The reports in the media that Americans at Guantanamo facility allegedly desecrated the Qur'an to torture prisoners has unleashed an intense wave of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world, which has already caused 16 deaths. This is worse than Abu Ghraib; Abu Ghraib represents the physical and psychological torture of a few Muslims, Qur'an desecration represents a spiritual, emotional and psychological torture of all Muslims. Even if it turns out that the Newsweek report was false, most people will see it as a cover up and another American attempt to eschew accountability.

For Muslims the Qur'an is the literal word of God, it is the living and eternal miracle of Prophet Muhammad, it is their direct link to the divine, it is the source of their faith, their values, their identity and it is without doubt the most important symbol of their religion. Americans, who have a rather cavalier attitude towards things religious, may not understand this, but for Muslims things that are sacred are indeed sacred.

The US government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to improve US image in the Islamic World, commissioning initiatives that include radio programs, Satellite TV, youth magazines and civil society empowerment programs. But all the gains from these expensive initiatives are dramatically undermined by a periodic display of civilizational insensitivity that reeks of acute disregard for Muslim sentiments.

The use of the word "Crusades" by President Bush to describe his war on terror, the continuous revelations about the torture and abuse of Muslim prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Iraq and Guantanamo, Cuba, the reluctance to punish General Boykin for his Islamophobic bigotry are examples of how periodically the US government seeks to remind Muslims of its callous attitudes towards their rights and their religion.

The thing that hurts the most is that while there is verbal recognition of these problems, there is no accountability. In a testimony to the Senate and House Armed Services Committee on May 7, 2004, Secretary Rumsfeld said that he took "full responsibility" for what happened in Abu Ghraib. One would have thought that a resignation letter would follow. Nothing happened. It is still a mystery as to what Secretary Rumsfeld meant by "full responsibility". I have since met several leaders from the Muslim world and media persons who have remarked that Rumsfeld's words are just indicative of how empty and meaningless are the current administrations respect for religion, law and human rights.

To many Muslims the Qur'an desecration episode, regardless of Newsweek's retraction which lacks much credibility in the Muslim world, is another deeply aggravating example of how the US has made Islam and Muslim religiosity a target in its so called war on terror. It is now being revealed that several prisoners, both in Iraq and in Guantanamo, have made allegations of Qur'an desecration. To many Muslims, the allegations of Qur'an desecration is consistent with their image of the US as an anti-Islam force. It will take more than a retraction and another empty "Pentagon enquiry" to ameliorate the anger, the hatred and the disgust towards the US that is now felt widely in the Muslim world.

It is amazing that the editors at the Newsweek magazine expressed surprise at the reactions from the Muslim world. Their ignorance about the religiosity of a people they report on frequently is amazing. Don't they have Muslims on their staff that they could consult? The level of ignorance extant combined with unwillingness to develop deeper understanding of Muslim cultures and Islam by many US officials and those in the media who cover the Muslim world is reaching criminal proportions. The ramifications of mistakes such as this one, even if it is proven that ultimately the report was a false one, will take a long time to rectify. Perhaps Newsweek should dedicate a special issue to celebrate the Qur'an and the deep devotion that Muslims hold for it. Their reckless reporting has already caused 16 deaths and may cause more in the future.

This is a very serious issue and it is important that American leadership, the media and the civil society react with sensitivity. Secretary Condileeza Rice has set the right tone when she expressed that "disrespect for the Holy Qur'an is something that the United States will never tolerate." Condemnations for Qur'an desecration and expressions of respect for Islam and Muslims must come from all sections of the society. Perhaps it is time for President Bush to step up to the plate and acknowledge that he has been soft on Islamophobes in his military. His refusal to take stern and firm actions against innumerable violations by the Pentagon has in a way encouraged a culture of insensitivity and even malice towards Islam and Muslims in some sections of the Defense Department. To blame Newsweek alone will not remedy the damage done to US-Muslim relations and to US image in the rest of the world.

Response to this article:

http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/BKisan50522.htm

Thanks,

Kisan.

here is a response to the crap posted on faithfreedom:

http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/14908/

Not actually a response, although on a similar topic. The article I posted is a response. Thanks for calling it crap, shows great civility and adds profoundly to the issue.

>>Thanks for calling it crap, shows great civility and adds profoundly to the issue.
<<

Oh really, thats interesting, given that the language one finds at "faithfreedom" towards Muslims is anything but civil. Crap is probably the nicest way of describing the rabid christofascist slime at faithfreedumb. Thanks for the link roomih.

Again another slag off without addessing any issues.

Some of the points that Kisan made in that Freedom article are right on. As a Muslim, I admit that there are problems in the Muslim world and incidents - such as the ones he mentioned, esp. the one with Taliban destroying those idols Ň are an embarrassment. But if I could remind him, the criticism for that shameful incident came from all corners of Muslim world including Saudi Arabia and it was after that incident that no Muslim wanted to stand up for the defense of Taliban when US attacked them.

