Quran Burning: Angry Afghans Protest Disposal Of Islamic Books At U.S. Air Base In Kabul

This could be another political problem for the U.S. military.

It looks like some Qurans were burned in a garbage pit at Bagram Air Field in Parwan province.

Some Afghans apparently found out and started protesting .. loudly.

Workers tried to stop after noticing the books and other religious materials.

KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 2,000 angry Afghans, some firing guns in the air, protested on Tuesday against the improper disposal and burning of Qurans and other Islamic religious materials at an American air base north of Kabul.

Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander of international troops in Afghanistan, has ordered an investigation into the incident.

The demonstrators – shouting "Die, die, foreigners!" – started gathering in the morning after learning of the incident at the sprawling Bagram Air Field in Parwan province. As the crowd grew, so did the outrage.

Investigation is underway


I wonder what the ramifications will be from this

probably an innocent mistake, but some may think it was intentional

reply to post by xuenchen

Dear xuenchen,

You know, my greatest fear is not that the mob will kill some Americans, nor that the Americans will kill some of the attacking mob. It's not even that Afghanistan will become more hostile to us in general.

The US will say "This was only a regrettable accident. We're sorry." The mob will not relent. My greatest fear is that the US will then say "What the ------ is wrong with these guys. They live in the Stone Age, they're not rational, heck, they're barely human. Let's bomb 'em and get it over with, or let's just let them kill each other. If they try to get out of their sandbox countries, we'll just send some drones after them."

With respect,
Charles1952

The news of this will spread like wild fire throughout the islamic world -

I can understand why they would be upset. However, the Quran, like the Torah and the Bible, are printed en masse every day. If these books were seized from individuals' property, it's deplorable. If these books were part of rubble moved in excavation, it's an overreaction from a people who honor traditions in every literal sense.

Put yourself in their shoes. The most important book in the world, being disposed of by burning from the people that are meant to be there to fix up your country and instill peace, and that you're meant to love. I'm sure that no highly religious person would like to see their holy book burnt, even if they are mass produced.

I believe most religions have ways to dispose of their holy books. My friend who is a Muslim said that if one were to burn the book for disposal, then you would have to erase every holy name in the book before doing so. Or some bury it or sink to the bottom on a lake.

I would not put it past some taliban sympathizer to have put the Qurans in with some trash that was going to be burned just so they could find them being burned and make a big stink about it.

The Taliban are good at propaganda attacks as a few have studied the Vietnam war and other US wars and the problems the US had.

If US troops were really going to burn Quran's likely they would have made sure no Afghans were anyplace around the burning.

My guess is these might not have been complete Quran's but Islamic Books with Quran passages in them

Originally posted by ANNED
I would not put it past some taliban sympathizer to have put the Qurans in with some trash that was going to be burned just so they could find them being burned and make a big stink about it.

The Taliban are good at propaganda attacks as a few have studied the Vietnam war and other US wars and the problems the US had.

If US troops were really going to burn Quran's likely they would have made sure no Afghans were anyplace around the burning.

My guess is these might not have been complete Quran's but Islamic Books with Quran passages in them

I wouldn't put it past the American military considering the recent acts that has happened. I'm betting they done it on purpose, just to get a reaction. You see, if there is anything the American military sucks at, it is WHAM (Winning Hearts and Minds), for some reason, they can't help but offend other cultures and their way of life. Sickening.

Originally posted by quedup
The news of this will spread like wild fire throughout the islamic world -

How dumb do you have to be to burn those books, when you know what kind of reaction it creates.

So either those soldiers including their officers are incredibly DUMB or they did it on purpose, which is incredibly DUMB as well. But what can we expect from a military whose soldiers urinate on dead bodies.

And no, not all US soldiers are like that.

And some people say that this war does not have any religious implications. A great way for more freedom fighters to hate the USA even more. How is winning the hearts and minds going?

