11 May 2005
U.S. Investigating Allegations of Quran Desecration at Guantanamo
State Department calls any desecration of religious texts "repugnant"
With respect for religious freedom being fundamental to the United States, allegations that a copy of the Quran was desecrated by interrogators at the detention center at the U.S. Naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are “abhorrent” and are being thoroughly investigated, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a May 11 briefing.
“We take issues like that very, very seriously,” he said. “A desecration of religious texts and objects is repugnant to common values and an anathema to the American people.”
After Newsweek magazine reported a claim that interrogators at the U.S. detention camp for suspected terrorists had desecrated a copy of the Muslim holy book, anti-American riots broke out in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. According to the Afghan foreign ministry, four persons were killed May 11 and many more injured as local police fired weapons to disperse the crowd. The government of Pakistan also expressed serious concern about the report to U.S. officials.
Boucher said that the common practice for American forces at Guantanamo and elsewhere is to provide Islamic detainees with prayer beads, copies of the Quran, culturally appropriate meals, time to worship and even daily calls to prayer.
The rules and procedures the military facility operates under, he said, include respecting people's religion and affording them every opportunity to practice it.
“If there are practices that deviate from that, they are abhorrent to us and they need to be identified [through investigation],” Boucher said.
Following is an excerpt from the May 11 State Department briefing:
(begin excerpt)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005
[…]
QUESTION: I don't know if you were aware of the situation concerning Guantanamo, the demonstrations in Afghanistan today. I mean, there were four people who were killed there. And again, you know, generally, the comment and your policy on Guantanamo in light of the FBI memos and whether this is a pattern or just an act of a few soldiers, as usually the case is.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I didn't get that question. Let me try to address that as thoroughly as I can. It is an important topic that people understand what our attitude is and what the situation is for Muslim detainees in Guantanamo. First, I want to say that the U.S. Government is looking into the allegations that were published in Newsweek that military might have desecrated the Holy Koran as part of their interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. We take issues like that very, very seriously and the U.S. Government will look into them thoroughly.
But let me point out the entire national history of the United States is bound together by a fundamental respect for religious freedom and we carry out those principles when we have -- with regard to the prisoners at Guantanamo. Desecration of religious texts and objects is repugnant to common values and an anathema to the American people.
The allegation is contrary to our respect for cultural customs and the fundamental belief in the freedom of religion that we do practice at Guantanamo Bay with regard to prisoners of the Muslim religion. Personnel that we assign to Guantanamo Bay go through cultural training to ensure that they understand the procedures for protecting the rights and dignity of detainees. The detainees, when they're in custody, receive not only adequate shelter and clothing but their meals, appropriate meals to their culture and their religious beliefs, so Muslim prisoners can get the appropriate meals that they want. There's an opportunity to worship. People get copies of the Koran. They get prayer beads. They have reading materials. They also get, of course, medical care and other facilities there. The Call to Prayer is played over camp loudspeakers at the appropriate times every day and detainees have stenciled arrows pointing in the direction of Mecca so that people are afforded the opportunity to pray as they wish.
QUESTION: And this is not the first incident. There's the incident of the FBI memos mentioning about the Israeli flag draping, about abusing women for sexual tainting. And so it's -- I mean, you've been saying the same things all the time. Don't you think you should do another -- something further than saying we are investigating the matter right now since it seems to be widespread?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I don't think I would accept it as widespread. I'd say the widespread practices are the practices that I described, the practices of respect for the religion of the people who are in prison there. Those are the widespread practices. Those are the general and common practices in the facility. Those are the rules and the procedures that the facility operates under. And that is to respect people's religion and afford them every opportunity to practice their religion.
If there are practices that deviate from that, they are abhorrent to us and they need to be identified. The only way to identify them is to look into them and find out about them and investigate them, where it's appropriate.
QUESTION: Could you talk about what is being done to look into those practices that have been reported?
MR. BOUCHER: The military is looking into it and they'll get back to us and tell us if there's some behavior here that needs to be investigated and corrected and punished.
QUESTION: Could you tell us the diplomatic contacts that you have had or may have had with the Pakistani Government or other governments about this?
MR. BOUCHER: I think, you know, there have been demonstrations in Afghanistan, as the gentleman reported at the beginning of his question. There were even reports of some injuries in death in that regard in Jalalabad. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police have restored order and so, of course, we're in touch with the Afghan Government about those things and I'm sure we'll be in touch with other governments, if necessary, to make clear what our policy is.
Okay, Saul.
QUESTION: Before the Pentagon finishes its investigation, are you affirming that it is not common practice at Guantanamo to desecrate the Koran?
MR. BOUCHER: I am affirming that it is common practice at Guantanamo to respect the religious rights of prisoners and afford them every opportunity to practice their religion in the appropriate manner. To what extent violations of that policy or variegations from that policy might have occurred, I can't yet tell you. But the common policy and the common practice, the rules and understandings are that every prisoner has the right to practice his religion in the appropriate manner and that all of us should be respectful of that.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
