Florida pastor on al-Qaida hit list opens french fry stand at Bradenton's DeSoto Square mall | Small Business | Bradenton Herald

I have been doing a lot of "re-thinking" of prior issues and this happens to be one of them. Are Jones' actions (burning of the Qur'an) and rhetoric on par with Charlie Hebdo?

The Florida pastor who is near the top of an al-Qaida hit list is now running a french fry stand at a Bradenton mall.

The Rev. Terry Jones has opened Fry Guys Gourmet Fries in the food court at DeSoto Square mall. When customers arrive at the counter, they see a drawing of Jones' stern face front and center in what looks like a police sketch beside pictures of the other two co-owners. Their slogan: "We Take Fries Seriously."

"At first I thought the pictures would not be so recognizable," Jones told the Bradenton Herald in a phone interview Thursday. "They were supposed to be more of a cartoon type of thing."

The mall's manager was not aware of Jones' associations until contacted by the Herald for this story, and he immediately contacted the minister with his concerns. Just the sight of Jones' face could stir outrage.

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Jones is No. 2 on an al-Qaida propaganda poster for being wanted dead or alive. Slain French editor Stephane Charbonnier of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was also on that list. That poster circulated on Twitter this week with an X on Charbonnier's face after he was murdered Wednesday in an attack that killed at least 12 at the Paris office. The terrorist group targeted the cartoonist after he published a satirical cartoon of prophet Muhammad in 2011.

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The events in France, said Jones, reinforce his beliefs against Islam. He said he does not group all Muslims with radical Islam.

"I will continue to speak out against Islam or even if you want to define it as radical Islam," Jones said. "I'm not putting everyone in the same box, but Islam itself is a very oppressive religion."

Florida pastor on al-Qaida hit list opens french fry stand at Bradenton's DeSoto Square mall | Small Business | Bradenton Herald