White House Apologizes For Quran Burning

WASHINGTON -- The White House is apologizing for the burning of Muslim holy books in a pile of garbage at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Press secretary Jay Carney says it's a "deeply unfortunate incident" and doesn't reflect the respect the U.S. military has for the religious practices of the Afghan people.

Carney echoed military officials Tuesday in saying that the Quran burning at Bagram Air Field happened unintentionally, and that an investigation was being undertaken to understand why it did and ensure it didn't happen again.

A Western military official said the Qurans were removed from a library at a nearby detention center because they contained extremist messages. Carney didn't address those specifics, referring questions to defense officials.

He said the administration was following the matter closely.

Comments

[jbarelli]

12:24 PM on 02/26/2012

Young men in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and many other Muslim countries read this.

Some of them are coming back from listening to some angry guy shouting about how all Americans hate Muslims, and how we are at war with Islam, and they're looking at American websites, such as this one, to try to find out what we really think.

Are we really their enemy, or are we what our President claims that we are, a multicultural nation where people of all faiths, are considered equal?

They listen to our campaign speeches as well, along with the pundits. Those on the left, talking about equality and religious freedom, those on the right, condemning Muslims as terrorists.

Some will read the words here and just decide that the radicals are correct.

More of them might wait to see which side of this debate wins in the upcoming Presidential elections. Are more of us in favor of leaders that are willing to reach out to Islamic countries and consider their own Muslim citizens to be full members of their society?

Or, are we going to elect people who have called Islam a "religion of hate"?

Some leaders in Islamic countries need us as an enemy. Iran refused to deal with President Carter, but was thrilled when President Reagan was elected. (Of course, he wasn't just a handy enemy, but also sold them weapons.)

What do we want to do next?

[sobaytransplant]

04:21 AM on 02/24/2012

Okay, I had been trying to find out the details on this issue for days and finally landed here in this thread tonight. I simply CANNOT stay. This is some of the U G L I E S T and most I G N O R A N T Obama bashing I've seen in a while... and that's a stretch because I hear it almost every day on this site. You guys win the prize for nas ti ness, though! I'm just LEAVING before I get filthy from all the over-spray.

Strangely enough, those of you calling yourselves "Christians" are the worst ones here.

Jesus wept.

[jshook99]

11:30 AM on 02/23/2012

Pathetic, Kissing up to the Killers of Our Men.

[AdaNewbie]

08:17 AM on 02/23/2012

Pathetic. I never heard any Muslim apologizing for burning our flag.

[Vlad Roudenko]

09:02 PM on 02/23/2012

Is your flag sacred?

[IndependentRule]

12:20 AM on 02/24/2012

To Those who gave their lives for it ,it is...

[maxmanbrew]

09:22 AM on 02/24/2012

To me it is and should be to you.

[abhorson]

04:10 AM on 02/23/2012

how about they apologize for giving safe heaven to Osama and Al Queda ??? until then, I don't care.

[tab123]

08:56 AM on 02/23/2012

you should care for our troops over there.

[abhorson]

09:52 AM on 02/23/2012

that's the ONLY thing I do care about ... give them different orders... they could impose order in no time !! we're way too effin' nice...

[Sableknows]

09:25 PM on 02/22/2012

Apologizing for America again. Rev. Wright already damned it, not much left for us, is there?

[tab123]

08:57 AM on 02/23/2012

Idiot!! Do you even care about the troops fighting over there?? Shut UP!!!!!

[SIMPLICIMUSS]

02:38 PM on 02/23/2012

Wow, Wonder if Rev Rite knows ??

[Sableknows]

04:00 PM on 02/23/2012

What. That he damned America? Those were his own words.

[OldFreddie]

09:06 PM on 02/22/2012

I'd have much more respect for this President as a religious man if he apologized for constantly voting against the ban against letting babies born alive in botched abortions receive medical care, which he did as a state senator in Illinois. A Quran is still just paper with printing on it, a "fetus" born alive is a human being, and to let it die from lack of medical care is murder.

[tab123]

08:59 AM on 02/23/2012

Those troops dying over there are someone's son, brother or husband. Your attitude is putting them in danger. You guys are so frustrating!!!

[A level Head]

10:45 AM on 02/23/2012

NO --- What is putting them in danger is the Commander In Chief who is not issuing the order to withdraw

[WBMD]

06:38 PM on 02/23/2012

Whoa up there, Tab.

What is "putting them in danger", the men that are tasked with building a nation for those Afghanis, are the Afghanis, themselves, who believe it is entirely acceptable to kill to "regain honour".

Same mentality as those "rational" Iranians Obama was talking about.

[SIMPLICIMUSS]

02:40 PM on 02/23/2012

Comes under the label of Womens Reproductive Health Care !

[THOMAS4GOD]

06:16 PM on 02/22/2012

Let him apologize for the millions for children abortion MURDERS each year,something he supports,and the giving of billions of tax dollars to do so.Mr Obama is a LIAR and a servant of Satan and gets No respect from me as a President or Man !!!

[stjoanofarc01]

09:01 PM on 02/22/2012

I don't think so. Any one person has no right to tell another person what to do with their own body. That is between that person and their God!!!

[THOMAS4GOD]

10:56 PM on 02/22/2012

Good attitude !! That's why our country is in the shape it is,people with your ignorance !!You don't know God !! Your body doesn't belong to you,It was bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ !! Read your Bible !!!

[allmytaylors]

02:37 PM on 02/25/2012

And when doing a late term abortion, the baby happens to be born alive then killed. Whose body is it at that moment? They baby has been born and is living. It's called infanticide. Why doesn't that living baby doesn't have the right to live?

