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Dove World Outreach Center

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Dove World Outreach Center is a non-denominational charismatic Christian church located in Gainesville, Florida, which, under its leader Rev. Terry and Sylvia Jones, gained notoriety in the late 2000s for its displays of anti-Islam and anti-LGBT messages.

History and structure

It was founded in 1986 by Donald O. Northrup and Richard H. Wright[1], and became known for participating in charitable endeavors.

It also formerly owned a subsidiary church in Waldo, Florida in the 1980s (led by Donald J. Wright) and a sister church in Cologne, Germany, Christliche Gemeinde Koln[2][3], which had been founded and led by Jones, a Missouri native, from 1981-2008 (initially as a branch of Maranatha Ministries), after which the church continued under newer, independent leadership. It is currently the largest non-Catholic church in the Cologne/Bonn metropolitan area.

The church also maintains a Dove World Outreach Academy in Gainesville, in which students are prohibited from outside contact and work without compensation in selling, packing and shipping of furniture for TS and Company[4].

Under Northrup family

Donald Northrup and his wife, Dolores (a native of Nova Scotia), were married in 1946 and became involved as missionaries in southern Africa from 1960-1977. Donald Northrup and Terry Jones first became involved with each other as operatives in the Maranatha Campus Ministries; when MCM's headquarters were moved from Paducah, Kentucky to Gainesville, Florida in the 1970's, the Northrups decided to permanently move from Rhode Island to Gainesville, at which point Northrup and Wright established the Dove World Outreach Center.

Northrup headed the church from its inception until he died in 1996[5], before which he repudiated his own experience with MCM. Dolores continued to participate in various ministries of the church as Woman's Pastor until she retired from activities in 2004 and later became estranged from the congregation in 2009 due to concerns about the church's future under the Jones family.

Jones family

Terry Jones is a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri who is married to Sylvia Jones and has two children, Luke and Emma (the latter of whom is estranged from the family and the church). Jones became the pastor of the CGK (while it was a branch of Maranatha) from 1981, and after Maranatha's collapse, the congregation became associated with the surviving DWOC.

After the Jones' were confronted by their daughter and a former German elder of the church over financial abuses tied to the Jones family's for-profit vintage furniture, TS and Company (2007-present), the family left the CGK and Germany. The Jones' couple then became the current senior pastors of the Gainesville congregation, with Wayne Sapp serving as assistant pastor.

Terry published Islam is of the Devil[6], a polemic denouncing Islam as a violent faith, in August 2010 under Creation House, an imprint of Strang Communications.

Political controversies

anti-Islam lawn signs

In 2009, Dove World posted a sign on its lawn which stated in large red letters "Islam is of the Devil"[7]. The signs drew protests by CAIR and local activists, who picketed the church's front sidewalk. By July 31, however, the church posted another sign which paraphrased a portion of At-Tawba (Surah 9:5), stating "Koran 9:5 Kill the disbelievers wherever you find them."[8]

Another sign was posted by October 29, showing a Muslim man hanging a Christian[9]; according to one observer, the sign was later destroyed by angry passersby[10].

anti-Islam t-shirts

Also in 2009, members of the church sent their children to the new school year with t-shirts saying on the front "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me. I stand in trust with Dove Outreach Center." and on the back "Islam is of the Devil". The incident resulted in a 10-year-old being sent home from Talbot Elementary on August 24, and, on the 25, Eastside High students and one Gainesville High student being sent home and a student at Westwood Middle having to change clothes because of the shirt[11].

Protest in Columbus, Ohio

Dove World participated in a November 2009 rally in support of Rifqa Bary; members wore "Islam is of the Devil" t-shirts to the event, although some other participants at the rally were troubled by the t-shirts' message[12].

Endorsement of Westboro Baptist Church

In March 2010, Dove World posted a video which decried the possibility of an openly-gay mayor (in this case, current mayor Craig Lowe, who is the first openly gay mayor of Gainesville). It also posted a sign saying "No Homo Mayor"; after Americans United requested the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the sign as an undue participation of a non-political tax-exempt organization in the political process[13], the church then changed the sign to simply read "No Homo"[14].

On April 18, 2010, members of the church participated in a joint protest with the Westboro Baptist Church against homosexuality[15]; the protest took place in front of Trinity United Methodist Church and the University of Florida Hillel.

Later, on April 21, Dove World member Fran Ingram published a blog post proclaiming the church's endorsements of the Westboro Baptist Church's protests against homosexuality and homosexuals[16].

"International Burn a Koran Day"

In July 2010, the church announced that it would hold an "International Burn a Koran Day", in which church members would hold book burnings of the Qu'ran, on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks; on an August 7, 2010 episode of the racist "The Ugly Truth" podcast, Jones also stated that "a couple of copies of the Talmud" could also be burnt.

The initial announcement elicited condemnation by religious organizations, ranging from a recommendation by the National Association of Evangelicals to cancel the event[17] to threats posted to the Al-Falluja jihadist web forum to "spill rivers of your (American) blood" and "a war the likes of which you have never seen before"[18].

The announcement has also elicited comparisons of the church's actions with those of Nazi Germany, which engaged in burnings of books written by Jews, communists and others who did not conform to Nazi ideology, as well as the European Middle Ages/Renaissance-era Roman Catholic Church, which participated in the Inquisition against persons and works which did not conform with the church's teachings.

