Afghan protests condemn Quran burning

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — About 1,000 protesters gathered in front of Kabul University on Tuesday morning, as protests continue throughout Afghanistan to condemn the burning of a Quran by a pastor in the United States.

The demonstrators marched toward the city center amid a heavy police presence but without incident, said Kabul City police official Abdullah Mahboob.

The sight was in marked contrast to earlier demonstrations, some of which turned deadly.

On Sunday, police and stone-throwing demonstrators clashed in Kandahar with as many as three people killed in the violence.

At least nine people were killed and 73 injured in Kandahar on Saturday, and 12 people died Friday — including seven U.N. employees — when angry demonstrators stormed a U.N. compound in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The demonstrations were sparked by the actions of a controversial Florida pastor who presided over what he called a trial of the Quran on March 20.

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.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the burning as did various U.S. officials, including U.S. President Barack Obama.

“The desecration of any holy text … is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry,” he said Saturday in a statement released by the White House. “However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity.”