The LITERAL power of the press is now on display in Afghanistan, where a Newsweek report claiming desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo has sparked fierce demonstrations in which at least 16 Afghanis have died and 100 have been injured.
At issue is a Newsweek story that has unleased a fire storm of protests not seen in Afghanistan in years. Details from Reuters:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the United States on Saturday to prosecute and punish anyone found guilt of desecrating the Koran as anti-U.S. protests flared for a fifth day.
Sixteen Afghans have been killed and more than 100 hurt since Wednesday in the worst anti-U.S. protests across Afghanistan since U.S. forces invaded in 2001 to oust the Taliban for harbouring Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.
Newsweek magazine said in its May 9 edition investigators probing abuses at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay found that interrogators “had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet.”
Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
“If proven that this happened, then we will strongly ask the American government to put on trial and punish whoever is the culprit,” Karzai told a news conference. Such sacrilege was unacceptable to every Muslim.
The United States has tried to calm global Muslim outrage over the incident, saying disrespect for the Koran was abhorrent and would not be tolerated, and military authorities were investigating the allegation.
International Muslim groups in Saudi Arabia also called on the United States to investigate and punish those responsible.
The 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference said the report had enraged hundreds of millions of Muslims and would “provide fanatics and extremists with excuses to … justify their acts of violence and terrorism.”
The Times OnLine notes how the Newsweek report has been met with revulsion throughout the Muslim world:
Thousands of Muslims, from Gaza to Pakistan to Indonesia, emerged from prayer services Friday to join Afghans in rapidly spreading protests over the reported desecration of a Koran by U.S. interrogators at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba….
After detailing the violence in Afghanistan it adds:
In three Pakistan cities, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan, hundreds of protesters led largely by religious parties burned American flags and chanted anti-American slogans after Friday prayer. The protests were peaceful, though, thanks in large part to the large numbers of police officers deployed outside mosques and official buildings.
Hundreds of people gathered peacefully outside a mosque in Jakarta on Friday while a statement was read condemning the United States for the reported abuses. In Gaza, about 1,500 members of the radical Islamic group Hamas marched through the Jabaliya refugee camp as outrage spread over the reports, including a brief item in Newsweek, that interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had flushed a Koran down the toilet in an effort to upset detainees.Protesters carrying the green banners of Islam and Hamas shouted, “Protect our holy book!” Some burned American and Israeli flags. Anti-American protests are rare among militant Palestinians, who decry U.S. support for Israel but emphasize that their struggle is with Israel, not the United States.
The White House has been doing some damage control, saying it will investigate. And hopefully this is more than a pro forma statement.
If Newsweek is correct, it would certainly show some short-sightedness on the part of interregators and an almost naive view of how the modern world works. Sooner or later details that are kept under wraps always seep out. It stands to reason that — if the Newsweek report is in fact correct — if this detail didn’t come out in the press, it would eventually quickly make its way back into the Muslim population (unless those detainees were never EVER destined to be released) and would generate massive hatred against the United States in the longrun.
It almost defies description, if it’s true. What would many Americans conclude if they heard that Americans captured in a Muslim country had to watch a crucifix set on fire — or if Jews capture had to watch the destruction of their holy Torah? If the reports are proven true, there need to be consquences — swift, highly publicized ones, to send a message the general population in the Muslim world — a population that the U.S. is trying to win over — that Americans don’t have contempt for their religion.
UPDATE: Saudia Arabia has reacted angrily, the BBC reports:
Saudi Arabia has voiced “deep indignation” at reports that a copy of the Koran was desecrated at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Riyadh called for a quick investigation into the alleged incident and for the perpetrators to be punished.
It is the first Arab state to comment officially on the reports. Reaction in the Arab world has been muted. On Thursday the US secretary of state promised prompt action if allegations of desecration prove true.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.