The Reuters website reports that senior Afghan clerics said today (March 2, 2012) that the burning of Korans at a NATO base last month was an "evil act" that must be punished -- a demand that could deepen widespread public anger over the incident.
"The council strongly condemns the crime and inhumane, savage act by American troops by desecrating holy Korans," members of a council of clerics said after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Despite apologies from President Barack Obama and other senior U.S. officials, the desecration of the Korans at Bagram air base ignited a wave of anti-Western fury across Afghanistan, including protests that killed at least 30 people.
The Koran burnings are a setback to the Western campaign to end the Afghan war -- now in its 11th year -- by winning the hearts and minds of Afghans.
