By Scott Tibbs, February 29, 2012
The whole "controversy" over Korans that were burned by American troops in Afghanistan is political theater for the weak-minded. It is a manufactured outrage created by enemies of America to whip up crowds against U.S. troops and blame America, while ignoring the facts of the case.
Let's deal with some reality here. The Korans would never have been disposed of if the Islamic terrorists in our custody had not desecrated the Koran themselves (a blasphemy in Islam) by writing notes in the pages. The Korans were confiscated from the detainees and accidentally included with items for incineration by U.S. troops. (See articles from National Review and Fox News.)
The response has been telling. Rioting and mass murder is simply not an appropriate response to burning a book. That is the act of a savage barbarian, not a devout person of any faith. But the Islamic terrorists are not rioting and murdering over fellow Islamic terrorists intentionally desecrating the Koran, or demanding that the detainees be executed. They are rioting and murdering because Americans unintentionally desecrated the Koran.
Does any of this mean we should not treat the Koran with respect? No. Does any of this mean that we should not respect the faith and religious practices of Muslims? Again, the answer is no.
But the fact of the matter is this was a mistake, not an intentional desecration of Islam's holy book. Furthermore, rioting and murdering over the unintentional destruction of a book is a wildly disproportionate response - especially when it was the detainees who intentionally desecrated it.
Burning the Koran was a mistake, and mistakes happen. It is a mistake that should have been avoided, and care needs to be taken so that this mistake does not happen again. Just out of respect for the people of Afghanistan, we should respect their culture and religion. But it was a mistake nonetheless, not an act of malice or aggression. Rioting and murdering in response is wildly disproportionate and barbaric.
