CAIR Seeks Probe of Gitmo Quran ‘Desecration’
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/11/05) - CAIR is urging American Muslims and other people of conscience to contact the White House in support of a public investigation into reports that interrogators at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay flushed a Quran down a toilet. At least four people were killed today in Afghanistan during protests over the alleged desecration. SEE: “Afghan Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly,” http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=748366 The allegation was first reported in the May 9 issue of Newsweek magazine. The magazine said: “Investigators probing interrogation abuses at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay have confirmed some infractions alleged in internal FBI e-mails that surfaced late last year. Among the previously unreported cases, sources tell NEWSWEEK: interrogators, in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur'an down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and dog leash.” SEE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7693014/site/newsweek/ In its statement, CAIR said: “The allegations, if true, can only serve to fuel anti-American sentiment. Vague assurances of a military investigation are insufficient to keep this incident from being used to further harm relations with the Muslim world. We urge President Bush to initiate an open probe of the incident, make public its findings and punish those responsible.”
The twin phenomena of Islamophobia and anti-Americanism will be addressed at a CAIR conference to be held this weekend in Washington, D.C. SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/2005conference/ CAIR recently launched a website designed to help end the use and instigation of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CID) by American personnel worldwide. To learn more about CAIR's anti-torture campaign, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE and RESPECTFUL.) Contact the White House: President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 TEL: 202-456-1111 FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov, vice.president@whitehouse.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
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