COMMENTARY | The uproar continues over burned copies of the Holy Quran in Afghanistan. NPR reports violence has escalated for a week in Afghanistan after it was discovered copies of the Quran were burned by U.S. military personnel at an air base near Kabul. A car bomb exploded near the site, killing nine people Feb. 27. Copies of the holy book were found among other trash for disposal as the military attempted to destroy radical messages written in the margins of the books.
The protests have even drawn comments from U.S. politicians. The Associated Press states GOP hopeful Rick Santorum has criticized President Barack Obama for apologizing to Afghans for the act. CBS News reports Newt Gingrich alleges Obama “surrendered” to the Afghans by apologizing.
The violence appears to be inherent to countries where protesting seems to be disallowed. If copies of the Quran had been burned if the Taliban were still in power, the demonstrations would be quashed. Unlike the Quran burning by Terry Jones in April 2011, the protests are limited to just Afghanistan at this point.
The problem with all of this backlash on the American side is that copies of the Holy Bible have been burned as well. CNN states the U.S. military destroyed unsolicited copies of the Bible sent to Afghanistan to try to convert Muslims in May 2009. Copies of the Bible were burned by radical Muslims in Malawi in October 2010 in response to a threatened Quran burning in the United States, according to Reuters.
No one protested those Bible burnings with violence
Why are Americans seemingly hypocritical? Muslims are responding to the desecration of their holy book in the ways they have been taught. Americans are allowed to peaceably assemble and say what they want to about any issue that affects them. Citizens of other countries may not be allotted such freedoms.
The violence against Americans for burning the Quran is indicative of a larger problem. Troops aren’t just seen as American invaders. Ever since Muslims conquered parts of Europe and the subsequent Crusades to the Holy Land, there has been religious tension between the two groups.
We need to put ourselves in Afghani shoes. I’m not excusing the violence. But if millions of Americans had nothing to look forward to except poverty and illiteracy in Afghanistan after years of violence against our own citizens, we would also find ways to have backlash against our apparent oppressors.