[tab123]

09:00 AM on 02/23/2012

You sound intelligent.

[evesapple]

06:07 PM on 02/22/2012

Only way out is to by some Qurans and distribute them.

[Michael Dobson]

03:57 PM on 02/22/2012

It's a head fake. Obama is a Muslim.

Franklin Graham said so...

[Killermolls44]

06:46 PM on 02/22/2012

Yes because everyone knows Mr. Graham is a mind reader!

[Michael Dobson]

11:22 PM on 02/22/2012

Absolutely. I have such a man-crush. lol.

[SIMPLICIMUSS]

02:44 PM on 02/23/2012

....No,, maybe he saw his application to the Franciskus school in Jakarta .

[SIMPLICIMUSS]

02:42 PM on 02/23/2012

.....So did his official Gov`t issued ID in Indonesia !

[kennymi1962]

03:43 PM on 02/22/2012

When I went to Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. Deployed to Saudi Arabia. We couldn't even bring a Bible into that country.

[abhorson]

04:12 AM on 02/23/2012

you don't count ... because you keep apologizing...

[goairforce]

03:57 PM on 02/23/2012

Yep, I remember that well. No cross wearing, or at least, not viewable, either.

[zc91377]

03:42 PM on 02/22/2012

i love how he is appologetic for the burning of a book but has no problem forcing christian based religons to violate their moral beliefs in the name of b.c.

[huco123]

04:19 PM on 02/22/2012

Exactly. How about when Christians were gunned down in the streets of Egypt. Obama asked them to "show restraint." We burned books that had Islamic extremists notes in them and we have to apologize? Your not even allowed to carry a bible in Afghanistan. I do not go to church but I see no reason that the Christians should "show restraint" while Muslims get to cry out at the slightest little percieved attack.

[abhorson]

04:13 AM on 02/23/2012

that's cause if you're white and/or Christian you are to blame for everything...

[lionhunt]

04:20 AM on 02/23/2012

The Holy book does not potrait any extremist notes

Just if you don't know anything, you should not speak rubbish

Do you answer to the questions not related to it at all?

In our country no one ever have such extremists view as you posses

[Bill Edelman]

04:29 PM on 02/22/2012

And if Afghan soldiers burned copies of the Holy Bible in, say, Peoria, you'd be okay with that? And don't forget that the Bible was used by Popes to justify and conduct the Crusades.

[oakhilliron]

08:36 PM on 02/22/2012

They've burned the bible and our flag and we've said nothing.

[zc91377]

11:16 PM on 02/22/2012

I COULD CARE LESS.

[Shacking]

03:14 PM on 02/22/2012

Again apologizing to the muslims, if it was a good fire a bar-b-q would have been nice featuring PORK of course.

[abhorson]

04:14 AM on 02/23/2012

enjoy it while you can ... Greeks in Turkey aren't allowed any longer.

[lionhunt]

04:21 AM on 02/23/2012

i know your skin is surely made of that P***

You know i don't speak that word at all

i hate it a lot as i hate your extremist views

[Keith Dyett]

02:51 PM on 02/22/2012

My question is this, when it comes to Muslims and the Quran, is this book supposed to be the Be all and End all, of their religion. So how come Muslims are de-facing their own texts by writing in them. Did Americans de-face these books, no Muslims did, So why are Muslims mad at America again.... Next time we should show the Muslim world how much there own people really respect their religion by showing images of the messages written in their Holy Books, which are handed down from the Prophet. How bad can these message be, we know they already hate us

[Bill Edelman]

04:33 PM on 02/22/2012

Good Christians have defaced Bibles. They've sent secret messages in them, carved out hiding spaces for weapons, and worse. Robert Louis Stevenson knew all about this when he described the desecration of a Bible by good Christian pirates in "Treasure Island." Try reading instead of thumping books.

[Keith Dyett]

12:50 AM on 02/23/2012

I'm not saying the Christians have not defaced bibles, I just trying to understand the rationale behind "Good Muslims" defacing the Quran. It the Quran not sacred to "All Muslim. How does Christian Pirates figure into the discussion.

[jbarelli]

08:02 PM on 02/22/2012

One reason this situation is so bad.

Had the junior officer in charge of this detail simply gathered the defaced Qu'rans and given them to a supportive local Imam, it would have avoided the problem with Muslims angry that we burned Qu'rans, and as an extra, added bonus, given that supportive Imam an opportunity to show how the extremists don't honor Islam.

This was a dumb mistake by a junior officer, and President Obama is doing his best to deal with it. Hopefully, said junior officer is on his way to his next assignment, counting snowflakes out at Fort Greely, Alaska. (JO's that make mistakes so bad that the President needs to get personally involved have normally reached the pinnacle of their career.)

Of course, some folks here are only happy with solutions that include a whole lot of dead Muslims.

[maxmanbrew]

09:58 AM on 02/24/2012

Did they gather up the two dead soldiers and present them to anyone? You make me sick We know what party you do belong to

[Cynthia Shore]

02:30 PM on 02/22/2012

I read the first headline "White House Apologizes For 'Deeply Unfortunate Incident'" and thought Obama finally came to his senses and apologized to the Catholics for his egregious mistake with them. - Guess not

[most reasonable]

03:27 PM on 02/22/2012

"Obama finally came to his senses and apologized to the Catholics for his egregious mistake with them. - Guess not"

The Bishops want Obama to replace "Liberty" with the virgin Mary on all capital buildings.

[Cynthia Shore]

03:53 PM on 02/22/2012

get a grip - Catholics just don't want their rights stripped from them. civil rights issue

[Michael Dobson]

04:01 PM on 02/22/2012

Hey. He's got the Pope salt and pepper shakers, what more do you want?