2005 Quran Desecration Controversy - US Military Findings

US Military Findings

On June 3, 2005, a U.S. military investigation by the base commander, Brigadier General Jay Hood, reported four (possibly five) incidents of "mishandling" of the Quran by U.S. personnel at Guantánamo Bay. Hood said his investigation "revealed a consistent, documented policy of respectful handling of the Quran dating back almost two and a half years."

CBC News reported:

"The U.S. Pentagon confirmed Friday a list of abuses involving the Quran, Islam's holy book, by American personnel at Guantánamo Bay, but said the incidents were relatively minor."

According to the Hood report:

• a soldier intentionally kicked a Quran;
• an interrogator intentionally stepped on a Quran;
• a guard's urine came through an air vent, unintentionally splashing a detainee and his Quran;
• water balloons thrown by prison guards at one another unintentionally caused a number of Qurans to get wet; and
• a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Quran (whether US personnel were responsible for this act, however, could not be confirmed).

The report laid out the circumstances of these incidents and disciplinary actions taken. It also stressed that such mishandling was rare, and that guards were usually respectful of the Quran, following strict regulations the military laid down for handling the Quran. (The Quran handling policy was codified in a policy letter in January 2003 in response to reports by the Red Cross of Quran abuse.)

The Hood report also listed 15 reported incidents of detainees mishandling their own copies of the Quran, including complaints made by other detainees. One of these cases involved a prisoner "attempting to flush a Quran down the toilet and urinating on the Quran."

The statement did not provide any explanation about why the detainees might have abused their own holy books.