RUTHFULLY YOURS

Troops at a Bagram Airfield were ensnared in controversy after burning copies of the Koran, it was revealed this week. The Korans, as reported by CNN, weren’t just Korans; they apparently also served as a form of communication between detainees with “extremist” writings in them:

A military official said the materials were removed from the detainee center’s library because they had “extremist inscriptions” on them and there was “an appearance that these documents were being used to facilitate extremist communications.”

They had to be disposed of somehow if Muslims were defacing their holy book to communicate with each other. Once it was discovered that troops were burning the defaced books, outrage ensued, and the US stepped in and stopped the burnings. Obama apologized to Karzai for the incident, promising that it wouldn’t happen again. Meanwhile, Afghans, cheered on by the Taliban, rioted and threatened to kill Americans.

Rahmat Gul / AP

Protesters burned tires and threw rocks outside Camp Phoenix, close to the Kabul International Airport, the U.S. Embassy said in its official Twitter feed. It asked Americans to avoid the area, saying the protests had “turned violent.” It also suspended all travel. On Tuesday, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside a detention facility in Parwan, according to Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a coalition spokesman. Jacobson said protesters tried to penetrate the facility, prompting NATO helicopter to launch flares and authorities to fire rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. A day later in Kabul, about 400 to 500 people rallied, including university students who marched toward the Parliament building, police said. In Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, hundreds chanted “Down with America” as crowds gathered near the local airport.

In retaliation, an Afghan solider killed two US servicemen. “I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident. I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies,” wrote Obama to Karzai. Are Americans to expect an apology in return from Karzai now that his citizens are rioting, threatening our citizens abroad, and killing our troops? The media behaves as though the burning of a Koran, already defaced by the people who claim to love it to the point of murder, is a greater offense than killing two people, threatening to kill more, and rioting. There have been no reports of Karzai actually apologizing to President Obama or the United States, except one story in my feeds wherein Karzai expresses “regret.” No apology. Why the disparity? Why the unfair attention in the media?

Do the media and society expect Muslims to act like rioters whose emotions blot out all reason and consideration for life? It’s an excuse. No one gets off the hook, not even if their religion or religious leaders dictate such actions. That the behavior is excused by the blasé reporting, that the media isn’t putting international pressure on President Karzai to take direction of his people and tell them to keep their wits about them is telling. The United States is always the “great Satan,” forever apologizing for the most minuscule things while foreigners who’ve waged a generation of murder and terror are excused.