US Army in Afghanistan apologizes for religiously offensive leaflets

In this photograph taken on May 3, 2017, Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers train at the Kabul Military training center (KMTC) in a program overseen by US-led international forces. A US official apologized on Wednesday for leaflets dropped in Afghanistan that were deemed offensive to Islam. (AFP / SHAH MARAI)

KABUL: A top US commander in Afghanistan apologized on Wednesday over propaganda leaflets superimposing Islamic Kalima scripture on the image of a dog. Associating religious text with animals is highly offensive in Islam.
The leaflets carried the image of a lion, supposed to represent the US-led coalition forces, running after a dog that had the Kalima on its body. The Taliban use the same scripture on their banners.
US troops dropped the leaflets in Parwan province, north of Kabul, where violent protests erupted in 2012 after a group of US soldiers burnt copies of the Qur’an and other religious text books.
The protests spread to other parts of the country and culminated in a deadly attack on a UN compound. The US military apologized then, and did the same on Wednesday.
“The design of the leaflets mistakenly contained an image highly offensive to Muslims and the religion of Islam. I sincerely apologize,” Maj. Gen. James Linder said. “We have the deepest respect for Islam and our Muslim partners worldwide.”
He promised an investigation “to determine the cause of this incident and to hold the responsible party accountable. Furthermore, I will make appropriate changes so this never happens again.”
The governor of Parwan and religious scholars condemned the leaflets and demanded that those responsible be punished.
The Taliban expressed anger at the leaflets.
In an e-mail to Arab News, Qari Mohammed Yousuf, a Taliban spokesman, said: “The occupying American soldiers have, by dropping the leaflets by air in Parwan, demonstrated their utter contempt for the Holy Qur’an and Islam.”
Zakia Sangin, a member of parliament for Parwan, said the US military had contacted all the province’s MPs on Tuesday to say it was not behind the printing and distribution of the leaflets, but had promised to investigate.
“This is a total affront to our religion and sanctities. The culprits should be punished,” she said.
“People are emotionally charged. They may show reaction amid the fragility of the political and security situation. The Taliban are active in parts of Parwan and will also use this opportunity. The solution to me seems to lie in the punishment of the culprits.”
There was no response from authorities in Kabul, where the government of President Ashraf Ghani is already under fire for keeping silent over increased civilian casualties due to the recent surge in air raids by the coalition.