Pentagon Confirms Quran Incident at Gitmo

[BEER980]

Pentagon Confirms Quran Incident at Gitmo
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Friday confirmed for the first time that a U.S. soldier deliberately kicked a Guantanamo Bay prisoner's Muslim holy book in violation of the military's rules for handling the Quran.
In other confirmed incidents, prison guards threw water balloons in a cell block, causing an unspecified number of Qurans to get wet; a guard's urine splashed on a detainee and his Quran; an interrogator stepped on a Quran during an interrogation; and a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Quran.

The findings are among the results of an investigation last month by Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, the commander of the detention center in Cuba, that was triggered by a Newsweek magazine report — later retracted — that a U.S. soldier had flushed one Guantanamo Bay detainee's Quran down a toilet.

The story stirred worldwide controversy and the Bush administration blamed it for deadly demonstrations in Afghanistan.

Last week, Hood disclosed that he had confirmed five cases of mishandling of the Quran, but he refused to provide details. Allegations of Quran desecration at Guantanamo Bay have led to anti-American passions in many Muslim nations, although Pentagon officials have insisted that the problems were relatively minor and that U.S. commanders have gone to great lengths to enable detainees to practice their religion in captivity.

Hood said last week that he found no credible evidence that a Quran was ever flushed down a toilet. He said a prisoner who was reported to have complained to an FBI agent in 2002 that a military guard threw a Quran in the toilet has since told Hood's investigators that he never witnessed any form of Quran desecration.
Source

[stormchazer]

....and I should give a sh#t because?

Islamic world blasted for protesting Quran 'story,' silence on Jewish incidents

JERUSALEM – With Muslims worldwide protesting a now-retracted Newsweek report that claimed U.S. Army interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Quran down the toilet, the father of a rabbi who was murdered while trying to defend a Jewish holy site from Palestinian rioters blasted Muslim leaders yesterday in an exclusive WorldNetDaily interview.

Rabbi Zevulun Lieberman, whose son Hillel died trying to save Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus from Muslim rioters, told WND he is "sickened by this Muslim outcry when Muslims have shown the world they don't have any respect for religion whatsoever. They lost the right to protest about disrespect for religion and holy objects a long time ago."

Accusing Muslim leadership of using the Newsweek story to create "anti-American incitement," Lieberman asked, "Where were the protesters when Muslims desecrated Joseph's Tomb and other sites?"

In an issue dated May 9, Newsweek reported U.S. military investigators found evidence that interrogators placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk.

The report prompted demonstrations across the Muslim world, with thousands rallying in Afghanistan, Pakistan Indonesia and Gaza City to denounce America. At least 15 people died in riots in Afghanistan alone.

Yesterday, Newsweek officially retracted the story.

Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric said the alleged desecration is part of an American campaign aimed at disrespecting and smearing Islam. Spiritual leaders in Afghanistan gave the U.S. three days to respond to the accusations. The 22-nation Arab League issued a statement saying if the allegations panned out, Washington should apologize to Muslims.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a hard-line Pakistani Islamist leader and opposition lawmaker, said Islamic groups in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Britain, Turkey and other countries would hold more rallies to protest the alleged desecration.

In its retraction, Newsweek stated, "Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Quran abuse at Guantanamo Bay."

In a note to readers in its current issue, Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine's information came from "a knowledgeable U.S. government source," who, he said, later could not be sure he had read about the alleged Quran incident in the report that was cited.

Tomb desecrated

In October 2000, after Israeli troops evacuated the city of Nablus as a peacemaking gesture, scores of Palestinians stormed into the Joseph's Tomb compound and destroyed the site believed to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph – the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became the viceroy of Egypt.

The 1993 Oslo Accords put Joseph's Tomb under Israeli jurisdiction, but on Oct. 7, 2000, then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered a unilateral retreat, based on a Palestinian agreement to protect the site.

Within hours of the Israeli withdrawal, smoke was seen billowing from the tomb as an Arab crowd burned Jewish prayer books and other holy objects. Palestinians used pickaxes, hammers and later bulldozers to tear apart the stone building. The dome of the tomb was painted green, and a mosque was subsequently erected in its place.

Destroyed gravestone at traditional burial site for biblical patriarch Joseph.

