Thousands of Muslims marched Friday in the Middle East, burning symbols of America to protest the desecration of the Quran by military personnel at a U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba.
The rallies in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere followed an admission Thursday by American investigators that Islam's holy book was mishandled at Guantanamo.
About 12,000 people, many of them supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, gathered in Alexandria, Egypt, and demanded an apology from U.S. officials. Some 1,000 people also gathered in downtown Cairo, The AP reported. A similar number gathered in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, carrying black banners and burning American and Israeli flags. "We will cut off the feet that desecrated the Quran!" the crowd shouted.
Nearly 1,000 people demonstrated in the the southern Iraqi city of Basra to protest the desecrations. They also condemned the desecration of a Quran in Ramadi two weeks ago by "Americans and Jews."
Thousands gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, and demanded an investigation into all actions against Muslims held in Guantanamo.
