Concern grows over anti-Islam wave in United States (Feature)

By Silvia Ayuso Sep 7, 2010, 18:49 GMT

Washington - A much-publicized wave of anti-Islam sentiment in the United States prompted warnings from the country's top military officials Tuesday.

The US Armed Forces are worried about the effects that such feelings might have on the security of their troops fighting in a country with strong Islamic underpinnings such as Afghanistan.

It was a little-known evangelical Christian church with just 50 members in Gainesville, Florida, the Dove World Outreach Center, that triggered the latest reactions.

The church's leader, Pastor Terry Jones, plans to hold the 'International Burn a Koran Day' Saturday, to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The top US military commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, has warned against the plan, saying it could end up harming US soldiers.

'It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems,' Petraeus said in a statement. 'Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.'

US Lieutenant General William Caldwell, who is responsible for the training of Afghan security forces, also warned against the incineration plans, saying that they would 'jeopardize the safety of our men and women that are serving over here in the country.'

He noted that many Afghans don't understand that the Koran-burning is protected by the US constitutional right to freedom of expression and that President Barack Obama cannot simply forbid it.

The US Embassy in Kabul itself issued a statement to reaffirm 'US respect for Islam' and to distance itself from 'acts of disrespect' against this religion.

But the Koran-burning plan already led to a demonstration Monday at a Kabul mosque, where hundreds of Afghan citizens burned US flags amid shouts of 'Death to America,' according to media reports.

'The United States government in no way condones such acts of disrespect against the religion of Islam, and is deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups,' the embassy in Kabul said of Koran-burning plans.

The memory of protests and vandalism across the Muslim world in 2006 over the publication in Denmark of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed is still fresh in many minds, and the lives of the caricatures' authors are at risk to this day following threats from Islamic militants.

The man who triggered the latest controversy, Jones - who wrote a book entitled 'Islam is of the Devil,' - insisted Tuesday that he would carry through his Koran-burning plan although he is 'weighing the situation' in the wake of Petraeus' comments, and 'praying.'

But the truth is that burning the Koran is only the tip of an iceberg of anti-Islamic sentiment that is growing as September 11 approaches. This year, moreover, the date coincides with the end of the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan.

Plans to build an Islamic centre complete with a mosque near Ground Zero, the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, spurred a controversy that has gotten tangled up with political campaigning ahead of the November 2 midterm legislative election.

Similar incidents around plans to build mosques have also taken place in states like Tennessee, Wisconsin and California, prompting fears in the country's Islamic community. US Muslims have started to feel harassed, launching their own initiatives to try to put a brake on the wave of anti-Islamic sentiment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) drew up a manual for US Muslims to present their religion in a positive way, which also gives them tips on what to do if faced with incidents in mosques.

It has also launched an advertising campaign with the title '9/11 Happened to Us All,' which remembers the fact that there were many Muslims in the rescue teams that were active in New York's Twin Towers on that day of terror.

In the same spirit, a group of Muslim 'citizens' has launched an Internet campaign under the motto 'I'm An American, I'm A Muslim,' which calls for tolerance and stresses that US Muslims are not out to impose their faith on anyone else.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which fights anti-semitism, announced Tuesday the creation of an Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, to 'carefully monitor incidents of mosque discrimination around the country, the organization said in a statement.

'We believe the best way to uphold America's democratic values is to ensure that Muslims can exercise the same religious freedom enjoyed by everyone in America,' the coalition said in its statement of purpose.

But such feelings appear very far from those of a good portion of US public opinion these days.