Contact: Jerry Biederman, 818-599-2428, SeriesCreatedBy@aol.com; www.DotsForJesus.com

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Internationally renowned artist David Ilan has joined the chorus of opposition to Pastor Terry Jones' proposed 9/11 Qur'an burning, and has compared it to a form of terrorism that goes against the teachings of Jesus.

"Terrorist attacks are designed to instill fear in people to make a point," Ilan said. "Pastor Jones is making his point by enraging Muslim extremists and scaring millions of peace-loving Muslims."

Ilan, who is a Jewish-American artist born in Israel and raised in Los Angeles, said he feels that Pastor Jones is attempting to bring Christianity into the commemoration of September 11, in light of the debate about the planned Muslim mosque near Ground Zero. However, he said burning the Qur'an on Saturday goes against the spirit of Christianity and hurts America's image around the world.

"We all have a desire to do something meaningful on September 11. It's great to stand up and be counted, but not by pushing others down," Ilan explained.

As the artist behind what is being called "the ultimate portrait of Christ," Ilan is in a unique position to give Christians everywhere a positive way to be heard. He is offering his global project, Dots For Jesus, as a productive outlet for Christians.

Known as The People's Portrait of Christ, the ongoing work of art is made using only dots. Each hand-drawn dot represents a Christian somewhere in the world. One dot = one believer.

Each participant is asked to attach a message to their dot answering the artist's question: "Why Jesus?"

Through his other projects, Ilan said he became aware of how Jesus helps people survive extraordinary challenges, like cancer, rape, natural disasters and a tragedy like 9/11. He became curious to learn more about the power of Jesus in the lives of so many believers.

"I've learned a lot since beginning this project," Ilan concluded. "Christians ask themselves, 'What would Jesus do?' From what I have learned so far, I am certain that Jesus would not burn the Qur'an."

Christians who want to participate in Dots for Jesus are invited to go to www.DotsForJesus.com.