JAKARTA, 23 May 2005 — Indonesian Muslims at a rally by thousands yesterday vowed to wage war against America and said those who desecrate the Qur’an should be killed.
“Destroy America and its allies! Kill those who desecrate Islam!” Muhammad Iqbal alias Abu Jibril, from the Indonesian Mujahedin Council (MMI), exhorted thousands of protestors through a public address system outside the US Embassy. Muslims around the world have demonstrated in recent days against the desecration of the Qur’an at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The unrest, which left at least 14 people dead in Afghanistan, followed a report in Newsweek magazine that US investigators had found that interrogators at the prison desecrated the Holy Qur’an to rattle Muslim inmates.
The magazine last Monday retracted the story after its source developed doubts, and the Pentagon has said its own investigation has found no evidence to support the allegation.
Police estimated about 7,000 protesters gathered outside the US Embassy. Members and supporters of 39 Muslim groups including Indonesia’s two largest Islamic organizations, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulema and Muhammadiyah, joined the march from a central city roundabout to the embassy about 1.5 kilometers away.
Mostly wearing white, with the women veiled, the protesters carried small signs reading: “Rid Islamic Countries of US imperialism” and “The desecration at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib cannot be tolerated.”
Two large banners greeted the protesters as they arrived at Jakarta’s main Monas square that faces the embassy. “United Muslim Action, condemns the desecration of the Qur’an by US soldiers,” said one banner which called on Bush to stop desecrating Islam and insulting Muslims.
It urged closure of the Guantanamo facility and the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq where US troops have been found guilty of abusing detainees.
