Burned Qur'ans Found at the Islamic Center of Blacksburg

June 17, 2005

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601468.html

On June 17, 2005 The Washington Post reported, "Members of an Islamic center in southwest Virginia returned from a prayer meeting Saturday and made a shocking discovery: partially burned copies of the Koran had been left in a shopping bag by the center's front door.

Police in Blacksburg said yesterday that they are investigating the incident and trying to determine whether it was a hate crime. 'We are taking it very seriously and are looking at all possibilities,' Lt. Joe Davis said.

He said members of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg held a prayer meeting at the center early Saturday and then left. When they returned about 1:30 p.m., they found "three or four" partially burned Korans in a white plastic bag, Davis said.

Davis could not say whether the copies of the Koran belonged to the center or how severely they had been burned. A man who answered the phone at the center yesterday said no one was available to talk about the incident."