Then he goes on to write about the historical context of how Muslims destroyed the idols and idol cultures of yester years. I am no authority on religion and history but one thing I know for a fact is that for every battle, every war waged by Muslims there was some valid reason unlike what writer is trying to portray the Muslim empire of past as i.e., haters of anything non-Muslim. If that was the case, why would the Islamic faith gain so much popularity and experience such expansion (Please don't counter it with baseless idea of Islam spreading through the power of sword). I do have the conscience and question my Islamic faith and its teachings all the time with the argument placed by Islam basher/haters like Kisan but honestly, my beliefs just start making more sense. Miracle isnĚt it Mashallah.

Thanks for the praise as well as calling me a hater also. Actually I write because I care but anyhow I don't need to justify myself but as you state you have a conscience and question to some extent your beliefs I also try to stick to the ideal of seeking to do what is true no matter where that leads and no matter what emotionally attached beliefs need challenging and discarding.

Re: criticism for the shameful incident as you call it and which goes beyond what many Muslims would say when searching I did read some articles regarding this and for one article it was criticised because Prophet Mohammed only destroyed idols that were being worshiped and these idols were not so therefore it was wrong.
This type of critique is more sophism than actual criticism.
Saying no-one stood up in the defense of the Taliban when the US ousted them isn't correct as many demonstrations against this were there and thousands of articles against that war.
However it is a partial truth, this Bamiyan Buddha destruction amongst other barbaric acts did make the Taliban a hard act to support and even the very term Taliban is now synonymous with backwardness and bigotry.

Re: your open mindedness try looking with a bit more detail into the wars and also for each and every one you could find rationalisations an openind will not find validity. Even the most dogmatic Christian might have a bit of shame trying to state that every war waged by Christians had a valid reason. This makes your claims of openmindedness suspect to anyone other than an fellow indoctrinated believer.

I haven't stated that Islamic faith merely spread through the sword. Actual sword-based conversions were a relatively small proportion although certainly plentiful.

Read Mawdudi giving plentiful evidence to support killing apostates in his book translated to English:

http://www.answering-islam.org/Hahn/Mawdudi/

Here the Prophet of the religion you want to say never used the power of the sword to spread contradicts you:

"Peace be upon the one who follows the right path! I call you to Islam. Accept my call, and you shall be unharmed. I am God's Messenger to mankind, and the word shall be carried out upon the miscreants. If, therefore, you recognize Islam, I shall bestow power upon you. But if you refuse to accept Islam, your power shall vanish, my horses shall camp on the expanse of your territory and my prophecy shall prevail in your kingdom."

cont.. in a second

http://answering-islam.org/Muhammad/oman.htm

That being said Islam also used many other successful methods and Sufis with a modified version of the faith were major persuaders and converters.

If you want to specifically refute any points in my article please do so with evidence in case such exists.

However switching topics to why would Islam be so popular (an argumental fallacy - if something wasn't true why would so many people believe it. If that's so why do a majority of people believe in astrology in some opinion polls, or why did the majority of people believe the world was flat?) or other things doesn't count as refutation.
A point by point refutation with evidence would be a miracle rather than a faithful person believing.
Regards and best wishes, Kisan.

Oh and PS I tried posting this as Kisan and was unabled as I think my ability to do so was disabled. Howeve reregistering with kisan1 all of a sudden I could post on the first effort after 5 unsuccessful trys as Kisan.

This puts the "no compulsion in opinion" catchy slogan on the front of the website into context. no compulsion but if we don't like it not allowed.

Oh yes, the old trick of reregistring to repost propaganda. Only thing I've seen is you posting links to a pathetic Islamophobic website with links christofascists.
Pretty much every bit of horse manure put out by these charlatans has been refuted by the folks at [url=http://www.Islamic-awareness.org]http://www.Islamic-awareness.org[/url]
As far as I'm concerned people who dont even have the basic decency to respect other faiths in words and action arent worth the time.
The tread is about the desecration of the Holy Quran, so get your threads straight.

What reregistering? I was registered, never got any message saying that had changed and when I tried posting after spending quite a while responding to a post was disabled from doing so.
Is that fair. Another time I posted on another site and got a response and spend 2 hours writing a response and then found out I'd been banned although I hadn't used foul language or abuse as you guys do in every post. Only my topic was said to be "divisive" on that Islamically orientated site. Anyhow this has to be done to insulate the faith from free debate. One of the points of my essay.

kisan enough of your BS ,,, we dont need you to go on anymore, a person who puts so much effort into trying to disprove islam only shows how much that person knows it is the true way of life, unlike christianity and the bible which we see being made fun of in movies or on t shirts or however on a daily basis, no one cares people laugh about it people are entertained by that type of desecration of religion its normal but with islam we stand up for our way of life if someone deliberately does something to our deen the muslim world wakes up.
only because the filth in the guantanamo prison have the upper hand there they would dare to do such a thing against islam and the muslims.
back to what i was saying someone like you knows islam is the truth and youre afraid of it, i invite you to read islam and research it without a sword being put to your neck or someone forcefeeding it to you dont be afraid of it read and you may be guided.