Rabbi Hillel Lieberman, who lived nearby, headed by foot to the tomb when he heard of its desecration, hoping, his family said, to save any Torah scrolls or other holy objects that might have been left intact.

Lieberman disappeared. His bullet-ridden body was found the next day in a cave.

"[Hillel] was unarmed, wearing a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl), and he was brutally murdered by our enemies who want to erase our existence," said Yehudit Tayar, spokeswoman for the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

Hillel's father, Zevulun, a religious instructor at Yeshiva University, told WND: "If indeed the Quran was flushed down the toilet, that is despicable. But now they protest? The religion that actually desecrated the grave of Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham?

"Nowhere in the parameters of humanity is it tolerable to destroy a holy site. The Muslims did something even an animal wouldn't do. Only humans who are completely sick with no sense of reason can do such a thing. And only a religion that is beyond the pale of humanity can sit back and not protest such an act."

Lieberman accused Islamic leaders of using the Newsweek article to spur anti-American incitement: "These leaders, who have no conscience, they aren't upset for religious reasons. It's just an excuse."

Building at Joseph's Tomb site after Palestinian Authority took control.

Susan Roth, director of the Eshet Chayil Foundation, one of the main benefactors of the biblical matriarch Rachel's Tomb, to which surviving artifacts of Joseph's Tomb were recently transferred, told WND: "There was almost total silence in the Muslim world when Palestinians blew up Jews at their Passover seder, when Joseph's tomb was desecrated, and even overall with regard to terrorism."

Roth was referring to a Hamas suicide bombing March 2002 that killed 30 and injured 140 when a bomb was exploded in the midst of a Passover seder at an Israeli hotel. Nathan Katz, professor of religion at Florida International University, told WorldNetDaily: "Joseph's tomb is one of many, many examples of a lack of Muslim respect for religious sites and objects, and the silence of Islamic leaders following such desecrations."

He cited the desecration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem by Palestinian gunmen in April 2002, and the dynamiting of 2,000-year old giant Buddhist statues at Bamian, Afghanistan, by the Taliban regime in March 2001.

"In fact, those statues, destroyed by the Taliban, were first defaced when the Arabs came to Afghanistan in the late seventh and early eighth century. They cut the faces off the statues then. Later, the Taliban completely wrecked them. Like Joseph's Tomb, the Muslims were largely silent."

Israeli archeologists say they have convincing documentation of the authenticity of Joseph's Tomb's, dating to biblical times. The book of Joshua says, according to the New International Version, "Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem (Nablus) in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants."

Said Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum: "This sequence of events reflects badly on everyone concerned: Newsweek, a stalwart of mainstream media, that can neither get its facts right nor its apology convincing; the U.S. government, which talked about the 'Holy Quran,' thereby falling into its old pattern of promoting Islam; and the Muslim masses, which took to the streets in lethal anger on nothing more than unconfirmed (and latterly rescinded) hearsay. This episode contains within it many lessons; let us hope they are properly learned."

"Either Muslims respect religion," Leiberman said, "and they protest their own intolerable and repeated desecrations, or they don't. They can't have it both ways."



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[coriolis]

Here's a question that I haven't seen answered (or even asked): How the heck would you flush a book down a toilet? I'd think that anything bigger than a match book would probably clog it.

[PurdueWx80]

Here's a question that I haven't seen answered (or even asked): How the heck would you flush a book down a toilet? I'd think that anything bigger than a match book would probably clog it.

Rip out the pages, wad them up, and throw 'em in the bowl.

[alicia-w]

The field versions of holy books are pretty small, so military people can carry with them. I dont know this for a fact, but I'm assuming that the folks in Guantanamo were given these small versions.

[coriolis]

Makes sense. Well, actually it doesn't make sense. Any of our people who did any of these should be appropriately disciplined. They should KNOW the ramifications of something like that.

People should realize that there's bad apples in any group of people, but people have a tendency to characterize the group by the actions of the few. It only takes one to create a big problem.

[Anonymous]

I have seen this story on Yahoo news for the past 2 days and and wonder why it is the top story. So somebody stomped, urinated on and flushed a koran down the toilet. If they did this to a bible, wouldnt a christian just shrug their shoulders and say "oh-well this person is obviously going to hell". Im not sayying it is right and its actually probably offensive if you are koranean-but its just a book-they can get another koran. I dunno-just trying to see the point of this.

