Posted on 05/15/2005 3:54:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Muslims in Afghanistan gave Washington three days to offer a response to a Newsweek story that claimed the Islamic holy book was desecrated at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, but the magazine apologized Sunday for the report, which prompted deadly riots across Afghanistan last week.
Reaction across the Islamic world has been strong, with daily demonstrations since the May 9 story came out. At least 15 people died in Afghanistan after protests broke out Tuesday following the report that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed Qurans in washrooms to unsettle suspects, and in one case "flushed a holy book down the toilet."
Many of the 520 inmates at Guantanamo are Muslims arrested during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. In both Afghanistan and Pakistan, insults to the Quran and Islam's prophet, Muhammad, are regarded as blasphemy and punishable by death.
"The American soldiers are known for disrespect to other religions. They do not take care of the sanctity of other religions," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the Pakistani chief of a coalition of radical Islamic groups, said Sunday.
Ahmed's comments came a day after Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, both allies of Washington, demanded an investigation and punishment for those behind the reported desecration of the Quran.
In Afghanistan, Islamic scholars and tribal elders called for the punishment of anyone found to have abused the Quran, said Maulawi Abdul Wali Arshad, head of the religious affairs department in Badakhshan province.
Arshad and the provincial police chief said the scholars met in Faizabad, 310 miles northeast of the capital, Kabul, and demanded a "reaction" from U.S. authorities within three days.
But Newsweek apologized in an editor's note for Monday's edition and said they were re-examining the allegations.
"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker wrote.
Newsweek's source later said he was unsure about the origin of the Quran allegation, and a top Pentagon spokesman told the magazine that the military "had investigated other desecration charges by detainees and found them 'not credible.'"
Meanwhile, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday the allegation was being investigated "vigorously."
"If it turns out to be true, obviously we will take action against those responsible, Stephen Hadley said in an interview for CNN's "Late Edition."
Ahmed, the religious leader in Pakistan, said Islamic groups in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Britain and Turkey would hold protests on May 27 against the alleged desecration.
Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric on Sunday said the reported desecration of the Quran is part of an American campaign aimed at disrespecting and smearing Islam.
Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah urged Muslims and international human rights organizations "to raise their voices loudly against the American behavior, which is hostile to Islam and Muslims."
In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, Fadlallah called the alleged desecration a "brutal" form of torture.
"This act is not an individual act carried out by an American soldier, but rather it is part of the American behavior of intellectual and psychological education in disrespecting Islam and smearing its image in the souls of Americans," Fadlallah said.
FINALLY???
"...extending sympathy..." is not enough.
How about making Newsweek pay "blood money" to the family of each person slain because of Newsweek's irresponsible "reporting"?
seditious treasonous bastards
I believe Newsweek's has abused their "freedom of the press" privilege so greatly that their freedom should be taken away from them. They shouted "FIRE" in a very crowded and dangerous theater and should be shut down.
"The virulent anti-American bias of the MSM is finally reaching the point where it is putting American lives in danger abroad"
This is called the enemy within. During WWII the magazine office would have been burned to the ground by parents who have sons overseas and endangered by the editor's recklessness and sedition. Today I would have the soldiers and Afghan military sue the crap out of the magazine for "embellishing" their reports for their liberal readers. The day will come when the people will be fed up with this treason, the liberal press, lawyers, professors and politicians will be taken to the highest building in the vincinity and thrown to their deaths by the mob.
"The American soldiers are known for disrespect to other religions. They do not take care of the sanctity of other religions,"
ROFLMBO Is this guy for real? Muslims are just so well known for their respect and tolerance of other religions. Give me a break!
It wasn't a mistake. It was deliberate, calculated sabotage.
I have friends in harm's way in both Iraq and Afghanistan - this directly increases the danger to their lives. It matters to me. Words have consequences.
The apology is too little too late. The entire editorial staff of News Week, especially Elenore whatshername, Whitaker and the half witted author of the piece must travel to all those muslim countries and apologize in person. Then pay monetary compensation for all damages and deaths.
It would be nice if we could expect those high strung, loonie muslim bast*rds to learn from all the needless deaths and destruction caused by their mindless rampage, and get the facts straight before exploding in the future. They are incapable of profiting from their mistakes.
Can anyone in their wildest imagination, ever picture Christians rioting all over the world with distruction and killing, if we were told that one of those scum bag muslim terriorest gangs had flushed a Bible down the toilet before beheading their captives? It would never happen.
As long as Muslims behave like a bunch of depraved lunatics and go crazy enmasse over the least little thing,
they are not potty trained enough to live in a civilized society.
Thank about it. These were not the extremist Muslims doing all this rioting-they were the peace loving little darlings that make up main stream moderate Muslims.
The only response should be....
"The US did nothing wrong. The story was a lie. And if you silly punks declare a holy war, we'll bomb your silly a--es back to yesteryear"
Just watch....to cover their butts, Newsweek will run ten days of....."We feel the story is real....even if the allegation was made up"
They will claim the story is real...and never provide evidence. And hope that the heat blows over.
Just like cBS tried.
Well, We Freepers need to make sure they don't get away with it.
Time to e-mail the article to every talks show you can think of. Call into the shows and raise hell.
Call and e-mail FNC...and ask them to run a report on the lie newsweek tried to pull off.
The New media took down Dan RATher, so Hadley and Newsweek should be even easier to hold accountable.
A lib would not have to set them up. They would be more than willing to comply in the scheme.
Just like the MSM did in Vietnam. They falsely reported every story they could think of.
In an effort to undermind support for the troops and help the enemy.
Stupid Muslims should have realized that the story wasn't true. You cannot physically flush a book down a toilet.
what has gone un-noticed on this thread is that HERE WE GO AGAIN....while Christianity is under assault from every quarter imaginable, WE ARE DEFERRING AGAIN TO THIS EVIL "RELIGION" CALLED ISLAM....
I was talking with my mom about this today. Anybody can make a mistake, that's not the issue.
The issue is that the MSM is SO QUICK to criticize and blast American troops, yet don't dare do the same thing for Iraqi "freedom fighters."
Your's is a good question indeed, but I'd still like answer to mine.
No doubt they'll have a big internal investigation, a-la SeeBS. Blood is on Isikoff's hands. Presstitutes.
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