Taliban try to take advantage of Koran burning tantrums
Image via WikipediaOne clear beneficiary has emerged from the wave of deadly riots that swept Afghanistan after members of a Florida evangelical church burned a copy of the Koran: the Taliban.While it is not surprising that the Taliban would try to take advantage of chaos produced by the violent infantile reaction to the Koran burning, we should quit acting like this response is a reasonable one to an act they do not like. These people are doing greater harm to Islam and the respect people have for it than the burning of the book ever could have.
The insurgents, according to Afghan and Western officials, have been able to exploit the ongoing tumult, using riots as cover for attacks against Western and government targets and reaping propaganda benefits by allying themselves with popular fury over the desecration of the Muslim holy book.
Moreover, the violence has fueled tensions among NATO allies, Western diplomats say, sparked as it was by an American figure, albeit a fringe one. The riots have tapped a well of anti-foreign and particularly anti-American sentiment that exists even among Afghans who do not condone the deaths that have occurred.
On Sunday, Afghans took to the streets for a third straight day, in Jalalabad and Kandahar, to protest last month's torching of a copy of the Koran by followers of Terry Jones, a Gainesville, Fla.-based pastor. Officials in Kandahar reported at least two more deaths and dozens of injuries; the Jalalabad protest, though angry and impassioned, was largely peaceful.
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What kind of people let some guy who disagrees with them about religion pull their chain and set them off a rampage of mass murder. This reaction is one that lacks sanity. It gives the impression that there is something about Islam that makes some of its followers crazy.
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