Thread: Quran Burning at U.S. Base Sparks Afghan Protests

Quran Burning at U.S. Base Sparks Afghan Protests

By ALEEM AGHA and NICK SCHIFRIN | ABC News – 3 hrs ago

(ABC News)


Troops on the U.S.' largest base in Afghanistan have inadvertently burned Qurans and other religious materials, triggering angry protests and fears of even larger demonstrations as news of the burning spreads.

The books were mistakenly thrown out with the trash at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul and were on a burn pile Monday night before Afghan laborers intervened around 11:00 p.m., according to NATO and Afghan officials.

The workers doused the flames with their jackets and mineral water before marching out of Bagram in a fury, carrying with them the charred remains, according to Sabir Safar, secretary of the provincial council of Parwan, the province where Bagram is located.

By the morning, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of Bagram and on the outskirts of Kabul. Some shot into the air, some threw rocks at the Bagram gate, and others yelled, "Die, die foreigners." Many of them were the same people who work with foreign troops inside the base. At one point, apparently worried that the base would be stormed, guards at the base fired rubber bullets into the crowd, according to the military.

"They should leave Afghanistan rather than disrespecting our religion, our faith," Mohammad Hakim told the Associated Press outside of Bagram. "They have to leave and if next time they disrespect our religion, we will defend our holy Quran, religion and faith until the last drop of blood has left in our body."

There is perhaps no action that enrages Afghans more than foreigners' mistreating the Quran. It taps into widespread doubt of whether Americans respect Islam as well as deep frustration that, more than 10 years after the Taliban were overthrown, violence remains widespread. Qurans are supposed to be buried or released into a flowing river if they need to be disposed.

NATO officials scrambled furiously to contain the fallout, tweeting and emailing reporters not long after the first protests began. Gen. John Allen, the commander of all foreign forces in Afghanistan, released a statement, then a video statement, then gave an interview to NATO television. In his and in all NATO officials' communication today, each emphasized that the burning was unintentional.

"Those materials were inadvertently given to troops for disposition and that disposition was to burn the materials. It was not a decision that was made because they were religious materials," Allen told NATO TV. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake, it was an error. The moment we found out about it we immediately stopped and we intervened."

Allen launched an investigation and promised to take steps that the same incident would not be repeated.

"This is not who we are. These are very, very isolated incidents," Allen said. "We've been dying alongside the Afghans for a long time because we believe in them, we believe in their country, we want to have every opportunity to give them a bright future."

In the morning, U.S. officials on Bagram escorted local Afghan elders to the site of the burning. Ahmad Zaki Zahed, the chief of the provincial council, said 60 to 70 books had been recovered from the fire, including Qurans that were once used by detainees at the base.

"Some were all burned. Some were half-burned," Zahed told the Associated Press.

The protesters' fury was immediate, but Afghan officials eventually calmed them down by the afternoon. They demanded to see President Hamid Karzai and threatened to resume demonstrations.

Previous reports of Quran burning have led to deadly protests in Afghanistan. In April, 2011, after a fringe protester burned a Quran, a mob in a usually peaceful northern city stormed the United Nations compound and killed at least seven foreigners. In May, 2005, Afghan police killed at least four demonstrators angry over a report that an American interrogator in Guantanamo Bay prison flushed a Quran down a toilet.

While today's reaction was quick and furious, the protests might have been larger if it wasn't snowing and if it had happened at a different time. Many Afghans did not know about the burning because it occurred late last night and news is generally consumed during television newscasts in the evenings, at home. Many Afghans and Westerners fear that protests could get larger Wednesday and the rest of the week.

"Past demonstrations in Afghanistan have escalated into violent attacks on Western targets of opportunity," the U.S. embassy said in statement known as a Warden Message, sent to Americans living in Afghanistan. "U.S. citizens in Afghanistan should remain vigilant and avoid areas where Westerners congregate. Avoid large public gatherings or demonstrations. Do not discuss travel plans or other personal matters with strangers, or in public."

Far to the south, in an area where a surge of U.S. troops has removed many Taliban safehavens, insurgents reminded the local population that they still held considerable sway.

In the Washer district of Helmand, insurgents beheaded four people they accused of spying for the U.S., according to the Helmand governor's spokesman. The Taliban denied any involvement in the executions, claiming they were carried out by Western intelligence officials to bring the Taliban a bad name.

ABC NEWS

Official: Burned Islamic religious material had 'extremist inscriptions'

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 11:56 AM EST, Tue February 21, 2012

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Religious material including Qurans that was burned at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan was removed from the library of a detainee center "because of extremist inscriptions and an appearance that these documents were being used to facilitate extremist communications," a military official said Tuesday.

"Additionally, some of the documents were extremist in and of themselves, apparently originating from outside of Afghanistan," said the official.

The official said the material was burned, but authorities are attempting to determine how much.

Earlier, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force said the materials were gathered for disposal from the airfield's Parwan detention facility and inadvertently given to troops for burning.

