Orlando imam used Jesus to plead case to pastor Terry Jones against burning Qurans

Imam Muhammad Musri knew he was walking into an unpredictable situation in visiting the anti-Islam Pastor Jones

First, he had to walk past signs that said "Islam is of the devil" and make his way through the throng of international media gathered outside the church door — only to find that the pastor, his wife, son and an assistant pastor were locked inside, armed with handguns holstered on their hips.

Imam Muhammad Musri of Orlando had never met the Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville when he drove up to the Dove World Outreach Center and decided to talk to the Islam-hating pastor who planned to burn 200 Qurans, Musri's religion's sacred text.

As he waited outside in the heat, Jones' crew argued about searching Musri for weapons before letting him in to a second-floor office. There, sitting across a bare desk and next to a large poster of Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" movie, Musri tried to persuade Jones to call off Saturday's holy-book burning to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary.

After multiple failed attempts at reasoning, Musri finally found common ground — in Jesus.

"I told him, 'Don't listen to the Quran, but listen to Jesus. Where in the Bible does Jesus tell you to do this? Didn't Jesus say that you need to love your neighbors as yourself?' " Musri recalled. "I said 'We are your neighbors. ...There are thousands of us — doctors, professors, engineers, plumbers, you name it, and have we caused your church any harm?' "

And that was the first moment Musri felt as if he was getting through to Jones. It would take a second visit the next day to get him to agree to a temporary truce.

For the 43-year-old Musri, known for trying to build bridges with other faiths and his efforts to inform non-Muslims about the Islamic faith, the olive branch to Jones was a natural extension of his work for more than 15 years in Central Florida.

Musri told the Orlando Sentinel in an interview Friday that he believed "something had to be done" to try to defuse "an international incident" raising tensions throughout the globe.

The president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, headquartered in east Orange County, said he felt "complete responsibility" to intervene on behalf of the estimated 50,000 followers of Islam in Central Florida and the thousands who attend the 10 mosques affiliated with his organization.

"This was not about Pastor Jones or about us, but it's about the people overseas, all over the world, who are watching us," Musri said. "In Florida, we know this guy is just a pastor in a small church, but outside of the U.S., he comes to stand for America's Christians."

Musri, a Lebanese native who came to the U.S. 25 years ago to pursue his education and became a U.S. citizen more than a decade ago, has been outspoken as a moderate Muslim.

He has forcefully condemned the 9-11 terrorist attacks. He supported the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has met with Catholic and evangelical leaders to advocate for common issues such as immigration reform. He has also led local relief efforts for victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, tornadoes in Volusia County and the earthquake in Haiti. And he has been appointed by Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist to serve on interfaith advisory councils with other Christian and Jewish leaders.