EU's Ashton 'condemns' US Koran burning

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union roundly "condemns" plans for a mass burning of the Koran in Florida, USA, a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday.

"The High Representative respects all kinds of religious beliefs and this is not the right way to go," the spokewoman told reporters after an evangelical pastor insisted the ceremony to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks would go ahead.

Authorities have their hands tied unless the pastor, Terry Jones, actually sets fire to the Muslim holy book on Saturday at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, as vowed.

However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already condemned the "disgraceful" stunt while the White House added its voice to warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.

The move comes against a backdrop of Islamophobia driven by plans to build an Islamic cultural center in New York close to Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Center stood before being destroyed in the 2001 attacks.

Saturday's anniversary coincides with festivities for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and fasting for nearly 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.