Responding to news that Gainesville’s Dove World Outreach Center — a self-described “New Testament, Charismatic, Non-Denominational Church” — is holding a public Quran-burning event on Sept. 11, the National Association of Evangelicals last Thursday issued a press release condemning the event (via The Religion World). According to the release, the NAE

encourages increased understanding and reconciliation between those of different faiths and backgrounds, and it laments efforts that work against a just and peaceful society. The plans recently announced by a Florida group to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11 show disrespect for our Muslim neighbors and would exacerbate tensions between Christians and Muslims throughout the world. The NAE urges the cancellation of the burning.

“It was something we felt was very concerning,” Galen Cary, director of government affairs for the NAE, tells The Florida Independent. The NAE represents thousands of churches — Dove World not among them — from 40 different denominations. Cary cites the NAE’s “strong commitment to religious freedom” as the motivation for his organization’s stance on Dove World, and adds that the church’s actions are “not in keeping with Christian values.”