MORE than 500 protesters gathered outside a mosque today to condemn threats to burn copies of the Koran at a church in Florida.

Members of one of Accrington’s biggest mosques held a rally this afternoon in reaction to Terry Jones’ 'disrespectful, disgraceful and very unfortunate' actions.

The protest, at the Raza Jamia Masjid, Grimshaw Street, was attended by crowds of supporters.

It mirrored protests across the globe in reaction to the threats from Mr Jones, which he has apparently now withdrawn.

Organisers of the protest in Accrington led chants in support of Islam.

A banner was unfurled which read: “When freedom of speech becomes freedom to insult.”

Sarfraz Shah, from the mosque, said: “A threat to burn copies of the Koran is the be all and end all of insults.

"This is an ongoing attack and we must make a stand and raise our voices in the right way.

“The Koran burning is now on hold but we have to speak out to show that we will not accept this appalling attack.

“Unfortunately we see Islam again being attacked and both intellectually and now physically.

"Islamophobia has increased at an alarming rate over the last few years and this disrespectful and disgraceful act will lead to unnecessary unrest in law-abiding, peaceful communities in the UK and around the world.

“Insulting Islam through words or actions is something we cannot remain silent upon and we will always stand up to defend our Islamic values.”

The protest, outside the mosque, followed Friday prayers.

Ibrahim Master, from the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said: “There has been a lot of upset in the community because of this man and his highly disrespectful actions.

"But we have to put it in context.

"He was just one lunatic trying to get a little attention.”

Many protests across the globe were held after worshippers emerged from mosques, following Eid prayers marking the end of Ramadhan.

Jones, pastor of the previously little-known Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, announced yesterday that he was putting on hold his plan for an "International Burn a Koran Day".