"This was not a decision that was made because they were religious materials," Gen. John Allen said. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake. It was an error. The moment we found out about it, we immediately stopped and we intervened."

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the airfield Tuesday, furious over reports of the burning.

Authorities are still attempting to determine "if and/or how much got burned before the mistake was discovered," ISAF spokeswoman Lt. Lauren Rago said in an e-mail to CNN.

"We are deeply concerned about the report of Qurans or religious materials being damaged, and will get to the bottom of what actually happened," she said.

An ISAF official acknowledged the materials were improperly burned.

Allen said he immediately launched an investigation, and will issue an order Tuesday at ISAF headquarters on the future handling of Islamic religious materials.

"Something like this just cannot happen again," he said.

Muslims regard the Quran as the absolute word of God. It is so highly revered that many Muslims will not pick up the holy book without ablution, a ritual washing of the hands.

Desecrating the book, such as burning it, is therefore seen as an unforgivable affront -- as an act of intolerance and bigotry.

Authorities are looking into the reasons why the materials were gathered and why the decision was made "to dispose of them in this manner," Allen said.

Some troops have been questioned, but there have been no arrests or detentions, according to the ISAF official. Afghan officials have been invited to join the investigation.

Allen said he has offered "sincere apologies" to Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai. Allen also offered apologies to the Afghan government and "the noble people of Afghanistan."

"This was unintentional," he said. "There was no intention by any member of ISAF to defame the faith of Islam or to desecrate the precious religious materials of this faith."

"The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities," Allen said earlier.

About 500 Afghan protesters were gathered outside the airfield's main gate, the ISAF official said, but there were no reports of further unrest.

Local citizens who work at the base discovered the material that had been put into a burn pit by NATO personnel and alerted officials.

Soon after, demonstrators massed outside the base, chanting "Death to America! Death to the Afghan government! Long live Islam!"

As a NATO helicopter circled overhead and black smoke billowed from the ground, men shook their fists in anger. Several men launched slingshots in the direction of the base.

"This is not who we are," Allen said. "These are very, very isolated incidents. We've been here a long time. We've been shoulder to shoulder with the Afghans for a long time. We've been dying alongside the Afghans for a long time because we believe in them. We believe in their country. We want to have every opportunity to give them a bright future."

But, "these kinds of incidents, when they do occur, we will move quickly to correct them," he said. "We will move quickly to hold people accountable."

Photographs surfaced purporting to show the damaged Qurans. A photographer for Agence France-Presse said Afghans who work inside the airfield told him they obtained the Qurans there.

But the U.S. military said that was unlikely.

"When it became known that it was religious materials that were brought to the incinerator, the materials were secured by the military authorities in consultation with the local Afghan religious authorities, so it would be highly unlikely that the demonstrators would have any of the material from this incident," said Col. Gary Kolb, an ISAF spokesman.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned on its Twitter feed that protests were possible throughout Afghanistan in the coming days and noted, "Past demonstrations in Afghanistan have escalated into violent attacks on Western targets of opportunity."

Last year, when controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones presided over what he called a trial of the Quran and burned a copy, Afghans took to the streets by the thousands.

In the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, demonstrators stormed a United Nations office and killed 12 people.

In Kandahar, three people were killed in one demonstration and nine in another when police and stone-throwing demonstrators clashed.

American officials vociferously condemned the pastor's act.

"It was intolerant and it was extremely disrespectful and again, we condemn it in the strongest manner possible," said Gen. David Petraeus, who headed the U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan at the time.

In 2010, Afghans protested outside the Forward Operating Base Mirwais in response to an alleged Quran burning inside the base. But ISAF said the suspected burning was a routine burn-pit session in which military documents are destroyed.

The protest turned violent when the Afghans began throwing rocks at the base guards. An ISAF service member shot a protester who aimed his AK-47 toward a guard tower, military officials said.

Official: Burned Islamic religious material had 'extremist inscriptions' - CNN.com

February 23, 2012 6:54 AM

2 U.S. troops killed in Koran backlash


CBS News) Updated at 7:55 a.m. Eastern.



Afghan demonstrators destroy a U.S. flag during a protest against Quran desecration in Helmand province, Feb. 23, 2012. (Getty)


Two U.S. troops have been shot to death and four more wounded by an Afghan solider who turned his gun on his allies in apparent anger over the burning of Korans at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, an Afghan official tells CBS News.


A statement from the International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan, the international coalition in the country, confirmed that two troops were killed in Eastern Afghanistan on Thursday by "an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform."

ISAF does not typically give the nationality of casualties until family
members have been notified, but the CBS News source in the Afghan government said those killed and injured in the attack in the eastern Ningarhar province, along the border with Pakistan, were Americans.


The source also said the shooting appeared to be motivated by the burning of Korans at the sprawling U.S. Bagram air base, north of Kabul, but he did not provide additional details as to what led him to that conclusion.


The suspect apparently joined other protesters already demonstrating against the U.S. at an American military outpost and opened fire with an automatic weapon, according to the Afghan source.

