Muslims condemn Iraq prisoner abuse

Activists in three of Asia’s main Muslim countries today decried US and British forces’ alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners as a “despicable” show of Western hatred toward Muslims, and demanded that the coalition leave Iraq immediately.

Several newspapers in Malaysia and Indonesia – both home to Southeast Asia’s biggest Muslim populations – published front-page photographs allegedly showing a hooded Iraqi prisoner who was reportedly beaten by British troops.

Other media carried pictures of US soldiers giving thumbs-ups signs beside hooded, naked prisoners.

“Such despicable acts prove the double standards of America, a country that always preaches about human rights to the rest of the world,” said Nasharuddin Isa, secretary general of the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, the country’s largest opposition political group.

Nasharuddin said images of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by grinning US forces showed a “an unforgivable violation” of the Geneva Conventions, which govern the handling of captives.

“The US and British troops must leave Iraq immediately,” Nasharuddin told The Associated Press. ”Their actions have clearly shown the hatred of their countries toward Islamic people. How can they continue to say that their intention all this time has been to liberate the Iraqis?”

Activists in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, expressed fears that more mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners might have remained unreported.

“What we have seen in the press may only the tip of the iceberg of coalition troops’ abuse,” said Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman for Hizbut Thahrir, a hardline Muslim group that organised huge street rallies against last year’s US-led invasion of Iraq. “The United States must leave Iraq and give back the power to Iraqis.”

In Pakistan, Ameer-ul Azeem, spokesman for the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami group - the country’s largest religious party – demanded that the United Nations intervene to stop what he called “oppression” in Iraq.

“This attitude by America, which calls itself champion of human rights, is shocking,” Azeem told The Associated Press.

America “has reached the extremes of wickedness in Iraq,” he said.

Images documenting alleged abuses – which have led to criminal charges against six American soldiers – were first broadcast Wednesday in the United States on CBS’ “60 Minutes II” TV news programme. The pictures were taken late last year at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, according to CBS.

On Saturday, the Daily Mirror published photos of a hooded Iraqi prisoner who was reportedly beaten and had teeth broken by British troops. The Mirror said it was given the pictures by serving soldiers from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

“It is shockingly sad,” said Dien Syamsuddin, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema’s Council, a group of influential clerics. “The morals of coalition occupation forces are despicable. The world has lost trust in the United States and their allies to uphold democracy and human rights.”

Government officials in Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan have not commented on the alleged abuse.

Malaysia, which chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference - the world’s largest Muslim grouping – said recently the United Nations should take the lead role in Iraq as soon as possible because the US-led administration had failed to provide peace and security.