US Army Burned Bibles in Afghanistan

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2009 2:13 AM CDT
US Army Burned Bibles in Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai.   (AP Photo/Presidentail Palace, HO)

The US military burned bibles sent to Afghanistan by an American church, reports CNN. Officials feared the bibles, sent last year, would cause problems if they were used in a campaign to convert Muslims to Christianity. The unsolicited bibles were printed in the two most popular Afghani languages. Ironically, Taliban supporters burned bibles in an attack on a Pakistani village just last month.

If the American bibles "did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the US government or the US military was trying to convert Muslims," a Defense Department spokesman said yesterday. Officials considered returning the bibles to the church, but were concerned they would only be sent back to Afghanistan. War zone troops are required to burn all trash, according to the Defense Department.
(More Afghanistan stories.)

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