Don't burn Qurans, U.S. embassy in Pakistan urges church

[Turborama]

Source: CNN International

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan condemned a Florida church's plan to burn the Quran, the Muslim holy book, as "disrespectful, intolerant and divisive," in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are deeply concerned about all deliberate attempts to offend members of any religious or ethnic group," said Stephen Engelken, the second-ranking diplomat at the embassy.

=snip=

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday issued a statement saying the U.S. government "in no way condones such acts of disrespect against the religion of Islam, and is deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups." It emphasized that it strongly condemned "the offensive messages, which are contrary to U.S. government policy and deeply offensive to Muslims especially during the month of Ramadan."

"Americans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds reject the offensive initiative by this small group in Florida. A great number of American voices are protesting the hurtful statements made by this organization," the Afghanistan embassy said.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/08/pakistan.us.quran.burning/#fbid=5tFS21of5oJ&wom=false

[Turborama]

1. BTW I don't think the Embassy actually said "Don't burn Qurans", that's CNN's spin

(I tried to add this as an edit but for some reason I just got a load of blank spaces when I tried)

[Dappleganger]

2. They should just ignore this idiot.

Thom Hartmann did a good job on his show today exposing Jones for who he really is--a Jim Jones wannabe who deserves to be IGNORED.

[Turborama]

3. Impossible. It has been headline news all over the world for several days

24/7 live satellite news stations such as CNN International, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, Sky News, Faux news are broadcasting lead stories on it, globally.

Faux news is broadcast live all over Pakistan by 84 different providers, as I detailed http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8976871">here.

I'm an expat living in Indonesia and the English language newspapers here such as The Jakarta Post and The Jakarta Globe are covering it, not sure how it's being covered in Indonesian language papers but it's a big story on Indonesian TV, too.

[Dappleganger]

4. It's shame but extremists are protected

by the Freedom to Be Stupid.

[Spiderzumbie]

7. Well, Such is life.

If we are to take away their rights, we'd be no better than the Conservatives.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. no one is taking away their right...

to burn the Koran- they are asking them not to do it. Welcome to DU

[jwirr]

5. This fool who wants to burn the Koran must be totally ignorant of the

fact that many of our allies also read the Koran. But the truth is that he probably doesn't care about the American people living in those countries either. The blood of our fellow citizens is on his hands.

[Spiderzumbie]

6. I'm not suprised if this kills Americans over seas.

These guys who want to burn the Quran are essentially creating hate against the west. How would they feel if he saw a bunch of forigners burning, destroying, and defecating the bible? They would scream! They Would Fight! THEY WOULD NOT STOP UNTIL THE DEFACATORS WERE GONE!

That's exactly what muslims, here at home and abroad, think! Imagine: young youths in Afghanistan are told this story by their Taliban recruiters! They, maybe originally doubting the move to fundamentalism, would now embrace bringing a fight to the westerners who wish to destroy thier moral guide! This will increase the number of recruits for the Islamic Fundamentalists, Started by the Christian Fundamentalists!

[Bragi]

8. I regret this statement is incomplete

I regret that none of statements from the administration have pointed out that anyone in America is free to insult any religion they wish, and that allowing such speech to take place does not mean that anyone agrees with it.

My concern is that without continually pointing out that this offense cannot be stopped because of the First Amendment, that many Muslims will believe that this act could be stopped, and that by allowing it to happen, the government, and by extension Americans, actually support what Jones is doing.

This is NOT the time to remain silent about what free speech actually means -- that people In America are free to be offensive.

[Drale]

9. I still dont understand

how does one "church" (and i use that term losely) with like 50 people attending get so much power?

[awoke_in_2003]

12. how does one blonde girl disappearing...

in a country of 300+ million get so much power- the 24 hour news cycle and ratings.

[Towlie]

10. Sell them a bunch of these to burn. They won't know the difference!

http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Sharif-Translation-Arabic/dp/0976601400/ref=sr_1_3

[awoke_in_2003]

13. No, they wouldn't....

my base instincts say it would be rather comical, but I really chafe at the thought of burning any book.

[iamthebandfanman]

15. lol n/t

[James48]

14. Good video- where are the republican voices

Here's a link to a video asking "Where are the republican voices opposed to this?"

http://www.necn.com/09/08/10/Braude-No-word-from-GOP-on-Koran-burning/landing_politics.html?blockID=306941&feedID=4212

No word from republican leadership.