Source: Khaleej Times
Wire Service: AP
On October 21, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "Islamic clerics expressed outrage at television footage that purportedly shows US soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taleban fighters to taunt other militants, and warned of a possible violent anti-American backlash. Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday condemned the alleged desecration and ordered an inquiry. The operational commander of the US military in Afghanistan, which launched its own criminal probe, said the alleged act, if true, was 'repugnant.' Worried about the potential for anti-American feelings over the incident, the State Department said it instructed US embassies around the globe to tell local governments that the reported abuse did not reflect American values. Cremating bodies is banned under Islam, and one Muslim leader in Afghanistan compared the video to photographs of US troops abusing prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. 'Abu Ghraib ruined the reputation of the Americans in Iraq and to me this is even worse,' Faiz Mohammed, a top cleric in northern Kunduz province, said Thursday. 'This is against Islam. Afghans will be shocked by this news. It is so humiliating. There will be very, very dangerous consequences from this.'"