2005 Quran desecration controversy

In the May 9, 2005 issue of Newsweek magazine, an article by reporter Michael Isikoff quoted an anonymous source which alleged that interrogators at the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, "in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur'an down a toilet."

The article caused widespread rioting and massive anti-American protests throughout some parts of the Islamic world (causing at least 15 deaths in Afghanistan).

The source for the story was later unable to confirm where he had seen the information. In its May 23 issue, Newsweek partially retracted its claim, stating that "Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts. Top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges, and so will we. But we regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst."

On May 16, Newsweek said it was retracting its report after its apology failed to satisfy critics such as the Bush administration, the alleged perpetrator.

The New York Times quoted Isikoff as saying "Neither Newsweek nor the Pentagon foresaw that a reference to the desecration of the Koran was going to create the kind of response that it did. The Pentagon saw the item before it ran, and then they didn't move us off it for 11 days afterward. They were as caught off guard by the furor as we were. We obviously blame ourselves for not understanding the potential ramifications."

Newsweek's sourcing problems notwithstanding, there were over a dozen pre-Newsweek reports of the allegations. A sampling:

• The Miami Herald reported on March 9, 2005 that Guantánamo Base staff insulted Allah and "threw Korans into toilets."

• The same newsaper reported, three days earlier, that three Guantánamo captives — Fawzi al Odah, 27, Fouad al Rabiah, 45, and Khalid al Mutairi, 29 — "separately complained to their lawyer that military police threw their Korans into the toilet."

• The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on January 20, 2005 that there were complaints concerning guards who had "defaced their copies of the Koran and, in one case, had thrown it in a toilet."

• In a book review dated January 16, 2005, the Hartford Courant reported that five British detainees, after their release, claimed that they "had seen other prisoners sexually humiliated, had been hooded, and were forced to watch copies of the Koran being flushed down toilets."

• The BBC reported on December 30, 2004 that the former Guantánamo prisoner Abdallah Tabarak maintained that "American soldiers used to tear up copies of the Koran and throw them in the toilet."

Qur'an desecration

Qur'an desecration means insulting the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, by defiling or dismembering it. Islamic law dictates that a Muslim may not touch the Qur'an, which is regarded as the literal word of God in its untranslated Arabic form, unless he or she is in a state of ritual purity (wudu). Muslims must always treat the book with reverence, and are forbidden, for instance, to pulp, recycle, or simply discard worn-out copies of the text; instead, such books must be ritually buried.

Respect for the written text of the Qur'an is an important element of religious faith in Islam. Intentionally insulting the Qur'an is regarded as a form of blasphemy.

See also

• Host desecration – a (mythical) parallel from Christianity
• Flag desecration – an act of civil disobedience or protest

External links

• Gitmo: SouthCom Showdown – original May 9 Newsweek story
• The Editor's Desk – Newsweek's May 23 retraction
• Human Rights Watch report
• Newsweek Retracts Account of Koran Abuse by U.S. Military, New York Times, May 17, 2005.