The commander of the International Security Assistance Force reported on Tuesday that some Qurans and other Islamic religious materials were burned improperly as they were gathered for disposal from a detention facility at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The burning infuriated people and led hundreds of them to protest outside of the airfield on Tuesday. Gen. John Allen said, “This was not a decision that was made because they were religious materials. It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake. It was an error. The moment we found out about it, we immediately stopped and we intervened.”
Muslims look upon the Quran as the absolute word of God, as Christians do the Bible. Vandalizing the Quran, such as burning it, is seen as an act of bigotry and intolerance, and is an unforgivable affront. Allen reportedly launched an investigation and will issue an order at ISAF headquarters on the future handling of Islamic religious materials on Tuesday. Allen said, “Something like this just cannot happen again.” Allen was sincerely apologetic to Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan government, and “the noble people of Afghanistan.”
