KABUL: Villagers in southern Afghanistan hid their Qurans and other religious items because they were afraid US soldiers would kill them if they discovered they were Muslim, a US military spokesman said yesterday. "The village of Atel Mohammed removed all of their religious items, including the Quran, from the village before Special Operations Forces and the Afghan military force arrived," Col. Rodney Davis said in a statement issued from Bagram. "When Special Operations Forces found the items in a flour sack in a nearby dry creek bed during the search they proceeded to return it to the village elder," Davis said.
But the US troops wanted to know why the religious items had been collected and hidden. "The elder stated that some of the villagers felt that the Americans would kill them for being Muslims and these religious items were proof of their faith," Davis said.
| Ummm... Mahmoud? Isn't everybody in Afghanistan a Muslim? Except for most of us, of course... |
The soldiers sought to dispel their concerns, he said. "Special Operations Forces explained in depth that this was not the case. The villagers secured the items and returned them to their homes," Davis said. |