Global protest against Quran desecration on 27th

[ECH1969]

ISLAMABAD, May 16(Online): Islamic groups in at least five countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe will hold rallies on May 27 to protest the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said on Sunday.

Qazi, president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, said demonstrations would be held in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Britain and Turkey. Islamic groups in several other countries have also agreed to hold similar rallies, he said. “The American soldiers are known for disrespect to other religions. They do not take care of the sanctity of other religions,” Qazi said.

http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=105614

[Journeyman]

1. (Shhh. They've evidently not received their copy of today's Newsweek...

otherwise they'd know it was all a big misunderstanding, and they'd be giggling at our presscorps same as we're all supposed to be doing today. So, shh. Don't spoil the surprise for them!)

[DulceDecorum]

2. The cat is out of the bag.

First Published 2005-05-13, Last Updated 2005-05-13 16:42:07
The US magazine Newsweek last week cited sources as saying that investigators had uncovered a case that interrogators, trying to rattle prisoners, flushed a Koran down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and a dog leash.
Pentagon officials said the allegation was first made by a lawyer of a detainee who was recently repatriated to Kuwait.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13491

Almost all of the Kuwaiti prisoners were caught in Pakistan by local villagers and tribesmen in the NWFP area or by government agents and, according to their lawyers and their families, sold to the Americans for a reported price of $10,000 each.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-1-2005_pg7_41

2005-05-16
Riyadh, May 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned on Sunday the reported desecration of the Koran by US interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, saying it was unacceptable.
Should the desecration be confirmed, the GCC demands a severe punishment of the perpetrators to safeguard the honor and dignity of Muslims all over the world, the Riyadh-based GCC said in a statement.
The desecration of the Koran increases hatred and hostility among religions, the statement said, calling for no reoccurrence of such an event.
<snip>
The GCC, grouping Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, was established in 1981 for promoting cooperation and integration among the member states.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/16/content_2962381.htm

May 15, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan -- 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.
<snip>
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."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-mideast-us-protests,1,5375581.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

In Afghanistan, the Taliban rises again for fighting season
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=638522

US told to act as desecration reports inflame Afghan riots
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=638231

May 16, 2005
AN Islamic group reportedly linked to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime declared Jihad, or holy war, today against US-led troops and the Afghan Government over the alleged desecration of the Koran by US interrogators.
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=3130963

13.5.2005
Saudi Arabia has joined Afghani Moslems in expressing deep concerns following reports that the Muslim holy book, the Koran, was being desecrated by interrogators in Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=111557®ion=4

2005-05-15
ISLAMABAD, May 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Islamic groups will hold demonstrations on May 27 across the Muslim world to condemn the desecration of Holy Quran in the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, head of Pakistani Islamic groups said here Sunday.
"The American soldiers are known to disregard other religions and the international protest day would be Muslim unity against this condemnable act," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, head of six-Islamic parties, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) told a press conference in Islamabad.
Hussain said that 25 Islamic groups including Akhwan ul-Muslimoon of Egypt have been contacted and most of them have positively responded.
He said the Muslim community in Britain has been contacted and they will also join the protest day.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/15/content_2961435.htm

Mon 16 May 2005
Islamic groups in at least five countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe will hold rallies later this month to protest the alleged desecration of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4560402

ISLAMABAD, May 15 (SANA): President of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmad has made an appeal to all Islamic movements in the world to observe a “world protest day” on May 27 against the desecration of Holy Quran by US troops in Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
The MMA made the appeal to leaders of the Organization of Islamic Conference and Islamic Groups in Europe, the United States and other countries of the world. Appealing them to observe a protest day in their respective countries against the blatant US attack on Muslims belief, Qazi said thousands of Pakistani Muslims will hold peaceful demonstrations in major cities and towns to condemn the US religious terrorism and extremism.
In his letter to the heads of Muslim movements, Qazi said desecration of Holy Quran is not just a matter concerning an individual, group or an organization, but it is an attempt to persecute the whole Ummah and should serve as a food for thought to them. Qazi termed the desecration of Holy Quran as a tool of mental torture to the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay as an insult to all global, moral, legal and human values.
Qazi said the incident caused a serious pain and anger among Pakistani nation like every conscientious Muslim and Pakistan’s parliament has expressed its shock and anger over the incident through a unanimous resolution demanding serious action against the perpetrators of the crime. However, he said, the religious honor demands that entire Ummah should express unanimous protest on this outrageous act.
http://www.kashar.net/technews/complete.asp?id=1094

