As a refresher of
previous post, May 9, Newsweek reported gitmo interrogators ''had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet." Clever tactic to gain some captive's attention, right? A beating or stress position'd probably be better for that (really, go for a slow burn of a photo of their relatives).
Due to that report, there've been days of violent protest in Afghanistan and outcries elsewhere, showing that Muslims care more about the desecration of a Qur'an than a detainee does. Demonstrations were held in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan - which later turned violent/deadly with 16 dying and 100+ injured - and spread to other parts of Afghanistan (Ghazni province, Badakhshan province, and the city of Gardez) [
map of .af] and in Yemen, Gaza Strip, Pakistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
'If proven that this happened, then we will strongly ask the American government to put on trial and punish whoever is the culprit," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during a press conference. He also said that the inciters of the violence in his country were a foreign element. I've argued that prosecution and trial won't quiet the anger aroused by actions alleged by Newsweek.
The 57-nation
Organization of the Islamic Conference said the report had enraged hundreds of millions of Muslims and ''affirmed that such practices would only inflame and fuel the religious sentiments and provide fanatics and extremists with excuses to disseminate their ideas and justify their acts of violence and terrorism. The Secretary-General also requested the concerned American authorities to bring the culprits to justice, to take measures which would appease the enraged sentiments of the Muslim world" [
full statement, 05/13/2005]
A Pakistani muslim organization, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), is calling for a
worldwide day of protest on May 27 over this incident.
"At the Pentagon, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the rioting in Afghanistan could be related to domestic Afghan politics. A State Department official, who requested anonymity, said the demonstrations in Pakistan were being manipulated by Al-Qaida supporters in retaliation for last week's arrest in Pakistan of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, identified as a senior Al-Qaida leader, along with 10 other suspected terrorists.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday that U.S. officials "share and understand" Muslim concerns. "Disrespect for the holy Qur'an is something that the United States will never tolerate," he told reporters.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week that the military was investigating the allegations that American interrogators desecrated the Qur'an. She said if they "are proven true, we will take appropriate action."
[
Washington Post,
Union Leader / LA Times]
More as it goes down...