More than 2,000 Afghans rallied outside of a U.S. air force base on Feb. 23 after learning that Muslim holy books, including copies of the Qur’ān, had been burned in a pile of garbage outside the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul. Looking to quell the uproar, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan quickly issued an apology for what he said was an unintentional mistake, admitting that military personnel had “improperly disposed” of the books and promising a full investigation.
The protesters reportedly chanted “Death to America” and ”Die, die, foreigners”. The protest highlights general Afghan sentiment that the U.S. intervention over the past decade has not respected Afghan and Islamic culture. US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai apologising for the burning of copies of the Qur’ān.
But the US apology has failed to appease protesting Afghans. At least 28 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since Feb. 21, when it first emerged that the Qur’ān and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn garbage at Bagram Air Field, a large US base north of Kabul. A gunman killed two American military advisers with shots to the back of the head on Feb. 25 inside a heavily guarded ministry building, and NATO ordered military workers out of Afghan ministries as protests raged for a fifth day over the burning of copies of the Qur’ān.