Quran burning would have been a disaster: imam

Burning the Quran would have sparked "a disaster" in the Muslim world, the Islamic cleric behind the plan to build a mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks said in an interview aired on Sunday.

"It would have created a disaster in the Muslim world," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told ABC News.

"It would have strengthened the radicals. It would have enhanced the possibility of terrorist acts against America and American interests."