Qur'an burning and the deaths that come from it

Four American military personnel have been killed in recent days due to a backlash against the American military for Qur'an burnings performed by Nato staff at a military camp in Afghanistan. 

As well, as many as 30 Afghans have died in these riots. 

Copies of the Qur'an are not to be burned, torn, mutilated, discarded or otherwise disrespected. To do so results in death for people who had nothing to do with the incident. 

The proper disposal of copies of the Qur'an is by burial or apparently by immersion in bodies of running water.

Apologies from US president Barack Obama and many other civilian and military leaders, and a call for restraint from Afghan president Hamid Karzai, have done nothing to quell the anger. 

American military commanders have ordered mandatory training on recognising and appropriately handling religious material for all 130,000 troops serving in the country. 

You would have thought that the American Military and all NATO military big-wigs would have mandated this training long before now. 

How much effort would it have taken to give a 30 minute course to all troops, at entry level, and before deployment to a Muslim country, to say: "Don't mishandle or disrespect the Qur'an.  If you are unsure of what to do, ask a superior"?

This isn't the first time that this issue has arisen. In March of 2011, a nut-bar Christian pastor in Florida burned a Qur'an. Not everyone can become a certified plumber or a certified electrician, but anyone can become a "pastor", even red-neck extremists. 

The result was that 5 men in Afghanistan died. 

Filaret Motco, age 43, a Romanian diplomat was killed on April 1, 2011, in Afghanistan, after extremists stormed a United Nations compound in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in protest against this Qur'an burning in Florida.

Min Bahadur Thapa, Chhabi Lal Purja Pun, Narayan Bahadur Thapa Magar and Dil Prasad Gurung, 4 Nepalese men who were former soldiers in the British Army and who were working as security guards at a U.N. compound, were killed on April 1, 2011, also in retaliation for this Qur'an burning in Florida. 

Some of these five men were beheaded by rioters. 

No doubt many four star Generals of all NATO countries, including the U.S.A., are shuffling paper across a desk and staring out the window. They send others to do the dirty work. But they couldn't comprehend the idea of a basic course on Islamic trigger points such as the mishandling of Islam's holy scripture, when this issue has resulted in deaths just last year? 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph pray for us. God save us from the disconnected bureaucrats in the Military. Amen.