KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two protesters died and four were injured as Afghans protested for a third day Sunday against a plan by an American pastor to burn copies of the Islamic holy book, despite his decision to call off the action.
Mohammad Rahim Amin, chief of the Baraki Barak district in eastern Logar province, said the deaths and injuries occurred when Afghan soldiers opened fire on hundreds of protesters who were trying to storm the local government headquarters.
During recent protests against the Quran burning, Afghans have regularly targeted the pro-Western government.
Terry Jones, pastor of a small Florida church, said Saturday that “we feel that God is telling us to stop” the Quran burning, which was to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
The plan to burn the Quran stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide.
The protesters in Logar chanted “Death to America” and burned tires, attacked several shops and set election campaign posters on fire, Amin said.
“I can say for sure that this was the work of the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan who are trying to use any opportunity to disrupt the security situation” in the country, Amin said.
In a country where most people have limited access to newspapers, television and the Internet, many Afghans seemed unaware of Jones’ decision to call off the Quran burning.
Meanwhile, a Taliban commander who planned rocket attacks on polling stations during elections next week and four other insurgents were killed in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.
The military alliance said NATO and Afghan forces killed the five insurgents Saturday night in a village compound in the eastern Nangarhar province. The insurgents were killed after they “displayed hostile intent” as the forces moved in on the compound, it said in a statement.
It said intelligence reports indicated the Taliban commander was planning to conduct rocket attacks on voting centers during the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. The Taliban has vowed to target polling stations and warned Afghans not to participate in what it called a sham vote.
The government and its Western allies hope the elections for the lower house of parliament will help consolidate the country’s fragile democracy, leading to the withdrawal of the roughly 140,000 NATO-led foreign troops in the country. But many Afghans and foreign observers fear the vote could turn bloody if the Taliban carries out its threats.
“The Afghan people deserve to cast their votes without fear of attacks from the insurgent groups,” U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres said in the NATO statement. “We are tracking them and taking action before they’re able to carry out their plans.”
NATO said the killed Taliban commander had participated in “intimidation campaigns and assassinations” and was directly linked to a February suicide bomb attack that killed Haji Zaman, a well-known tribal elder and warlord in eastern Afghanistan.
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At this point the man is unidentified. But his motives are clear.
Islam has control over Americans and our freedoms. Are you willing to let a religion like Islam have control over our rights as Americans? I know the left are willing to give it all away to them while the left call Christians the Taliban. I'm getting sick and tired of the left wing and the Muslims having two separate rules,one for us and one for them. They want to stop freedom of speech when it comes to burning the Quaran and in the same breath they want to have the freedom to burn the Bible and the American flag. I tell you one thing I think it's incredible how we give up our freedoms for fear of the left wing fundamentalist and Islamic fundamentalist retribution. Not to mention that Islam and the left wing are an unholy alliance. If the Muslims have their way with this country they would behead all the liberals like they do in Muslim run countries. Liberals want to go against the laws of all three religions,Christian,Jewish and Islam. But we all know that the left are using the Muslims to get what they want and that is the destruction of America as we know it. "The friend of my friend is my enemy".
Mohammad Rahim Amin, chief of the Baraki Barak district in eastern Logar province, said the deaths and injuries occurred when Afghan soldiers opened fire on hundreds of protesters who were trying to storm the local government headquarters.
During recent protests against the Quran burning, Afghans have regularly targeted the pro-Western government.
Terry Jones, pastor of a small Florida church, said Saturday that “we feel that God is telling us to stop” the Quran burning, which was to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
The plan to burn the Quran stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide.
The protesters in Logar chanted “Death to America” and burned tires, attacked several shops and set election campaign posters on fire, Amin said.
“I can say for sure that this was the work of the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan who are trying to use any opportunity to disrupt the security situation” in the country, Amin said.
In a country where most people have limited access to newspapers, television and the Internet, many Afghans seemed unaware of Jones’ decision to call off the Quran burning.
