salmakh84
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Feb 21 2012
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan Deeply angered over reports that U.S. troops had burned copies of the Koran, Islams holy text, thousands of protesters on Tuesday tried to storm the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan.
The protests erupted early in the morning, after Afghans working inside the Bagram air base reported to local residents that a number of copies of the Koran had been burned. The incident prompted the top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan, Gen. John R. Allen, to offer a public apology and order a prompt investigation.
When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them, Allen said in a statement. We are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. I assure you I promise you this was NOT intentional in any way.
Gen. Ahmad Amin Naseeb, who is in charge of the religious and cultural affairs department at the Afghan defense ministry, said he had received reports that the international troops have burned and thrown copies of Koran into the dust bins. As a result, he said, protesters have closed various roads in the area.
Proper treatment of the Koran is a highly sensitive issue for Muslims across the world, including in Afghanistan, where international troops are fighting to defeat the militantly Islamist Taliban in a war that has entered its 11th year. Experts in Islam say copies of the Koran should be buried or released in flowing waters if they need to be disposed of, and burned only as a last resort.
Previous reports of Koran-burning also have led to violent protests here. Last April, an angry mob killed at least seven foreigners in a relatively secure part of northern Afghanistan and set fire to a United Nations compound, as a protest over a Koran burning in Florida swelled into chaotic violence.
More than 3,000 people were involved in Tuesdays protests, which began just after dawn, following the morning prayers, said Sayed Kheli, a senior police officer for Parwan province, where Bagram is located. Parwans deputy governor, Shah Wali, said local authorities were trying to quell the demonstrators, who had gathered at various locations within the sprawling base, about 30 miles north of Kabul.
Peoples sentiments have been hurt, Wali said. They are scattered on various sides of the base and we are trying to establish contact with the commander of the base.
For hours on Tuesday morning, protesters threw rocks at the base, breaking windows in some buildings. Many of the protesters were local employees of the U.S. military who, feeling betrayed, chanted long live Islam and death to America.
The road leading to the base was blocked, as Afghan and Western security forces gathered near the front gate of the base to try and stop the protesters from forcing their way in. Hundreds of Afghans who live in Kabul but work on the base had no way to reach their jobs.
A small police outpost near the base was attacked when a foreign journalist approached to talk to security officials.
Several protesters said charred pieces of the burned holy books were smuggled out of the base by Afghans who work there and shown to gathering protesters as proof of the incident. Word spread quickly amongst Afghan employees that the sacred text had been desecrated.
The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities, Allen said in his statement.
The incident comes at a critical time for the United States, which wants to wind down its military presence in Afghanistan but seeks to maintain bases there after 2014, when most foreign troops are set to leave.
Anger against the foreign troops has been on the rise among Afghans, because of continued night raids and civilian casualties during drone attacks and other anti-Taliban operations.
Adding to the negative perception of U.S. troops was the release of a video last month that showed four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the video completely inhumane and condemnable in the strongest possible terms. Top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also denounced the Marines actions.
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan Deeply angered over reports that U.S. troops had burned copies of the Koran, Islams holy text, thousands of protesters on Tuesday tried to storm the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan.
The protests erupted early in the morning, after Afghans working inside the Bagram air base reported to local residents that a number of copies of the Koran had been burned. The incident prompted the top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan, Gen. John R. Allen, to offer a public apology and order a prompt investigation.
When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them, Allen said in a statement. We are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. I assure you I promise you this was NOT intentional in any way.
Gen. Ahmad Amin Naseeb, who is in charge of the religious and cultural affairs department at the Afghan defense ministry, said he had received reports that the international troops have burned and thrown copies of Koran into the dust bins. As a result, he said, protesters have closed various roads in the area.
Proper treatment of the Koran is a highly sensitive issue for Muslims across the world, including in Afghanistan, where international troops are fighting to defeat the militantly Islamist Taliban in a war that has entered its 11th year. Experts in Islam say copies of the Koran should be buried or released in flowing waters if they need to be disposed of, and burned only as a last resort.
Previous reports of Koran-burning also have led to violent protests here. Last April, an angry mob killed at least seven foreigners in a relatively secure part of northern Afghanistan and set fire to a United Nations compound, as a protest over a Koran burning in Florida swelled into chaotic violence.
More than 3,000 people were involved in Tuesdays protests, which began just after dawn, following the morning prayers, said Sayed Kheli, a senior police officer for Parwan province, where Bagram is located. Parwans deputy governor, Shah Wali, said local authorities were trying to quell the demonstrators, who had gathered at various locations within the sprawling base, about 30 miles north of Kabul.
Peoples sentiments have been hurt, Wali said. They are scattered on various sides of the base and we are trying to establish contact with the commander of the base.
For hours on Tuesday morning, protesters threw rocks at the base, breaking windows in some buildings. Many of the protesters were local employees of the U.S. military who, feeling betrayed, chanted long live Islam and death to America.
The road leading to the base was blocked, as Afghan and Western security forces gathered near the front gate of the base to try and stop the protesters from forcing their way in. Hundreds of Afghans who live in Kabul but work on the base had no way to reach their jobs.
A small police outpost near the base was attacked when a foreign journalist approached to talk to security officials.
Several protesters said charred pieces of the burned holy books were smuggled out of the base by Afghans who work there and shown to gathering protesters as proof of the incident. Word spread quickly amongst Afghan employees that the sacred text had been desecrated.
The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities, Allen said in his statement.
The incident comes at a critical time for the United States, which wants to wind down its military presence in Afghanistan but seeks to maintain bases there after 2014, when most foreign troops are set to leave.
Anger against the foreign troops has been on the rise among Afghans, because of continued night raids and civilian casualties during drone attacks and other anti-Taliban operations.
Adding to the negative perception of U.S. troops was the release of a video last month that showed four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the video completely inhumane and condemnable in the strongest possible terms. Top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also denounced the Marines actions.
