Afghan government must take measures to calm the ongoing violent protests across the country. It is neither in the interest of the fragile situation of Afghanistan nor is it a way to protect the values of our conspicuous religion of Islam. It is the fifth day that the country witnesses violent demonstrations in different provinces. People should learn that the holy Quran that is being defended does not allow killing innocent people. It is clear cut that those who have been killed in the protests have not been involved in the desecration of the holy Quran.
On Saturday, February 25, 2012, one again people came out to streets in different cities of the country to show their outrage against the reported disrespect of the holy Quran, which is the eternal sacred book that guides Muslims in all aspects of their life. In Kunduz, the protestors attacked UNAMA office there and clashed with its guards. It is also reported that the protestors set on fire shops and part of a government building.
Reports say that four people were killed during the protest and another fifty were injured. In another case, Mehtarlam, the capital city of Laghman province also saw a violent protest that led to 20 people to be wounded. More than twenty people have been killed so far in the protests waged against the desecration of holy Quran.
Two American mentors are also reported to have been killed in the Ministry of Interior Affairs. The US president Barack Obama and NATO commander in Afghanistan have already apologized to Afghan people and government for the mistake that has been unintentional and was stopped to be continued upon coming to know about the occurrence. It should be said that such violent protests that lead to killing of innocent people will have negative impact on the religious beliefs of new generation because they are not in favor of violence at all.
The reason why they hate Taliban is that bitter fact that they use violence to promote or defend their extremist and fundamentalist beliefs of Islam. The new generations in the country know that violent beliefs do not represent Islamic teachings and thus denounce them.
Again, if violent and deadly demonstrations are held in support of the Holy Quran, the new generation may be disappointed and come to believe that violence is an inseparable part of those beliefs that do not abstain from killing innocent people to express their outrage. It is time to learn to defend our faith while at the same time stick to non-violence. This also shows the failure of Afghan government and the fact that it is unable to justify to the people that they do not need to use violence to kill people for the sake of holy Quran.