne Sapp, with fliers, mailers and online slurs.

[30] In 2009, Dove World posted a lawn sign which stated in large red letters "Islam is of the Devil", (and which later became the title of a book published by Jones in 2010).

[38] A Gainesville Interfaith Forum was established in opposition to Dove with participation from the University of Florida Hillel, Congregation Bnai Israel[39] and individual Muslim residents.

[42] President Barack Obama[43] called the planned burnings "a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda" that could result in serious violence against American troops.

[43] David Petraeus, U.S. forces general in Afghanistan, stated that it could endanger troops and the overall effort there[15] and said "it is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems.

"[44] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people, can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world's attention".

[15] Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, criticized the plans stating "any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way".

"[11] After canceling,[59] then suspending the event in the days immediately preceding September 11, 2010, Jones ultimately said his church would not be carrying out the plan to burn the Korans and that he had attained the goal of exposing the fact that an element of Islam is "very dangerous and very radical".

and other converts from Islam to Christianity testifying against the book and Sheikh Imam Mohammed Hassan, a former candidate in the Sudanese presidential election, 2010 and current Texas-based Sunni cleric, serving as "defense attorney".

[citation needed] On April 1, 2011, a mob, inflamed by a mosque sermon describing the burning of the Muslim holy book, attacked a United Nations compound in a northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan.

According to Sherjan Durrani, a spokesman for the provincial police “four rioters had also been killed and that more than 100 others were injured in the outbreak of violence in the northern city, normally one of the calmer corners of Afghanistan.”[69] President Obama strongly condemned both the Quran burning, calling it an act of "extreme intolerance and bigotry", as well as the "outrageous" attacks by protesters, referring to them as "an affront to human decency and dignity ... No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act.

In March 2013 the al Qaeda English-language magazine Inspire published a poster stating "Wanted dead or alive for crimes against Islam" with a prominent image of Terry Jones.

[76] In June 2012, Jones hung an effigy of President Obama in opposition of same-sex marriage, abortion, and "radical Islam", and was then investigated by the Secret Service.