Awad suggested American churches and mosques host Muslim-Christian dialogues.

CAIRO, May 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – A North Carolina pastor has apologized to American Muslims for posting a sign outside his Danieltown Baptist Church in Forest City that urges the desecration of the Noble Qur'an.

"I apologize for posting that message and deeply regret that it has offended so many in the Muslim community," Rev. Creighton Lovelace said in a statement, a copy of which was sent to IslamOnline.net.

"When I posted the message on the sign, I did not realize how people of the Muslim faith view the Qur'an that devoted Muslims view it more highly than many in the US view the Bible."

On Tuesday, May 24, the pastor refused calls to take down a sign reading "the Qur'an needs to be flushed", posted in front of his church.

He argued that his initial intention was only to "affirm and exalt the Bible and its teachings" and "remind the people in this community of the preeminence of God's Word."

But a day later, he said his prayer and reflection had led him to reconsider his action.

"Now I realize how offensive this is to them, and after praying about it, I have chosen to remove the sign."

He said the church sign's message has been replaced with a new one that reads "Jesus said, 'I am the way'".

The apology was welcomed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, with 30 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada.

"We thank Pastor Lovelace for his apology and hope this incident will serve to improve relations between Christians and Muslims in North Carolina and throughout America," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Awad also suggested that Muslim-Christian dialogues on Jesus, who is revered by both faiths, be hosted by American churches and mosques.

CAIR launched on May 17, a campaign offering free copies of the Noble Qur'an to the American public, in an effort to promote a better acquaintance with the Muslims’ Noble Book.

The Explore the Qur’an campaign came in response to the controversy generated by a recent Newsweek report about the desecration of the Noble Qur'an.

In its May 9 edition, the mass-circulation magazine quoted “a knowledgeable US government source” as saying that investigators probing abuses at Guantanamo found that US interrogators “had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet.”

The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Gaza.

After protests from the Pentagon, the weekly cast some doubts on the story in its May 23 edition, saying the source “couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts”.

The controversy also motivated US Representative John Conyers of Michigan to introduce a draft resolution condemning "bigotry and intolerance against any religious group, including our friends, neighbors and citizens of the Islamic faith".