Qur’an burning protests continue in Afghanistan

Pastor Terry Jones called off plans to torch the Qur’an this weekend, but violent demonstrations continue.

Afghan security forces killed two people this weekend who were protesting against a Florida pastor who had planned to burn the Qur’an to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Terry Jones decided not to go through with the inflammatory event, but many Afghans want a guarantee that he will not reverse that decision. Two Christian leaders, apparently inspired by Jones, did burn copies of the Muslim holy book in Tennessee over the weekend, and several more copies were desecrated at protests in Manhattan. About 100 people took to the streets in the Logar province of Afghanistan yesterday carrying rocks and sticks, and security forces killed two people and injured five more when they fired into the crowd.