People have the right to express their outrage at any act that constitutes a desecration of their belief, Holy Scripture, and holy places that they may hold high in sacredness. Afghan people are also entitled to protect the sanctity of what are sacred to them against any desecration. It is common in a civilized world not to disrespect others' beliefs. When such an act happens, there is also the practice to allow for expression of anger and resentment.
On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, thousands of people waged a demonstration near Bagram air base to protest against the reported desecration of copies of holy Koran. Reports say that some religious books, including copies of holy Koran, have been thrown out of the air base, located in north of Kabul. The commander of NATO and US forces has apologized to Afghan people for the occurrence, saying that it has not been intentional. General John Allen, in a statement, has said that they would investigate this incident very carefully and ensure that such cases would not repeat in the future.
Afghan people are proud to have fought for their religious beliefs and defended their faith. Religiosity is a main characteristic of these people and they can easily give their lives in defense of their faith. But it should be said that unfortunately these demonstrations easily turn into violence, which could then be politically manipulated by some destructive elements.
Given the fragility of political and security situation in Afghanistan, the people must be extraordinarily cautious not to provide any pretext for those elements that lurk in to manipulate the religious feelings of the people to further compound the situation in order to gain their strategic interests.
The protests in Mazar-e-Sharif last year is a good but bitter example of this assumption as many people got killed when a rightful demonstration became violent upon manipulation of religious feelings by the evil forces that themselves have shown no willingness to avoid destroying copies of holy Koran when they become intent upon terrifying the nation or part of the country.
In the meanwhile, it should be said that desecration can be committed by people from the same faith and belief. These cases must also produce rightful reactions by the people. Afghan government is deeply politicized and has not been able to launch programs to promote more public debates on some apparent religious beliefs that are blended with traditions and run counter to what the spirit of Islam is.
Afghan people must not let sheer emotions rule their reactions and more importantly must not allow those sacred emotions be manipulated by elements that want the country destabilized because NATO forces do not need to desecrate Afghans' belief.