How many times do we have to learn this lesson?
Muslims, especially the deeply religious, believe the Quran is a unique text, sacred above all others and containing the verbatim word of God. You do not have to share this belief to respect it.
A principal tenet of radical Islamic propaganda is that the U.S. and the West are fighting a war, not just against Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida and their Taliban allies, but against Islam itself.
Any insult to the Quran was cited as proof of that. Any rumor out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that the Quran was disrespected — a popular charge was that guards were flushing them down the toilets — was amplified and embroidered by the radicals' propaganda network.
Distance doesn't make the insult any less harsh. In Afghanistan last April, 20 people died, including seven U.N. workers, in protests following a Florida preacher's widely self-publicized public burning of the Quran.
But it makes the insult much worse when the burning of Qurans and interpretive texts also considered sacred takes place just outside of Kabul and in front of Afghans working for NATO forces.
You have to wonder what kind of lapse in attention and common sense led NATO personnel to haul bags of trash that also contained Qurans to be incinerated in burn pits.
Afghan workers saved the unburned books and salvaged partially burned Qurans from the fire pits. Word spread quickly when the workers left the base and an angry mob quickly gathered to denounce the infidels and chant, "Death to America!" The clear consensus of those in the crowd was that they want us gone. And if we behave like that, who can blame them?
NATO commander Gen. John Allen, a four-star U.S. Marine who is in charge of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, apologized to the president of Afghanistan, the government of Afghanistan and, most of all, "the noble people of Afghanistan." He swore that the destruction was not intentional, that an investigation was under way and that measures were being taken to see that this never happened again.
All of this is undoubtedly true and sincerely meant, but through sheer carelessness the Taliban won a major hearts-and-minds victory without ever firing a shot.
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Comments » 32
TheTeleprompter writes:
The same Taliban that will not educate it's female population so that one day they might be able to actually read the Koran. Yeah, real noble bunch of people.
Chilibreath writes:
What ever Cherokee said I support 100 percent, and the she-censor needs to get a life.
Chilibreath writes:
I'm with you bro; chin up and forge ahead, this rag needs us more than we need them. I wonder how many subscriptions they've lost in the last year over their editorial stance on most issues?
WiggleRoom writes:
I don't know why you think liberals are to blame for allowing flag burning. The issue has already been decided by the US Supreme Court long ago
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects...
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects...
I want to add that the vote was 5-4. Three of the 5 justices were appointed by Republican presidents. So it's not a liberal thing as you profess, but a Constitutional thing
Huskerfan writes:
Maybe the editorial board could explain this one for us all:
Christian pastor facing death sentence in Iran for refusing to renounce his faith could be executed 'at any time without warning'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...
WiggleRoom writes:
There are extremes in all religions. Not just Muslims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christia...
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/reli...
Bongo writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
WiggleRoom writes:
That is an excellent question. So I Googled it. Here is what I found
"Muslim scholar Allamah Haskafi, author of the 18th-century jurisprudence text Durr-Mukhtar, wrote of the disposal of the no-longer wanted Korans:
“If one decides to get rid of religious literature, the right thing would be to bury them by wrapping them in something pure first, in a place where people would not walk very rarely. Similarly, it would be permitted to tie the books and papers with something heavy and cast them into a flowing river. You may also burn [texts other than the Koran], but in this case, only after erasing the names of Allah, his Angels and his Messengers (peace and blessings be upon them all). As far the old and unusable Qur’ans are
concerned, it is not permitted to burn them unless there is no other way to dispose them.”"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/b...
Barney writes:
Just waiting for someone to blame Bush...
watts_gonon#729609 writes:
I am 100% Infidel.
mslol writes:
The author of this op/ed piece should get his or her facts straight before lambasting our soldiers. For example, "Afghan workers saved the unburned books and salvaged partially burned Qurans from the fire pits."
That NEVER happened. It was a rumor that has been proven false.
ENVIROSCIGUY writes:
I read a great "old" book this week - Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. If you want to understand the Middle East, Indonesia, or South / Central America, you've got to check it out. http://economichitman.com/
His premise is that the corporatocracy has been waging wars against anything that opposes their hegemony since WWII. Islam represents one of the few anti-imperialist forces left on the planet (along with Liberation Theology and Democracy). The Empire has radicalized (and/or propagandized) the resistance in order to have an excuse to destroy them.
To burn holy Scriptures of any sort, seems intentional to me. I don't buy the baloney that it was some sort of accident. Why would ANY books EVER be burned?
Some of our soldiers (and some of our commenters) have developed a deep hatred for all things Muslim since 9/11. They are willing pawns in the game, but the stakes are life, death, democracy, and the environment. Wake up and smell the smoke from the burning of books. Read CEHN before they burn it too.
Chilibreath writes:
To quote Enviro:
"Some of our soldiers (and some of our commenters) have developed a deep hatred for all things Muslim since 9/11."
In case you forgot, 3,000 plus Americans died as a result of 9/11, and radical Muslims were the direct cause. You're d*** right there are some lingering hard feelings; the gruesome videotaped beheadings of some of our citizens doesn't help either. Not all Muslims are suspect or disliked, just the hardcore militant ones who advocate the total annihilation of our country, our people and our way of life.
"They (our soldiers) are willing pawns in the game, but the stakes are life, death, democracy, and the environment."
We're talking apples here (a great dislike for radical hateful Muslims) and you bring an orange into the discussion, the environment. Pray tell how you make the leap from Muslim atrocities to the environment, unless you are referring to the blood spilled on American soil as a result of 9/11.
rationalthinker writes:
Very simple: Governement of, with or by religion, any religion, is inherently dangerous. Not the religion per se, but the fact that a religion acquires the coercive power of government.
raylaw43#321876 writes:
Under our 1st Amendment, religious zealotry is tolerated, as is freedom of expression.
