Newsweek and the Desecration of the Koran

While the desecration of anything which is sacred to another is inherently wrong, I tend to believe the initial version of the Newsweek story on the desecration of the Koran at GITMO.

Why...? Quite simple. In US prisons, it is common practice for guards to go into an inmates cell while they are seeing a visitor or otherwise out of their cell and toss the cell. They will then throw whatever the inmate holds most dear, be it a family photo, prayer beads, a Bible, A Koran...in the toilet. So it would not surprise me that a common tactic used to break prisoners here in the US would be used in attempting to break detainees being interrogated at GITMO, Abu-Ghraib, or any of the other unknown and unnamed US detention facilities around the world.

It would not require any great stretch of the imagination to think that the administration put pressure on the editorial board at Newsweek to quash the story and discredit their source. Given the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy and aversion to the truth, it is very likely the case.

Here are sources backing up the Newsweek story:

72.They were never given prayer mats and initially they didn’t get a Koran. When the Korans were provided, they were kicked and thrown about by the guards and on occasion thrown in the buckets used for the toilets. This kept happening. When it happened it was always said to be an accident but it was a recurrent theme.

74.Asif says that ‘it was impossible to pray because initially we did not know the direction to pray, but also given that we couldn’t move and the harassment rom the guards, it was simply not feasible. The behaviour of the guards towards our religious practices as well as the Koran was also, in my view, designed to cause us as much distress as possible. They would kick the Koran, throw it into the toilet and generally disrespect it. It is clear to me that he conditions in our cells and our general treatment were designed by the officers in charge of the interrogation process to “soften us up”’.

Detainees also complained about the interference with their ability to pray and the lack of respect given to their religion. For example, the British detainees state that they were never given prayer mats and initially were not provided Korans. They also complained that when the Korans were provided, the guards “would kick the Koran, throw it into the toilet and generally disrespect it.” - Human Rights Watch, October 2004

These revelations are nothing new, they are simply being used to pressure media outlets, which question Administration policy, to toe the ideological line. Chairman of the JCS, General Richard Meyers, stated that the riots in Afghanistan have more to do with the general dissatisfaction with the political process than anything else. So, this coincidental violence provides yet another opportunity for the Administration to force US media outlets to come to heel.