The High Court in Johannesburg has stopped the burning of the Bible at Library Gardens from going ahead.
Attorney Zehir Omar said Judge Sita Kolbe granted an interdict to stop businessman, Mohammed Vawda, from going ahead with burning the bible, in protest against a now-suspended plan by a United States pastor to burn the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
"The judge agreed that freedom of expression is not unlimited if one exercises freedom of expression that is harmful to others," he said.
Omar represented a Gauteng-based organisation, the Scholars of the Truth.
Speaking after the interdict was granted, Vawda said he had erred in wanting to burn the bible.
He said his intention had been to highlight that similar action should have been taken against US pastor, Terry Jones, over his threat to burn the Koran. "Jones's actions infuriated me and incited me and enraged me. I decided to act against him and his actions by burning his book".
The court papers, however, mentioned parts of the Koran thatspeaks out on respecting both the bible and the Jewish torah.
"I then understood," he said. "But I still think if the applicant could do this to me, how come nobody in America didn't take similar action," he said.
Omar said his clients had also requested that all religious books be included in the interdict, this application would be heard at a later stage, as would the matter of costs.
Vawda earlier this year appeared in court when a colleague, Willem Harmse, tried to interdict him from using the words "shoot the boer" on posters in a planned crime march.The interdict was granted and the words were banned. Omar had represented Vawda's opposition, Harmse, in that case too.
Jones, who is pastor of a church with only 50 members, drew widespread condemnation for his now-suspended plans to burn the Koran to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
Imtiaz Suliman, of the prominent Islamic relief organisation Gift of the Givers, appealed for calm heads. He urged South Africans to ignore Jones.
"Leave him to God.
"Real people of religion don't carry out acts that create conflict... real people of religion bring about compassion, understanding and patience."
Bid to burn Bible is banned
The High Court in Johannesburg has stopped the burning of the Bible at Library Gardens from going ahead.
Attorney Zehir Omar said Judge Sita Kolbe granted an interdict to stop businessman, Mohammed Vawda, from going ahead with burning the bible, in protest against a now-suspended plan by a United States pastor to burn the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
"The judge agreed that freedom of expression is not unlimited if one exercises freedom of expression that is harmful to others," he said.
Omar represented a Gauteng-based organisation, the Scholars of the Truth.
Speaking after the interdict was granted, Vawda said he had erred in wanting to burn the bible.
He said his intention had been to highlight that similar action should have been taken against US pastor, Terry Jones, over his threat to burn the Koran. "Jones's actions infuriated me and incited me and enraged me. I decided to act against him and his actions by burning his book".
The court papers, however, mentioned parts of the Koran thatspeaks out on respecting both the bible and the Jewish torah.
"I then understood," he said. "But I still think if the applicant could do this to me, how come nobody in America didn't take similar action," he said.
Omar said his clients had also requested that all religious books be included in the interdict, this application would be heard at a later stage, as would the matter of costs.
Vawda earlier this year appeared in court when a colleague, Willem Harmse, tried to interdict him from using the words "shoot the boer" on posters in a planned crime march.The interdict was granted and the words were banned. Omar had represented Vawda's opposition, Harmse, in that case too.
Jones, who is pastor of a church with only 50 members, drew widespread condemnation for his now-suspended plans to burn the Koran to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
Imtiaz Suliman, of the prominent Islamic relief organisation Gift of the Givers, appealed for calm heads. He urged South Africans to ignore Jones.
"Leave him to God.
"Real people of religion don't carry out acts that create conflict... real people of religion bring about compassion, understanding and patience."
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