Pakistan's ambassador to the United States appealed on radio and television host Glenn Beck, conservative to denounce the burning of the Koran to show that Americans are tolerant of other religions.
"I think it would be helpful if Mr. Glenn Beck voted against it, saying that people of faith are not burning the books of other religions," Husain Haqqani told The Associated Press.
Beck wrote earlier this week in an Internet blog posting that the burning of the Koran is like burning the flag or the Bible - people can do something in the U.S., but should not.
"Our Muslim neighbors and good friends will be saddened," he writes. "It makes the battle they face in their own communities even more difficult."
Whether Haqqani was aware of the blog. A telephone message left with the Embassy of Pakistan did not immediately respond.
The diplomat warned that if Florida Pastor Terry Jones goes ahead with its plans to burn copies of the Koran, it triggered a massive reaction in parts of the Muslim world.Jones said he is still determined to go ahead with the protest at his church, despite pressure from the White House and other U.S. officials to cancel. Military commanders have warned that burning the Muslim holy book will inflame extremists and could trigger backlash against U.S. troops and citizens abroad."The United States must live up to its lofty ideals and all these people who are against religious extremism and intolerance in the Muslim world should also speak out against meaningless gestures such as the burning of the Koran," he Haqqani said.
He said that Pakistan's leaders understand the concept of freedom of expression and do what they can to manage the response in their countries.
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