A sign posted outside the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.

Jones had threatened to burn the Koran, the Muslim holy book, on the anniversary of 9/11 last year.  Though he eventually backed down, he created a media spectacle heard around the world.

UK officials are blocking him from attending an anti-Islam rally hosted by England Is Ours, which is affiliated with the anti-immigrant British National Party.

The 30-member Dove World Outreach Center, Jones' church in Gainesville, Florida, received a letter from Britain's Home Office reading: his visit might "foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence in the U.K."

Jones countered by saying he opposes only radical Islam and not Muslims in general.  The pastor's hometown paper, the Gainesville Sun, points out that Jones recently launched a new group called Stand Up America which "advocates against Islam and for Christians in Arab countries."

The Dove World site also sells t-shirts, mugs and hats bearing the slogan "Islam Is Of The Devil."  There is a sign with the same phrase outside the church.

Britain finds itself in a delicate position as Muslims represent the fastest growing segment of its population.  A contingent of rightist political groups, headed by the BNP have gained some traction by crusading against them.

The UK Institute of Race Relations wrote that the BNP's success in gaining representation in Parliament represents a "new racism": "The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, along with new forms of immigration, have been the pretexts for racism to reinvent itself. We should not be diverted from this reality by the fact that skin colour is no longer the sole basis for this new racism." 

Lady Warsi, the Conservative Party chair and first Muslim woman to be part of the British Cabinet, said Thursday that Islamophobia had become socially acceptable in Britain:

"Those who commit criminal acts of terrorism in our country need to be dealt with not just by the full force of the law.  They also should face social rejection and alienation across society and their acts must not be used as an opportunity to tar all Muslims."