America's most senior soldier in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, has condemned plans by a church in the US to burn the Koran on the anniversary of 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.
The general's comments followed a protest yesterday by hundreds of Afghans over the plans by Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center - a small, evangelical Christian church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy - to burn copies of the Koran on church grounds to mark the 2001 attacks.
"Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan - and around the world - to inflame public opinion and incite violence," Gen Petraeus said.
Muslims consider the Koran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Koran is deeply offensive.
In 2005, 15 people died and scores were wounded in riots in Afghanistan sparked by a story in Newsweek magazine alleging interrogators at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay placed copies of the Koran in washrooms and flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk. Newsweek later retracted the story.
Yesterday, several hundred Afghans rallied outside a Kabul mosque, burning US flags and an effigy of Dove World's pastor and chanting "death to America." Members of the crowd briefly pelted a passing US military convoy with stones, but were ordered to stop by rally organisers.
Two days earlier, thousands of Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the US embassy in Jakarta and in five other cities to protest the church's plans.
Gen Petraeus warned images of burning Korans could be used to incite anti-American sentiment similar to the pictures of prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
"I am very concerned by the potential repercussions of the possible (Koran) burning. Even the rumour that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," Gen Petraeus said in his message. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
The US embassy in Kabul also issued a statement condemning the church's plans, saying Washington was "deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups."
Dove World Outreach Center, which made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said "Islam is of the Devil," has been denied a permit to set a bonfire but has vowed to proceed with the burning. The congregation's website estimates it has about 50 members, but the church has established a Facebook page and blog devoted to its Koran-burning plans.