President Obama apologizes to Afghanistan for Quran burning

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/25/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Obama tells Karzai that incident was 'inadvertent'

U.S. President Barack Obama has apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the burning of Qurans by NATO troops. Obama called the act "inadvertent" and "an error." In a letter, which was delivered by U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker, Obama said that "We will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, including holding accountable those responsible."

U.S. President Barack Obama has apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the burning of Qurans by NATO troops. Obama called the act 'inadvertent' and 'an error.'

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Afghanistan has erupted in violent demonstrations since the troops' burning of the religious material this week. Two American troops were killed by a man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform, a U.S. official said, asking not to be named discussing casualties.

The gunman is thought to have been working alongside a protest taking place outside the base, the official said.

The recent violence came as the Taliban called on Muslims to attack NATO military bases and convoys and kill its soldiers after the discovery that NATO troops had incinerated the religious material at Bagram Airfield.

Afghan officials urged Afghans to "exercise self-restraint" and "avoid resorting to protests and demonstrations that may provide ground for the enemy to take advantage of the situation."

Investigators called the burning of religious material "insulting and shameful," saying NATO officials had promised to bring the "perpetrators of the crime ... to justice as soon as possible."

The Quran is considered the word of God to those who follow Islam. The book is considered so holy that people are instructed to wash their hands before even touching the sacred book. Desecrating the Quran is viewed as an affront, an act of intolerance and bigotry.

At least two demonstrators were killed in the exchange of gunfire near the base where the two Americans died, Haji Mohammad Hassan, chief of Khugyani district in eastern Nangarhar province says. Two U.S. soldiers and seven demonstrators were injured in the clash.

"We don't know who started the shooting first and what kind of guns were used, but we have started our investigation to find out the details of the incident," Hassan told television journalists. Hassan also said there were 200 to 300 demonstrators but the protest was now under control.

There was also a larger demonstration near a Norwegian-run Provincial Reconstruction Team compound in Maimana, the provincial capital of Faryab province, a regional police spokesman said.

Afghan security forces prevented the 700 to 800 demonstrators from getting into the compound.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Mark Thornburg says that American diplomats in Kabul and the north and south of Afghanistan are on lockdown for a second day in the face of protests.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Quran, burnng, Afghanistan, apology, demonstrations

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1 - 4 of 4 Comments

Eve Dallas
1 year ago
I don't know if the censors will allow this comment, but in hopese that they do--David, so are you arguing one offender should never apologize if another offender refuses to? Were that the case, society would cease to function as everyone stopped, waiting for an apology that may never come. Maybe some people just have a conscience that pricks them more strongly. Note I am not a Democrat and did not vote for President Obama, so this isn't a 'fan' sticking up for Mr. Obama because I think he can do no wrong. My parents always taught me that to apologize for a wrong I committed, even if it was unintentional or just perceived as a wrong by the other person, made ME a better person. It is something I in turn taught my children. Obama is the 'better' person for his apology; Karzaii simply comes off as the lesser for it, as he issued no apology. I thought it was refreshing to see a president say something, NOT calculating the political gain or loss that could result from it. And funnily enough, there have been no more shootings as a result, there are no further large protests. Of course, the media, and Newt Gingrich, fail to mention THAT. As for the president being some kind of apologist, sadly one would think that if one only got their news from conservative sources, which conveniently cherry-pick what the president says so that it supports their bias. But the truth removes bias. And anyone who calls themselves Christian I would think would be interested in the actual truth. I imagine Christ preferred the truth over distortion or an outright lie. And the TRUTH about the so-called apology president is easily discoverable:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/02/obamas_apology_tour.html

Maybe if our politicians did not lie so often, their favorable ratings would not be in the 30% range. People like Mr. Gingrich do not deserve respect if it is not earned. And in this specific case, he gets NO respect. Who respects a liar, or someone who deliberately distorts the facts? He calls himself a Christian. Would that he ACTED like one.

As for "un-Christlike" comments, you made exactly such a comment with your dig at Pelosi and Sebelius. If someone calls themself Christian, one would think they'd be mindful to truly BE Christ-like...
Alex
1 year ago
Rose, I agree with you. That said, I don't think it was ever right for Americans to burn the Quran. I'm not sure if I'd apologize for it. I don't think it was really a bad idea for Obama to do so. I don't think the burning should have ever taken place. Then again, as disrespectful as it is, I guess I do think it's an acceptable form of non-violent protest.

But the main point here is that he apologizes for things like this constantly while trampling over plenty of Christians in this country and around the world, not just Catholics either.
David D.
1 year ago
"Desecrating the Quran is viewed as an affront, an act of intolerance and bigotry?" Uhhmmm ... so what would killing people who didn't have anything to do with desecrating that book be considered? Just asking. Catholic Online folks ... you do know that by publishing articles like this you are putting us all in the "proximity of sin" and when we invariably fall to the temptation of posting very un-Christlike comments of outrage at the actions of radical Islamists you, by association, are also guilty of committing that sin? I'm biting my tongue just thinking about the many things I could write. Let's just leave it at Islam is not a religion of peace and tolerance regardless of what those pandering to it might have us believe. To its ardent practicing believers (not to be confused with ardent, practicing believers of the Catholic Faith like Nancy Pelosi and Kathleen Sebelius - ackk!) It is rooted in aggression and its views are towards domination, It accommodates the beliefs of others as long as 'non-believers' (dhimmi) subjugate themselves to Islamic law, doctrine, and rule and pay monetary penalties (jizya) as a sign of that submission. I'm pretty sure In the States we call that extortion. Even the mafia didn't make excuses or try to hide behind some innocuous term like "general short-term health and business security insurance rider" for the protection money they extorted from the local community. Was it a mistake? Yes. Should we have apologize? No. That should have come from NATO. And we should make it very, very, very clear that the killing of two American Soldiers will not pass without consequences and that any further violence against our troops and our citizens will not be tolerated. But that's not going to happen, is it? Instead, we will soon have a government mandated program of (here, I'll even write the mandate description for the course brochure) "Sensitivity training for all non-Muslim citizens developed to encourage love, brotherhood, and tolerance of our friendly neighborhood radical Islamist group. Program highlights will include the basic requirements of and practice in acts of submission towards your aggressor. Mandatory classes will be conducted annually for all children grades K - 12. Citizens between the ages of 17 - 75 need only attend this class once. Random checks of compliance will be conducted under appropriate government auspices. Citizens over 75 will be exempt from classes as you will probably be killed at some point anyways for failing to exhibit any inclination to submit as a result of your thick-headed, stolid Christian beliefs." (((Nuts ... now see what you guys made me do!)))
Rose
1 year ago
We are sorry we burned the Quran, (even though our own government has burned Bibles deemed offensive to Muslims), but we are not sorry we want to trash 2000 years of Catholic values. Love, the Obama Administration

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