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.