Canadian Army officer cadets punished for desecrating Qu'ran

Does the name "Bagram Air Base" ring a bell? It's the largest American military base in Armpitistan, still very active in spite of that misguided war being over... more or less. You may remember that in February of 2012, 1000s of angry Afghans tried to storm the base when it was learned that American forces had burned hundreds of old Qu'rans that had been used by Taliban prisoners.

In the mélée that ensued, at least 41 people were killed, including several US soldiers who were shot by their allies in the so-called Afghan National Army. Desecrating the Holy Book is something Muslims take very seriously!

Canadians are always kind of slow to pick up on the latest trends, following months and sometimes years or even decades behind their cousins south of the World's Longest Absolutely Undefended Border. So it wasn't until a few weeks ago that four cadets from the Collège Militaire Royal at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC thought to have some sport dirtying a copy of the Qu'ran. They are alleged to have smeared the book with bacon and "bodily fluids" during a cottage party over the Easter long weekend.

The incident is said to have involved at least eight army officer cadets, most of them first-year students at the Canadian Armed Forces' military college. According to Lt.-Gen. Charles Lamarre, the CAF Chief of Military Personnel, "Four of those individuals went to sleep at some point and four other individuals stayed up and unfortunately desecrated a Qu'ran. They actually desecrated it with, if I'm not mistaken, bodily fluids, and there might have been bacon involved."

While the head honcho of the HR division Lamarre would not divulge the nature of the "bodily fluids", sources told Canadian Press that it appears to have been, errr, semen. [I would've expected that of the Navy! Ed.] Military commanders have expressed frustration and disappointment over the allegations, particularly at a time when they are pushing to make the Forces more inclusive -- "Diversity is Canada's strength!" dontcha know! -- and say they are taking the case extremely seriously.

More worrisome to the rank and file, especially those about to be sent overseas to keep the peace in yet another shithole country, is the threat to the safety of Canadian military personnel, given the violent reactions that such incidents (like the one at Bagram) have provoked in recent years. Canada is preparing to send troops and helicopters to assist the Disunited Nations mission in Mali, and continues to operate in Iraq, both of which are populated mainly by Muslims. "So we did ask for an [threat] assessment to be done," said the general, "And we have come back and I'm satisfied with where we are right now on force protection and we'll continue to be that way."

Lt.-Gen. Lamarre also said it was fortunate that no videos of the alleged incident were posted to social media. Officials said military commanders have not actually seen any recordings and they are believed to have all been destroyed. Anyone who has a copy is invited to e-mail it to Walt, and I'll see that it gets posted where it will get Maximum Exposure.

Footnote: One of the Islamophobic miscreants has been booted out of the college, while a second has been reprimanded and ordered to write 500 lines saying "Islam is the religion of peace." The cases of two other officer cadets are under review, and the four who fell asleep have been reprimanded for not snitching on their comrades quickly enough.

Note from Ed.: Credit where credit is due. We scraped the meme from one of Walt's favourite blogs, Blazing Cat Fur.