American soldiers mistakenly burned a half dozen Korans in Afghanistan. Predictably, the response was riots by many and murder by a few Muslims. Violence has become the tactic of choice of Islamic extremists around the world against secular critics and religious minorities alike.
Indeed, this isn’t the first time that Afghan mobs have killed to avenge a perceived insult to their faith. Last year a crowd in the generally peaceful city of Mazar-e-Sharif slaughtered a dozen United Nations staffers after Rev. Terry Jones burned a Koran in Florida.
The latest round of violence was sparked by the burning of six Korans removed from a prison because they contained extremist messages — added by Afghan Muslims apparently unconcerned about the alleged sacredness of the text. Sent to a landfill, they were set on fire before Afghan personnel identified them as Korans.
In the ensuing violence some 30 Afghans died and a half dozen Americans were killed. A taxi driver told the Wall Street Journal: “If they are insulting our Koran, we don’t want peaceful rallies.” A policeman informed the Washington Post: “Afghans and the world’s Muslims should rise against the foreigners. We have no patience left.” Another cop, trained by NATO, declared: “We should burn those foreigners.”
Members of parliament and political allies of Afghan President Hamid Karzai openly encouraged attacks on allied personnel. Parliamentarian Abdul Sattar Khawasi asserted that “Americans are invaders, and jihad against Americans is an obligation” and called for “war against Americans.”
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