Is every copy of the quran really that sacred. It is just paper after all, and many more copies of the words can be found in all corners of the world. So why go mad about it, I would hope that if there is a God he transcends being just words on a piece of paper.

Originally posted by eyesdown
Is every copy of the quran really that sacred. It is just paper after all, and many more copies of the words can be found in all corners of the world. So why go mad about it, I would hope that if there is a God he transcends being just words on a piece of paper.

Perhaps it is a different concept but yes ALL copies of Quran are actually sacred . One only has to visit a muslim household to observe how dearly the Quran is treated .

Originally posted by eyesdown
Is every copy of the quran really that sacred. It is just paper after all, and many more copies of the words can be found in all corners of the world. So why go mad about it, I would hope that if there is a God he transcends being just words on a piece of paper.

Why burn it when you know the reaction will probably be violence?

Its a weird one isn't it? Until the investigation is completed, there is no way of knowing if it was deliberate or not.

However, if they wished to dispose of them, why not simply offer them to the local Afghans? Surely that would have done a lot of good with respect to "hearts and minds".

reply to post by 23432


Sadly more sacred than human life it would seem.

I am all for treating objects with respsect, as I have a bible and quran at home and try and keep it in a place where they wont just end up on the floor, but obviously I don't have any great religious attachment to them.

reply to post by ALF88


I wouldn't burn it! I am not for this at all, I am just questioning why EVERY copy of the quran is deemed sacred in this world of mass production.

But also why people might lose their lives over this, shouldn't life be held more sacred?

Originally posted by eyesdown
Is every copy of the quran really that sacred. It is just paper after all, and many more copies of the words can be found in all corners of the world. So why go mad about it, I would hope that if there is a God he transcends being just words on a piece of paper.

Are you kidding me? This has to be the most ignorant comment i have heard in ages. Do you have any idea of how sacred and respected Holy books are treated in religion, especially in Islam? Go and do some study before spewing out complete and utter ignorance please.

Just another example of the idiotic idea of religion causing undo stress.

Religion is the major problem in the world today. Mankind has, hopefully, reached the point where idiotic religion can be cast aside and real advancement can begin.

Sucks that many still believe in fairy tales, but those ignorant morons should be disposed of so we can move on.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by MainLineThis
Just another example of the idiotic idea of religion causing undo stress.

Religion is the major problem in the world today. Mankind has, hopefully, reached the point where idiotic religion can be cast aside and real advancement can begin.

Sucks that many still believe in fairy tales, but those ignorant morons should be disposed of so we can move on.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

It isn't religion that is the problem, especially in this situation, it is the blatant disregard and disrespect displayed by the US military. If you habe any idea of outside culture, you would understand they are not like the western world. Their life revolves around religion, and thus regard it as the most important thing to ever exist.

Reply to post by eyesdown

Because religious morons think if ink prints something on plant fiber that represents their idiotic beliefs that that medium is now holy to them and anything bad that happens to that stupid book is an attack on their ignorant, idiotic beliefs.

If any god is real, the. Those god have been misinterpreted through years of rule and ignorance, or those goes are moronic entities that don't matter a hill of beans to reality.

Religion is the current problem in or world. The mud but living ignorant morons that still believe in their respective invisible elf ruin everything for those of us that are not complete morons. Unfortunately we are in the minority, and religion in these times still have a grip on the idiots that still believe (which is more that I thought it would be in these times).

Just remember, if it can't be explained you can always cry out that "god did it" and hide behind that moronic ignorance until you die. Sadly after you die you will never know how stupid you were to ekieve in some invisible elf....as death ends the electro-chemical reactions in the brain that allow the average idiot to believe in the absurd.

But hey, if I wanted to control morons I would put the stick dangling the carrot where they can never get it....like in the case of early humans up in the sky or in a volcano, and in the case of modem humans I would dangle the carrot that you only get "after death". And that is fine, because I can control your meaningless life if you are stupid enough to waste it reaching for my non existent carrot.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com