MUSALMAN PE AUR EK ZULUM

Quran burning would endanger U.S. troops, Petraeus tells church

KABUL (AFP) – The U.S. commander of the Afghan war has warned that his troops' lives will be endangered if a Florida evangelical church goes ahead with a planned burning of the Holy Quran on Saturday's 9/11 anniversary.

General David Petraeus said the planned torching of Islam's holy book would be a propaganda coup for the Taliban in Afghanistan and stoke anti-U.S. sentiment across the Muslim world.

Afghanistan, where Petraeus leads a 150,000-strong U.S.-led NATO force against the Taliban fighters, is a deeply devout Islamic country.

Actions seen by Afghans as against their religion or even allegations that Western troops have insulted the Quran have led to deadly violence in the past.

On Monday about 200 men gathered near a mosque in the capital Kabul to protest against the planned torching, shouting “death to America” and “long live Islam” for about an hour after their midday prayer, witnesses said.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida says it will burn copies of the Quran on this weekend's ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in protest.

Petraeus said of the plan: “It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall war effort in Afghanistan.

“It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community,” the general said in an emailed statement.

“I am very concerned by the potential repercussions of the possible Quran burning,” Petraeus added.

“Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday,” he said, adding that an actual burning would put the safety of U.S. soldiers and civilian workers in jeopardy.

In January seven tribesmen were killed by gunfire from Afghan security forces trying to disperse angry crowds during a demonstration sparked by allegations that U.S. troops had torched the Muslim holy book.

An investigation by NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan authorities found that no Quran was desecrated following a military operation by the alliance force in the southern province of Helmand.

The planned protest by the 50-member Florida congregation -- whose Facebook page bears the motto “Islam Is Of The Devil” -- has already triggered outrage in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

In late August about 100 Indonesian Islamists demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta and threatened jihad or holy war if the U.S. Christian group went through with the event.

Alleged desecration of the Quran by U.S. troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq has been an incendiary issue in the past, including when a U.S. soldier deployed to Iraq riddled a copy of the holy book with bullets in 2008.

A subsequent demonstration by about 2,000 people in central Afghanistan turned violent, with a Lithuanian soldier and two civilians killed in an exchange of gunfire between protesters and police.

The Florida church's pastor, Terry Jones, said Petraeus' concerns were “legitimate”.