Iran condemns US desecration of Quran as "abhorrent"
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/16/content_2961470.htm

Bangladesh expresses concern over desecration of Quran
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-05/16/content_2961461.htm

Malaysian PM Denounces Reported Koran Desecration
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-05-15-voa16.cfm

Indonesian Muslims denounce US over alleged Koran desecration
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1360328,0005.htm
05/16/2005
Reports of Guantanamo incidents have provoked anger in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation. Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said that the country has conveyed Guantanamo-related concerns to the US administration through diplomatic channels.
The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged calm among Muslims around the world, affirming that Washington would fully investigate the matter.
http://www.vnagency.com.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=33&NEWS_ID=151085

(AGI) - Cairo, May 14 - The Arab League asked the US to evaluate very carefully the accusation of alleged desecration of the Koran in the Guantanamo Bay prison, and asked that, should the news be confirmed, that the maximum sentence be given to the responsible, so as to avoid such a fact from occurring again. According to the Arab League, the piece of news, reported by the US magazine Newsweek, "unleashed a huge wrath among the Muslims, who never believed the offence to their belief would reach such a low level".
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200505141729-1143-RT1-CRO-0-NF11&page=0&id=agionline-eng.oggitalia

Flushing the Koran: Extremist Responses of Muslims Incomparable To Even Most Radical Christians and Jews
Ross Kaminsky - 5/16/2005
The recent news about Muslim reaction following the possible flushing of a Koran highlights one of the world's most serious problems: the hijacking of the Muslim religion by fanatics, and their inclination towards violence. It's hard to imagine a religions American, even one as radical by our standards as James Dobson, calling for death to anyone for flushing a bible. Yet it seems to be the default reaction in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world.
<snip>
People who claim that this so-called incident "strengthens the voice" of extremists are aiding the extremists by giving them moral justification where there is none. Islamic fundamentalism believes that their role is to make the entire world Muslim, killing anyone who gets in the way. How we treat a Koran is a red herring; we could put it under glass next to our own Constitution and the radicals would just as fervently want us dead. They are our sworn enemies and we should stop playing patty-cake with them.
<snip>
Ross Kaminsky is a fellow of the Heartland Institute. He earned a Political Science degree from Columbia University in 1987 and has been published in The New York Times, The Denver Post, The LA Times, and other major newspapers around the country. His blog can be found at http://blog.rossputin.com

Updated May. 15, 2005 22:35
Following the deadly turmoil and after Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita told Newsweek that its original story was misinformed, the weekly news journal launched an investigation into the facts reported in the catalystic article, questioning also, "how did the story feed into serious international unrest?"
"While various released detainees have made allegations about Koran desecration, the Pentagon has, according to DiRita, found no credible evidence to support them," Newsweek followed up its original report in its May 23 edition.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1116123543849

[SoCalDem]

3. Remind anyone else of the "recurring Anti flag-burning" legislation

that pops up every election cycle.??

Modern politics seems to consist of TWO camps.. The ones with gasoline and the ones with matches.. We cannot seem to keep them apart, no matter what we do:(

[Journeyman]

4. That's great, SoCalDem. . .

two camps: gas and matches . . . haven't heard it expressed so succinctly in a long time . . .

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Just sad. n/t

[sazemisery]

6. We will never know the truth

Our so called government will never admit to this like they don't admit to a lot of things. Not a word from the White house yet on the British memo.