Meanwhile, a Taliban commander who planned rocket attacks on polling stations during elections next week and four other insurgents were killed in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.
The military alliance said NATO and Afghan forces killed the five insurgents Saturday night in a village compound in the eastern Nangarhar province. The insurgents were killed after they “displayed hostile intent” as the forces moved in on the compound, it said in a statement.
It said intelligence reports indicated the Taliban commander was planning to conduct rocket attacks on voting centers during the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. The Taliban has vowed to target polling stations and warned Afghans not to participate in what it called a sham vote.
The government and its Western allies hope the elections for the lower house of parliament will help consolidate the country’s fragile democracy, leading to the withdrawal of the roughly 140,000 NATO-led foreign troops in the country. But many Afghans and foreign observers fear the vote could turn bloody if the Taliban carries out its threats.
“The Afghan people deserve to cast their votes without fear of attacks from the insurgent groups,” U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres said in the NATO statement. “We are tracking them and taking action before they’re able to carry out their plans.”
NATO said the killed Taliban commander had participated in “intimidation campaigns and assassinations” and was directly linked to a February suicide bomb attack that killed Haji Zaman, a well-known tribal elder and warlord in eastern Afghanistan.
___
At this point the man is unidentified. But his motives are clear.
Islam has control over Americans and our freedoms. Are you willing to let a religion like Islam have control over our rights as Americans? I know the left are willing to give it all away to them while the left call Christians the Taliban. I'm getting sick and tired of the left wing and the Muslims having two separate rules,one for us and one for them. They want to stop freedom of speech when it comes to burning the Quaran and in the same breath they want to have the freedom to burn the Bible and the American flag. I tell you one thing I think it's incredible how we give up our freedoms for fear of the left wing fundamentalist and Islamic fundamentalist retribution. Not to mention that Islam and the left wing are an unholy alliance. If the Muslims have their way with this country they would behead all the liberals like they do in Muslim run countries. Liberals want to go against the laws of all three religions,Christian,Jewish and Islam. But we all know that the left are using the Muslims to get what they want and that is the destruction of America as we know it. "The friend of my friend is my enemy".
BEKASI, Indonesia (AP) — Assailants stabbed a Christian worshipper in the stomach and pounded a minister in the head with a wooden plank as they headed to morning prayers Sunday outside Indonesia’s capital.
ReplyDeleteNeither of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. But suspicion immediately fell on Islamic hard-liners who have repeatedly warned members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church against worshipping on a field housing their now-shuttered church.
In recent months, they have thrown shoes and water bottles at the church members, interrupted sermons with chants of “Infidels!“ and ”Leave Now!” and dumped piles of feces on the land.
Local police Chief Imam Sugianto said Asia Sihombing, a worshipper, was on his way to the field when assailants jumped off a motorcycle and stabbed him in the stomach.
The Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak was smashed in the head as she tried to come to his aid.
“I was trying to help get him onto a motorcycle so we could get him to a hospital,” she told reporters in the industrial city of Bekasi, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Jakarta.
She said the face of one of the assailants looked familiar.
Indonesia, a secular country of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any other in the world. Though it has a long history of religious tolerance, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.
Leading the charge against the Batak Christians has been the Islamic Defenders Front, which is pushing for the implementation of Islamic-based laws in Bekasi and other parts of the nation.
They are known for smashing bars, attacking transvestites and going after those considered blasphemous with bamboo clubs and stones. They also pressured the local government early this year to shutter the Batak church.
Perpetrators are rarely punished or even questioned by police.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who relies heavily on Islamic parties in parliament, has been widely criticized in the media for failing to crack down on hard-liners.
But he immediately called on authorities to investigate and to hold accountable those responsible for Sunday’s attack.
“We know who’s behind it,” said Maj. Gen. Timur Pradopo, the police chief in Jakarta, without elaborating. “But I don’t believe this is an inter-religous conflict.”
I thought you anti-Christian liberals would like to see this report.