When car dealer Brad Benson made an on-air comment that he would give the Florida pastor threatening to burn Qurans on 9/11 a free car if he called it off, he never expected to hear anything back.
He was totally surprised when representatives of Pastor Terry Jones' Gainesville, Florida, Worldwide Church Of The Dove called to ask when they could pick up the preacher's 2011 Hyundai Accent – valued at $14,200.
Pastor Jones, who attracted worldwide attention when he threatened to burn copies of the Islam holy book on television, told newsmen he does not intend to drive the car, but to donate it to a charity that helps abused Islamic women.
In fact, it was not until several weeks after he called off his plan to burn the holy books that he even heard about Mr. Benson's offer, a remark he, too, had forgotten as soon as he made it during a local broadcast advertising his wares.
A former New York Giants offensive lineman, Mr. Benson says he made the offer of the use of the brand new car for a year - free of charge – if the preacher refused to burn any copies of the Quran, ever, because “I just didn't think that was a good thing for our country right now.”
He routinely gives recognition during a segment of his advertising presentations to those he wishes to present with the “Idiot Award.”
Saddam Hussein, Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson have been similarly honored over the years.
Pastor Jones, an evangelical minister of Pentecostal teachings who hails from Europe, caused a worldwide media feeding frenzy in the weeks leading up to 9/11. His threat was aimed at protests over the plans to refurbish a building being used near the site of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Islamic Imams plan to make it into an international Islamic Center.
He called off the rash act, for which he had prepared meticulously, gathering nearly a cord of split firewood and nearly 25 copies of the Quran, when no less political personages than President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and General David Petraeus called on him to change his plans, fearing international repercussions on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other hot spots, including the streets of America.
He was totally surprised when representatives of Pastor Terry Jones' Gainesville, Florida, Worldwide Church Of The Dove called to ask when they could pick up the preacher's 2011 Hyundai Accent – valued at $14,200.
Pastor Jones, who attracted worldwide attention when he threatened to burn copies of the Islam holy book on television, told newsmen he does not intend to drive the car, but to donate it to a charity that helps abused Islamic women.
In fact, it was not until several weeks after he called off his plan to burn the holy books that he even heard about Mr. Benson's offer, a remark he, too, had forgotten as soon as he made it during a local broadcast advertising his wares.
A former New York Giants offensive lineman, Mr. Benson says he made the offer of the use of the brand new car for a year - free of charge – if the preacher refused to burn any copies of the Quran, ever, because “I just didn't think that was a good thing for our country right now.”
He routinely gives recognition during a segment of his advertising presentations to those he wishes to present with the “Idiot Award.”
Saddam Hussein, Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson have been similarly honored over the years.
Pastor Jones, an evangelical minister of Pentecostal teachings who hails from Europe, caused a worldwide media feeding frenzy in the weeks leading up to 9/11. His threat was aimed at protests over the plans to refurbish a building being used near the site of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Islamic Imams plan to make it into an international Islamic Center.
He called off the rash act, for which he had prepared meticulously, gathering nearly a cord of split firewood and nearly 25 copies of the Quran, when no less political personages than President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and General David Petraeus called on him to change his plans, fearing international repercussions on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other hot spots, including the streets of America.
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