The Quran is a book as is the Bible. Although they are entitled to no more sanctity than the telephone book, I do understand that there are some here that would consider that the Bible in every hotel room in America is sacred, and therefore it is a sacrilege to burn a Gideon Bible.
What is troubling here is that, after listening to the Republican candidates, they want to convert this country into a Christian theocracy.
It has been argued that, on the basis of the 1st Amendment, a Catholic owner of a Burger King should be able to deny his employees health benefits because of his religious beliefs.
That certainly is a jihad on non-believers that is the same as radical Islam.
northwestprincess writes:
It's war, it can't always be politically correct, and, there is always the rest of the story. American soldiers burning these "copies" were reported to have removed them from a military library after it was discovered terrorist detainees were writing extremist messages in these copies to exchange with fellow dissidents. So, if they buried these books with ceremony they could have been retrieved with ceremony by the enemy. So, once again America apologizes for security. America does not attack during Ramadan, yet muslim terrorists do. American military rules prevent attacks on mosques, yet terrorists can use these mosques as terrorist zones. It is war, things happen, usually for reasons. When America does not support it's military personnel and rallies for the enemy it is a sad day. There are reasons people, sides to the story. Most of those in the white house never served in the military, they sit at large desks making decisions, apologizing, bowing. If we. as a nation, can not man up and move on, we have no business being in such an engagement, but then that is a whole other story ~~~
raylaw43#321876 writes:
It is a good thing that you are not in charge of foreign policy. Every war is political. Its goals and tactics are political. There are civilized rules of war. Although some foes may not observe them, we will be judged by how we conduct war. And we will be judged by both friends and foes.
What is terrorism? If terrorism is defined as commando raids by people against enemy forces, we have used terrorism since 1753. Usually, terrorism consists of violence against a civilian population, and under that criterion, the US has engaged in terrorism since the bombing of German and Japanese cities in WW2.
Because war is political, the conduct of the war is controlled by politicians, all civilians. It takes no military experience to be a politician.
Lets_Be_Truthful writes:
"the conduct of the war is controlled by the politicians" Guess I know who to blame for the actions of our troops? What's even worse is that our troops are being taken out by the same people our tax payer money is funding. We need leadership and we need to bring our service people home.
Chilibreath writes:
Where is your attribution? Do you have sufficient education to back up your comments, what are your advanced degrees, what was your GPA, were your schools accredited? Please tell us again so we can genuflect.
TomcatDriver writes:
Supporting the viewpoints of those that NEVER study the issues prior to posting is not something to brag about.
TomcatDriver writes:
He is obviously much better educated than any of the right wingers I can ever remember posting to the Star.
raylaw43#321876 writes:
Please genuflect. University of Arizona, BA history; minor, economics, 1964; Postgraduate business, U of A, 1965, JD, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1968.
AZ used a 5 point grading system. I do not recall my specific GPA, but it was sufficient to get me accepted by three of the twenty best law schools in the country: USC, UCLA and Berkeley. I hold a JD from USC, where I graduated in the top 1/3.
Let's see your attribution. Do you have any education? Do you have any advanced degrees? Do you have any degrees?
I offer you a modern duel. Words. I will have it taped. I will humiliate you without wasting a breath. Choose a moderator. Let me suggest Gallegly.
I love this. I do this for a living.
TomcatDriver writes:
Probably not many. Right wingers depend on Faux News for slanted propaganda they want to hear, not real world reality.
jdgab#210399 writes:
It appears that scribbling on the Quran is not desecration?
gdawg2112 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Bongo writes:
I think you defined "Guerrilla" warfare. In Afghanistan the Taliban is using both terrorism and Guerilla warfare.
The bombings in WW2 is certainly debatable try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debate_o...
The grunts standing by to invade Japan were certainly relieved.
simiwayne writes:
All religious fairy tale books should be burned
Chilibreath writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
raylaw43#321876 writes:
You asked for my academic accomplishments, and I gave them. I asked for yours, and you did not. Your sarcasm would be apt if you had the intellectualism to back it up. However, I do compliment you for your knowledge of a three-syllable word: genuflect. I suggest that you do so.
raylaw43#321876 writes:
In every conflict, the difference between a traitor and a patriot, a war crime and justifiable homicide, is who wins.
Be clear, in WW2, I would have dropped the bomb to win the war and save 1,000,000 American lives and not worry about the consequences.
Chilibreath writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
ENVIROSCIGUY writes:
In case you forgot, history did not begin on Sept 11, 2001. In 1953 we sent in Teddy Roosevelt's grandson and the CIA to overthrow the democratically elected prime minister of Iran. Then we supported Iraq in their war with Iran. Did you see the gruesome pictures of the Shah's torture chambers? Did your see the "Made in the USA" labels on the chemical weapons Iraq used against iranian civilians?
Then we bombed Iraq. For what? They weren't involved in the twin towers attack. They were not developing WMDs. They were not controlled by radical Muslims.
I guess you like to have a discussion BEFORE you do any research. I'm talking about DU (depleted uranium) being spread all over the war zones. I call children dying of DU-caused leukemia an atrocity. I'm talking about the 1.4 MILLION people we killed in Iraq. I call every death or serious injury an atrocity.
PLEASE read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", and you will understand WHY so many Muslims have become radicals that hate us. You will also see that "our way of life" needs to change. We can no longer be Empire-builders who profit from the suffering of others. War is EVIL, and it we should NEVER start another one.
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