There have been violent anti-U.S. protests for three days across Afghanistan, since the American military apologized for what it said was the accidental "improper disposal" of religious materials, including Muslim holy books, at Bagram. The U.S. is cooperating with the Afghan government to investigate the
incident.

The protests Thursday at U.S. and NATO military bases around Afghanistan and in the capital city of Kabul saw renewed clashes between demonstrators and police, with security forces in Kabul reportedly opening fire and wounding several protesters. Three protesters were reportedly killed by police at protests in the north and south of the country.

For U.S. and NATO commanders in Afghanistan, main concern is what may come after Friday prayers in 24 hours. Friday is the holy day in the Muslim week, and protests are typically much larger as thousands of Muslim men flood out of mosques and converge in cities and towns in protest.


While calls from some Afghan parliamentarians for citizens to try and attack Americans are unhelpful - especially coming from an ally - they pale in significance against the potential damage which the religious leaders could inflict if they urge similar attacks in their Friday prayer speeches.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said Thursday that President Obama had sent a letter to him formally apologizing for the incident at Bagram, and top U.S. commander Gen. John Allen, who ordered the investigation, is making intense efforts to keep that probe as open as possible, but the investigation is not appeasing Afghans, who are tired of apologies.

CBS News

http://www.wnd.com/2012/02/u-s-cower...uran-burnings/

U.S. 'cowering' after Quran burnings

'They know Muslims will riot and kill over this, but Christians won't'

Published: 13 hours ago

By Jack Minor
Experts on radical Islam say the U.S. military is sadly mistaken if it believes groveling at the feet of Muslims after copies of the Quran were accidentally burned will help win the hearts and minds of the world’s Islamic community.


The reaction of the U.S. military toward a recent report that NATO forces may have unintentionally burned copies of the Muslim holy book stands in stark contrast to its response when U.S. forces burned copies of the Bible in 2009 – when it refused to apologize and even defended the practice.
Robert Spencer, founder of Jihad Watch, called the actions taken by U.S. Gen. John Allen offensive.
“Allen’s statements amount to groveling before Muslims around the world,” he said. “This is the United States military, and he is the commander of all U.S. forces in Afghanistan. This is embarrassing and an insult to every American.”
The Qurans were among books and other materials that had been confiscated from Taliban prisoners after military personnel thought they were being used to send messages to other operatives. The materials were taken to a waste pit on the U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul, and burned.
Once Gen. Allen became aware of the burning, he quickly issued a statement of apology in an attempt to prevent violent Muslim riots similar to those last year that resulted in at least 24 deaths.
In a statement, Gen. Allen said, “I have ordered an investigation into a report I received during the night that ISAF personnel at Bagram Airbase improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans [sic]. When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them. The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities.”
He assured Muslims that he would thoroughly investigate the issue and ensure the burning “does not ever happen again,” pleading, “I assure you … I promise you … this was NOT intentional in any way.”
Following the Quran burnings, thousands of protesters shouted “Death to Americans!” and “Death to infidels!” They reportedly besieged the U.S. base with petrol bombs and slingshots.
In a similar incident involving the burning of holy books in 2009, the U.S. military confiscated copies of the Bible that a church had sent to an American soldier to use in an outreach geared toward Afghan citizens. When the military discovered the Bibles, the holy books were confiscated and burned.
After the Bible burnings, the U.S. military defended its actions.

Appearing on CNN, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said, “The decision was made that it was a ‘force protection’ measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims.”
Clare Lopez, a senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy, said Allen’s penitent attitude will create nothing but contempt among the populace for U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

“They value and respect strength,” she said. “They disdain and will not respect those who show weakness.”
Lopez said the military’s defense of burning Bibles – while simultaneously showing veneration for the Quran – reveals a shocking lack of understanding regarding the Muslim perception of those outside the Islamic faith.
“If the government had showed similar respect for the Bible as the Quran, they would respect us more than they do,” she said. “As it is now, all they have for us is contempt. They will not respect anyone who does not first respect themselves or demand respect for themselves.”
Lopez argued that when military and government officials show a higher level of reverence for the Quran than the Bible, they are sending a message that America does not believe the Bible is as sacred as the Quran.

Spencer agreed with Lopez, noting that if Allen’s intent was to earn respect among the Afghan people, he has made a grave mistake.
“He has no idea how weak he now appears before the people of Afghanistan,” he said. “They are going to look at him and think, this man is weak and America is defeated.”

Spencer said the contrasting attitudes concerning the burnings of the two religious texts revealed how U.S. military officials really feel about Islam.
“This is a double standard based on fear,” he said. “They know the Muslims will riot and kill over this, but the Christians won’t. If the military really believed Islam was a religion of peace hijacked by a small amount of extremists, rather than kowtow to what is supposedly a minority group, Allen could have appeared publicly and called upon the vast number of ‘moderate Muslims’ to reign in their extremist brethren.”