Pastor Terry Jones defiantly refuses to stop his campaign even if it means American soldiers will die

The controversial pastor who has sparked riots in Afghanistan which have left at least 20 dead has said he would rather die than stop preaching against Islam.

Reverend Terry Jones said his right to speak out was more important than the lives of those who had died during the unrest - or any American soldiers who might be killed in the future.

He said he would continue his campaign against Muslims even though every single one of his 30 parishioners had deserted him.

The 59-year-old did however admit that he now carries a gun everywhere he goes because he has received more than 300 death threats and has a $2.4million bounty put on his head by the Taliban.

Seven UN workers and at least 13 others in Afghanistan were killed over the weekend when an anti-Jones mob attacked their compound in Mazar-e Sharif, the largest city in the north of the country.

More than 150 others were injured in related protests that spread to the capital Kandahar over three days.

They were furious after Jones burned a copy of the Koran at his Dove Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, on March 20.

Insist: Interview with Pastor Terry Jones in which he said he will not stop preaching against Islam even if it means innocent lives are at stake.Protest: A boy holds a copy of the Koran as he takes part in a rally against Terry Jones days before 20 people were killed, including seven UN workers.Reaction: Pakistani Christians burn an effigy depicting U.S. pastor Terry Jones in response to him burning the Koran outside his church in Gainesville, Florida.Defiant: Terry Jones said he is prepared to die for the cause and will not stop preaching against Islam even if it means more deaths

He had called off a previous attempt in the face of an international outcry but then staged a mock ‘trial’ of the Prophet Muhammad and burned the Islamic holy book as ‘punishment’.



Having been deserted by his parishioners he is now left with just one assistant to spread his hate-filled message.

In an interview with ABC News Jones was asked if he was willing to die for his cause.

He said: 'Yes we are, very definitely. That’s how important we feel about it.'

He said he would carry on speaking out even if it lead to the death of American soldiers.

‘Perhaps in the long run, we may save hundreds or thousands (of lives),’ he said.

He revealed he has received more than 300 death threats, some of which name the date, time and place where he will be killed - but he would carry on regardless.

Jones added that during the Koran burning on March 20 it was him who decided to put the Islamic holy book on trial.

‘I was the judge but I did not determine the verdict. I was just a type of referee so that people got their time to defend or condemn the Koran,’ he said.

Jones has been condemned by Barack Obama and General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, who called his actions ‘hateful and intolerant’.

As the protests against the Koran burning entered their fourth day, the latest casualties were two foreign soldiers on a training mission who were shot dead by a ‘rogue’ Afghan border policeman in Jalalabad.

In addition, up to a thousand angry residents in the city blocked the main highway to Kabul and set alight effigies of Jones.

‘We wanted to raise awareness of this dangerous religion and dangerous element,’ Jones said.

‘I think today’s attack proves that there is a radical element of Islam.’

Among the UN workers killed were 33-year-old Swede Joakim Dunel, who specialised in human rights.

Another fatality was Lt. Col. Siri Skare, a 53-year-old female pilot from Norway and Filaret Motco, a 43-year-old Romanian who worked in the political section of the UN.

Their bodies were found spread over three different parts of their compound.