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The US army has
confirmed that a US sergeant used the Quran for target
practice in Baghdad.
The soldier, whose
name was not released, shot at a copy of the Quran on
May 9. The bullet-riddled book was discovered two days
later by an Iraqi policeman, but the U.S. military did
not make the incident public until May 17.
Major General
Jeffery Hammond, commander of the 4th Infantry Division,
apologized to local officials in Radhwaniya in the
western outskirts of Baghdad, and read a carefully
worded apology from the shooter.
It cannot be hushed
as an individual or isolated incident but it may be
explained as an accumulated effect of the anti-Islam and
anti-Muslim policies of the Bush administration in the
post-911 America. The state-sponsored smirking has
trickled down to spawn a climate of recreational cruelty
in the US military.
Recall Lt. Gen.
William Jerry Boykin who, while in uniform, propagated
hate at the grassroots level in dozens of speeches to
church groups, saying that the war on terror was
actually spiritual warfare, with the enemy 'Satan' being
embodied by Islam. Speaking of God versus Allah he said:
"Well, you know what I knew, that my God was bigger than
his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an
idol."
Dropping down the
chain of command, Marine Corp Lt. Gen. James Mattis said
it was "fun to shoot some people." His comment came in
reference to fighting insurgents in Iraq where he
commanded Marines during the battle for Fallujah in
spring 2004. "Actually it's quite fun to fight them,
you know. It's a hell of a hoot," Mattis said, prompting
laughter from some military members in the audience.
Don’t forget the
desecration of the Quran in Guantanamo Bay where the
holy book of Islam was flushed into toilets by US
interrogators. Copies of the Koran were trampled on by
soldiers. Prisoners were forced to watch copies of the
Koran being flushed down toilets.
Not in distant
past, US Air Force Academy invites Islamophobes to
indoctrinate young cadets against Islam. Three
Isalmaophobes – Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and
Zachariah Anani -were star speakers on February 5, 2008
at the 50th annual United States Air Force Academy
political forum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They
spewed venom against Islam and Muslims to poison the
mind of young cadets.
And in the latest
episode of anti-Islam propaganda this month, a mock
attack is launched against a fake mosque in Irving,
Illinois in a security drill.
Tellingly, US army
attacks on mosques and desecration of mosques in Iraq
are not uncommon. What message this gives to the
soldiers serving in Iraq? Consequently, they have no
sense of sanctity for the symbols of Islam.
No doubt, the
unnamed sergeant’s action emanates from such unabated
and persistent anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda,
desecration of the Quran and attacks on mosques. His
apology does not mean much because he is not alone
responsible for the desecration of the Quran but it is
the army as an institution that is responsible for such
acts.
Hence, Major
General Jeffery Hammond’s apology is not convincing. It
may calm down the anger of the protesting Iraqi people
for the time being but it will not help in preventing
the deepening of anti-American feeling among Muslims in
Iraq and elsewhere.
Khalid Saeed,
American Muslim Voice President, is right when he says
that “unless the official US policy to demean Islam and
Muslims is not changed and attacks on Islamic faith in
the name of freedom of expression are not abandoned we
will see more such incidents in which the Quran and
Mosques will be used as targets.”
Similarly, the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, while commending
the U.S. military’s swift investigation and the apology
by commanders in Iraq pointed out: “Because the actions
of our men and women in uniform reflect on the U.S.
government and people, such incidents contribute to
damaging America's image around the world.”
Regretfully, the
2008 presidential race has also seen deep signs of
Islamophobia as many Republican presidential candidates,
before Senator John McCain’s victory in primaries,
resorted to Islamophobic fear mongering by demonizing
Muslims and Islam. Alarmingly McCain also refuses to
drop “Islamic terror” label and describes a hate
preaching televangelist, Pastor Rod Parsley, as his
"spiritual guide."
Abdus Sattar
Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine
American Muslim Perspective:
www.amperspective.com e-mail:
asghazali@gmail.com |
