'Qur’an burning shows US political idiocy'
Angry protesters have rallied in Afghanistan for a second day in condemnation of the burning of the Holy Qur'an by the US-led forces.The protesters took to the streets in the capital Kabul, the western city of Herat and the eastern city of Jalalabad for a second day of the protests on Wednesday after US-led troops at the Bagram Airbase burned a large number of Islamic religious materials which included copies of the Holy Qur’an.
The demonstrators threw stones at the US military base along the Jalalabad road while chanting slogans against the United States and President Barack Obama.
What follows is an approximate transcription of a Press TV interview with Abdul Alim Musa, Imam of Masjid al-Islam in Washington, regarding the issue.
Press TV: First of all, how do you explain such a desecration?
Musa: I view the recent burning of Holy Qur’an as shows of serious missteps by US policy in Afghanistan. It shows [the] complete failure and insensitivity of the US policy in Afghanistan.
For instance, supposedly it went to war against the war on terror, the war against Taliban, now they have to talk with the Taliban. They have been separating themselves from the civilian population by shooting drones into Afghanistan and killing innocent civilians.
So they distanced themselves from the people they are supposedly there to rescue by bombing, killing and droning people to death.
And only about three weeks ago, they were shown urinating on the face of dead Afghan soldiers who ... and other farming utensils near their feet which shows that they were not mercenaries, they were not fighters or they were not insurgents at all. It shows that they were normal farmers.
And now we have the burning of Qur’an. So we have a policy of insensitivity, a policy that has no focus, no direction. It shows the total and complete idiocy of the US policy in Afghanistan and in relationship to Afghanistan, drones in Pakistan, they have distanced themselves from the whole region.
The whole region is just totally dissatisfied with US policy in the region.
Press TV: The US officials know it very well that burning the Holy Qur’an would spark angry reaction from Muslims. So why is it that they repeat the same thing over and over again?
Musa: Because they do not consider Afghans, they do not consider them as Muslims. They do not pay attention to our culture, our religion, our way of life.
The only time they pay attention is ... 50,000 people in the street. Then we have the military dictator there from the US apologizing to the president, apologizing to the people, apologizing to the noble religion of Islam.
First of all, they should have some sensitivity courses. If they are going to invade people, they should at least understand the language, the religion, the culture of the people. They are putting their own troops .... at total disadvantage .
In fact, I think the world including the US; the people in the US are tired of US policies in Afghanistan. Now hundreds of thousands of lives of Afghans with no purposes, no goal; thousands of NATO and US troops are dead; hundreds are being killed on a regular basis.
It shows the US policy, it shows the decline of an empire and that the US government is a slow learner. It should have learned earlier but it continues to go down the road leading to its own destruction.
Press TV: How would this desecration of the Holy Book affect the security situation on the ground in Afghanistan?
Musa: When you first invade, you are supposedly fighting combatants. But by the time you drone people to death and invade villages, pretty soon you move from a war against combatants to a war against the people and a war against villagers.
After that, all the people of Afghanistan become its combatants. So this is why you have gun-happy troops; you have a situation where the lines are unclear as to who is the combatant and who is not. So burning of the Qur’an puts the troops and the people at a higher level of risk of losing their lives.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/228095.html
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