[kmanWX]

Looks like newsweek wasnt that far from the truth...

[alicia-w]

Koranean?

[rainstorm]

shows how great and humane our military is. i doubt we provided german prisoners in ww2 with copies of mein kampf. what a great military we have to provide these butchers with korans, and treat them so well. by the way, its time the media started pointing out all the times muslims trash the bible, and torch holy temples of other religions. its time the media pointed out no matter how many times the bible is desecrated riots do not ensue. its also time for the media to point out how well we treat these people.
let me give this even more perspective. lets assume there are 1000 terrorists detained(terrorists arent covered by the geneva convention) and they have been detained an average of 2 years. i am probably on the low side here, 1000 times 730 days is 730,000 times our military has had the chance to do something to these precious korans(lets not forget the same people we give these korans too are part of the group responsible for killing thousands of fellow muslims).
730,000 times and this is all they can come up with? as i said, our military is the most humane ever on earth.

and mods, i didnt start the thread, and these are all valid points

our military is the best!!

[stormchazer]

shows how great and humane our military is. i doubt we provided german prisoners in ww2 with copies of mein kampf. what a great military we have to provide these butchers with korans, and treat them so well. by the way, its time the media started pointing out all the times muslims trash the bible, and torch holy temples of other religions. its time the media pointed out no matter how many times the bible is desecrated riots do not ensue. its also time for the media to point out how well we treat these people.

and mods, i didnt start the thread, and these are all valid points

our military is the best!!

AMEN!!!!!!!!!

[Derek Ortt]

we're upset because Satan is having his teaching denounced? And why are Christians upset? We are weeding out the enemy

[rainstorm]

shows how great and humane our military is. i doubt we provided german prisoners in ww2 with copies of mein kampf. what a great military we have to provide these butchers with korans, and treat them so well. by the way, its time the media started pointing out all the times muslims trash the bible, and torch holy temples of other religions. its time the media pointed out no matter how many times the bible is desecrated riots do not ensue. its also time for the media to point out how well we treat these people.

and mods, i didnt start the thread, and these are all valid points

our military is the best!!

AMEN!!!!!!!!!

thanks chaser, and read my edited post. in my estimation we have had 730,000 times to descrate these korans, and this is all they can come up with. just proves how humane our military is

[Derek Ortt]

agreed 100% RS

In fact, we are too humane

[Stephanie]

It's called respecting each other and their faiths. We have many of the Muslim faith that are US citizens.

Being humane is what makes our country great and respected.

[stormchazer]

Recently, terrorist blew up a Mosque in Afghanistan or Iraq, I am not sure. How many Muslims carrying Korans were blown up, or is having a burned, blood soked Koran not a desecration?

[Derek Ortt]

as Christians, we are called to convert others to the teachings of Christ, not condone teachings that deny that Christ is God and that he died for our sins

[rainstorm]

It's called respecting each other and their faiths. We have many of the Muslim faith that are US citizens.

Being humane is what makes our country great and respected.

i agree completely. a minimum of 730,000 times we have had a chance to desecrate the koran. we indeed respect the muslims that live among us. planes can be flown into buildings by muslim terrorists killing 3000, muslims can dance in glee on videos as they cut off heads, bibles shredded, churches blown up, soldiers bodies burned and dragged thru streets, and we know they would butcher everyone of us if they could.
and yet, we dont take it out on muslims here, as we shouldnt. and our military again, has had a minimum of 730,000 chances to desecrate the koran
we are the greatest nation on earth to have so much respect for the muslim faith, and our military the most humane.

[george_r_1961]

Gotta agree with u there Helen. Im not condoning the troops actions but if there were 730,000 chances to do something like this and there was one incident..well I think its safe to say we can call that isolated. BTW we are not at war with the Muslim faith but with terrorists, many of whom happen to be Muslim. Desecrating their holy book is inexcusable. I have Muslim friends here and I can assure you the Muslim faith as a whole is NOT the enemy.

[Windswept]

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeese!!!! Bring back the Political Forum so I can properly respond to this absurd line of thought!