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Further Qur'an Burnings In India
AMRITSAR & WASHINGTON, March 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Police commandos were deployed Thursday in various parts of Amritsar city in Punjab state in order to avert clashes between Hindus and Muslims after vandals from a extremist Hindu organization desecrated a mosque and burned copies of the Holy Qur'an.
A gang belonging to a little known organization called the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti (All India Hindu Protection Committee) stormed into the historic 200-year-old Khairuddin Mosque, located in the city's Hall Bazaar area, and proceeded to burn copies of the Holy Qur'an.
Rampagers also threw pork into the main mosque compound on Wednesday.
Young students were attending Qur'anic classes at the time of the attack.
Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti's regional chief Harish Sharma admitted the involvement of his organization in the attack and said that it was retaliation in response to the slaughter of 100 cows by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Taliban recently slaughtered 100 cows as an atonement for their failure to swiftly destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas.
Soon after the attack, all roads leading to the Mosque were blocked and police commandos were posted outside. A police investigation is also underway according to A P Pandey, the Inspector General of Police. So far, two persons have been arrested for their involvement in the attack.
"There is a sense of insecurity among Muslim families in Punjab. We have asked for police protection," Muslim leader Hussain Qasmi said. The Sikh holy town of Amritsar where their famous Golden Temple is located is home to 30,000 Muslims out of a total population of 150,000.
Similar Qur'an burning incidents were also reported from Patiala city in Punjab on Thursday. Here also the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti was responsible for the attacks, according to official sources.
Maulana Asad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi condemned the attacks and demanded the immediate arrest of those involved.
In a protest letter sent to the Indian Prime Minister, President, Minority Commission and Punjab state Chief Minister, he said the country's law and order situation will severely deteriorate if appropriate action is not taken against the miscreants.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's appointed Imam of Amritsar's Jama Masjid, Maulana Hamid Hasan said that secular minded Hindus and Sikhs condemned the attack and are cooperating with Muslims.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee also condemned the act and said that those involved are "irreligious and anti-national criminals." He warned of "sinister attempts" by some organizations to fuel anti-India propaganda among Muslims of other countries and asked state governments to take stern action against those involved.
He also urged Muslims and non-Muslims not to fall prey to "extremists elements and provocateurs, who deliberately spread rumors and incite violence to disturb the high level of communal peace in the last two years."
He also said that the Holy Qur'an is sacred not only to Muslims but also to all other communities in India. "We believe in equal respect for all faiths and revere their sacred texts and symbols, since all religions profess universal values of peace and brotherhood," Vajpayee said.
A resolution passed in the Punjab Assembly also condemned the act and the Chief Minister has assured that severe action would be taken against those involved.
The Sikh Students Federation and Anjuman Dawat-e-Islamia also condemned the attack, which follows the burning of a Qur'an in New Delhi earlier in the month.
Reactions to the attacks from Muslim communities in South Asia were almost immediate.
In Indian occupied Kashmir, a curfew was imposed on several parts of the region Friday after one person was killed by security troops firing on Muslims protesting the Qur'an burning.
The killing occurred in Baramulla, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Srinagar, when a group of angry youths chanting anti-government slogans threw stones at paramilitary personnel after Friday prayers.
Security personnel fired shots to disperse the demonstrators, killing one and injuring two others, a police spokesman said.
A group of locals then marched through the streets of Baramulla with the dead body, sparking further violence in which a deserted Hindu temple was burned.
"We have had to impose an indefinite curfew in Baramulla after crowds burnt vehicles and damaged government buildings. The situation is tense but under control," he said.
In several parts of Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, protestors attacked shops and disrupted traffic.
A curfew was also imposed in the southern district of Poonch after police clashed with demonstrators.
In Bangladesh, the Jamaat-e-Islami party denounced the burning and said New Delhi should be pressured to protect the rights of its Muslim community.
Party chief Motiur Rahman Nizami called on Islamic leaders to put "moral and material" pressure on India to punish those responsible for the desecration of Islam's holy book.
He also called on New Delhi to protect the rights of its minority Muslims and their religious institutions.
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