The Gainesville fire department refused to grant the church a burning permit, stating that open burning of books is not allowed in the city due to fire hazard[19]. Regardless, the church plans to proceed with the event despite the potential of being fined if it proceeds with the event[20][21].

Financial controversy

As a result of its controversies and the ties between the church and TS and Company, the Alachua County Property Appraiser commenced an investigation into the tax-exempt status of the church in March 2010[22].

Reponse

Local response

The church has been strongly criticized by various local religious and political figures in Florida for its stances against Islam and homosexuality. In response, a Gainesville Interfaith Forum was established in November 2009 with participation from the University of Israel Hillel, Congregation Bnai Israel[23] and individual Muslim residents, and the forum's request for the declaration of September 11 as "Interfaith Solidarity Day" was honored by current mayor Craig Lowe[24]. The Forum scheduled a "Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope" at Trinity United Methodist Church on the day before the planned burning[25].

In addition, Lowe has referred to Dove World as a "tiny fringe group and an embarrassment to our community"[26].

National and international

Beyond coverage of the organization by news media, the church has received condemnation from primarily religious figures due to its anti-Islamic stance, including criticism by:

Potential violent non-state actor response

WOKV reported that jihadist anger was evidenced on the forums for such thought, with indications of suicide bombing attacks against the church[33]. In relation, a right-wing Christian organization, Right Wing Extreme, had initially offered to provide security for the event[34], but later retracted their support for the event[35].

References

  1. ^ "Gainesville Sun, March 14, 1987". Gainesville Sun. March 14, 1987.
  2. ^ "Christliche Gemeinde Koln".
  3. ^ ? (?). "Dr. Terry Jones answers your questions about overcoming adversity the apostolic way". The Voice. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Megan Rolland (Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.). "The church behind the signs". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Dolores Northrup. "About Dolores Northrup, author of the book The Unlimited God".
  6. ^ Richard Bartholomew (August 4, 2010). "Ex-Maranatha Pastor's "Islam is of the Devil" Book Published by Stephen Strang". Barth's Notes.
  7. ^ Lise Fisher & Karen Voyles (Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.). "Anti-Islam church sign stirs up community outrage". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Cindy Swirko (Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.). "New Dove World Outreach sign again takes aim at Islam". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Dove World Controversial Statement". AM850.com. Thursday, October 29, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ John Nolley II (Sunday, November 15, 2009). "Preaching Hatred: The Dove Church in Gainesville, FL". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Christopher Curry (Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.). "'Devil' shirts send kids home". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Meredith Heagney (Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:06 AM). "120 rally for Rifqa outside courthouse". Columbus Dispatch. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "IRS Should Investigate Florida Church For Opposing Mayoral Candidate, Says Americans United". Americans United. March 26, 2010.
  14. ^ Chad Smith (April 2nd, 2010 02:13pm). "Church changes 'No homo Mayor' sign to read 'No homo'". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Westboro Church visit draws counter protesters". Gainesville.com. Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 6:17 p.m. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Fran Ingram (April 21, 2010). "In Support of Westboro Baptist Church". Dove World Baptist Church.
  17. ^ ? (July 29, 2010). "Press Release: NAE Urges Cancellation of Planned Qu'ran Burning". National Association of Evangelicals. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  18. ^ "Florida church plans to burn Quran on 9/11 anniversary". Aug 1, 2010, 12.21am IST. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Lex Weekly". Lex Appeal. Aug 23, 2010.
  20. ^ "Fla. city denies permit for 9/11 Quran burning". Associated Press. August 19, 2010.
  21. ^ Chad Smith (Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 6:34 p.m.). "Gainesville denies Dove World a permit to burn Quran". Gainesville Sun. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Chad Smith (Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.). "County investigating Dove World's tax-exempt status". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Gainesville Interfaith Forum". KISS 105.3.
  24. ^ Chad Smith (Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 7:02 p.m.). "Local leaders forming response to Quran burning". Gainesville.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ Chad Smith (Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.). "Mayor Lowe: Dove World is 'an embarrassment'". Gainesville Sun. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Backgrounder: Dove World Outreach Center". Anti-Defamation League. August 5, 2010.
  28. ^ "ADL Calls "International Burn a Koran Day" Reprehensible". Anti-Defamation League. August 5, 2010.
  29. ^ "Top Sunni college Al-Azhar University blasts Dove World". Gainesville.com. Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 6:01 a.m. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "'Burn a Quran Day, a Zionist outlook'". Press TV. Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:11:52 GMT. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at condemns plans to burn Holy Qur'an in United States". Al Islam.org. 22nd August 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "World union of Humanists and Atheists condemn Quran burning". IHEU. 19 August, 2010 - 09:09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ Adam Kirk (August 23, 2010 5:28 AM). "Islamic Radicals Threaten Suicide Bombings Against Gainesville Church". WOKV. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Mikael Gunatela, as quoted press release (August 22, 2010). "Armed group of Christian Conservatives to protect church during burning of Quran". World Correspondents.
  35. ^ "Press Release: Armed Christian Conservative Group Pulls Support of Burning of Koran". Right Wing Extreme (press release). Wednesday, 25 August 2010 01:50. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Wikinews has related news:
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