US Army in Afghanistan apologizes for religiously offensive leaflets
KABUL: A top US commander in Afghanistan apologized on Wednesday over propaganda leaflets superimposing Islamic Kalima scripture on the image of a dog. Associating religious text with animals is highly offensive in Islam. The leaflets carried the image of a lion, supposed to represent the US-led coalition forces, running after a dog that had the Kalima on its body. The Taliban use the same scripture on their banners. US troops dropped the leaflets in Parwan province, north of Kabul, where violent protests erupted in 2012 after a group of US soldiers burnt copies of the Qur’an and other religious text books. The protests spread to other parts of the country and culminated in a deadly attack on a UN compound. The US military apologized then, and did the same on Wednesday. “The design of the leaflets mistakenly contained an image highly offensive to Muslims and the religion of Islam. I sincerely apologize,” Maj. Gen. James Linder said. “We have the deepest respect for I