Tuesday's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya, resulting in the death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, is not the first time anti-Islam incidents involving Mohommad and the Quran have spawned death and violence. An armed man stands amid burning buildings and cars inside the U.S. consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, on Tuesday, September 11. An armed mob, protesting a film they said offended Islam, attacked the compound.
CNN
February 2012 —
Quran burning at at Bagram air field in Afganistan set off protests outside the base in February. The materials that were burned were removed from the library of a detainee center "because of extremist inscriptions and an appearance that these documents were being used to facilitate extremist communications," a military official said at the time. "It was a mistake. It was an error. The moment we found out about it, we immediately stopped and we intervened," Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said.
CNN
April 2011 —
Peaceful protests took place in April 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan, after Florida Pastor Terry Jones held what he called a trial of the Quran on March 20, 2011. The holy book of Islam was "found guilty" by members of Jones' tiny church and burned, according to a release posted on the church's website. The Kabul protests took place under a heavy police presence but did not turn violent. Protests continue in Afghanistan against Quran burning.
A Danish cartoonist's depictions of Mohammad provoked global riots, including the torching of Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus, Syria, in February 2006. Thousands of angry Muslims protested in other cities, including Islamabad, Pakistan; Baghdad; Khartoum, Sudan; Jakarta, Indonesia; and the Palestinian territories.
CNN
May 2005 —
A Newsweek story, later retracted, about alleged desecration of the Quran at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay provoked riots in Afghanistan in May 2005. At least four deaths were confirmed stemming from riots in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
