The Day Newsweek Bungled

More than 16 deaths were reported and dozens injured following violent protests from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Indonesia, Gaza and even to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Arab League. So much loss of life and sufferings all on account of one article that may or may not even be true. And would you believe that article came from--Newsweek? The magazine we all grew up with and have always held to be truthful and reliable?

Why would a single article spark so much violence and unrest? Newsweek, in its May 23 edition, said that according to a "knowledgeable government source," interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed at least one copy of the Koran down a toilet in order to make the detainees talk. We all know that the detainees there are mostly, if not all, Muslims.

And what is (the) Koran? According to Wikipedia.org, the Koran, or Quran, is the holy book of Islam. Muslims believe that it is the literal word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel. Muslims believe in the Koran in the same way as Christians believe in the Bible, though the belief and respect of the Muslims on the Koran is much more passionate. It is said that "none shall touch the Koran save the purified ones." Obviously, the Newsweek writers alleged that not only did the 'unpurified ones' touch the Koran, but they even flushed it down the toilet.

Now that is a really stupid thing to do--to actually have done it, and to write about it and publish it for all the world to read. Isn't the time we live in dangerous enough? Do we need to add more sparks to ignite more violence?

The utter lack of sensitivity is also the problem here. Even if the report was true, the weekly magazine shouldn't have mentioned it in the article. And if they have really gotten hold of such a report, they should have alerted the government against such offensive and dangerous practice by the military. The U.S. government has been trying it's best to project a good image within the Muslim world in its bid to curtail insurgencies in troubled Iraq and Afghanistan. But alas, the Newsweek article is a big blow to its campaign. It will take months, perhaps years, and a lot of diplomatic kowtowing to undo what has been done. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would probably have to go back to Iraq secretly again to appease our Muslim brothers in that region.

I wonder, however, since the report has already been found to be untrue, where did the idea of the Koran being flushed down come from?

Nathaniel Quest frequently writes articles on diverse topics. He is the owner and publisher of http://www.kelly-blue-book-cars-boats.com, http://www.newboo.com and http://shoes.marketphil.com