Guantanamo case angers RI Muslims

Guantanamo case angers RI Muslims

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Anti-U.S. sentiment erupted around Indonesia, the world's largest
Muslim nation, on Friday following reports that interrogators
desecrated Korans at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba.

Hundreds of Muslims gathered at the Al-Azhar mosque in South
Jakarta to express their outrage over the incident. The
protesters included those from hardline Islamist groups such as
Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI)
and the Islam Defender Front (FPI).

They demanded President George W. Bush explain the incident
and apologize to Muslims worldwide.

"We strongly deplore the desecration of the Koran by the U.S.
authorities," Muhammad Al-Khattath from Hizbuth Tahrir Indonesia
said as quoted by DPA.

"We demand the U.S. apologize to the Islamic community around
the world and punish severely any people found to be
responsible."

A similar protest was held in the South Sulawesi capital of
Makassar, where dozens of students rallied outside hotels and
attempted raids on the premises to search for American citizens
and allied nationalities.

Private radio Elshinta reported from Makassar that the
students tried to enter the Arya Duta Hotel but security officers
prevented them.

Before marching to the hotels, the demonstrators staged a
rally on the Islamic State University campus, where a U.S. flag
was set on fire, the report said.

U.S-based Newsweek magazine recently reported that
investigators looking into abuses at the U.S. military prison in
Cuba had found interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and
in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet".

The report sparked violent protests in Afghanistan that have
killed three people and drawn harsh words from Pakistan.

Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty
Natalegawa condemned the incident, saying any such desecration
would be intolerable and abominable.

"If proven true, it would be an insulting and immoral act
because any kind of holy book, such as the Koran or the Bible,
must be respected," he said.

The U.S. interrogators had taken part in unethical and immoral
acts, he said. "For that reason, (Indonesia) has demanded that
the U.S. government take stern measures against the
perpetrators."

However, the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), urged all sides to remain calm, saying they had faith
Washington would adequately investigate the report.

"I am sure the there is a particular legal article in the
United States that covers this matter. Let's wait for the
investigation. I'm sure that (the U.S.) will look into this
matter," Ali Maschan Moesa told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged calm among
Muslims around the world, insisting Washington would fully
investigate the matter.

"Our military authorities are investigating these allegations
fully. If they are proven true, we will take appropriate action,"
she said in remark as reported by the United States Embassy in
Jakarta on Friday.

"Disrespect of the holy Koran is not now, nor has it ever
been, nor will it be, tolerated by the United States. We honor
the sacred books of the world's great religions. Disrespect of
the holy Koran is abhorrent to us all," Rice said.