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Worse than Abu Ghraib
The desecration of the Quran is a far worse insult to Islam and Arabs than even the indignities suffered by Iraqis at the hands of American troops in Abu Ghraib, writes Muqtader Khan*
The reports in the media that Americans at Guantanamo facility allegedly desecrated the Quran 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, Quran 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 Quran is the literal word of God, it is the living and eternal miracle of Prophet Mohamed, 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 the US image in the Muslim world, commissioning initiatives that include radio programmes, Satellite TV, youth magazines and civil society empowerment programmes. But all the gains from these expensive initiatives are dramatically undermined by a periodic display of civilisational insensitivity that reeks of acute disregard for Muslim sentiments.
Read More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/op8.htm
For Muslims the Quran is the literal word of God, it is the living and eternal miracle of Prophet Mohamed, 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 the US image in the Muslim world, commissioning initiatives that include radio programmes, Satellite TV, youth magazines and civil society empowerment programmes. But all the gains from these expensive initiatives are dramatically undermined by a periodic display of civilisational insensitivity that reeks of acute disregard for Muslim sentiments.
Read More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/op8.htm
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Or in Turkey, Egypt and Morocco.
What distinguishes Iraq is that like Israel the people running the jails are not the same as the people in the jails. But I guess you could say the same of many US jails where the guards tend to be white and the prisoners tend to be people of color.
This allegation is false.
I'm not exactly an apologist for Israeli prisons, I know how bad they can be. I'd be willing to consider doing time in a Dutch prison cell but dread the prospect of being locked up in most Israeli prisons. So you can't point your finger at me and go, "get outta here, you professional Israel apologist, what else can we expect to hear from ya?"
>>>"What distinguishes Iraq is that like Israel the people running the jails are not the same as the people in the jails. But I guess you could say the same of many US jails where the guards tend to be white and the prisoners tend to be people of color."<<<
Quite a few of the people running the jails in Israel are the same as many in them -- Sefaradi Jews in warden and staff positions as well as Arabs in staff positions working in prisons where many Sefaradi Jews and Arabs are imprisoned.