EAST LANSING, Mich., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Police said they're not sure what substance was on a burned Koran found on the steps of an East Lansing, Mich., mosque, but said they don't think it's feces.
Reports of the incident Monday touched off worldwide repercussions, with violence reported in several Indian states, including deadly confrontations in Kashmir and the burning of a Christian church in Punjab.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants the FBI to mount a hate-crime investigation following Saturday's discovery of the burned Muslim holy book with a substance smeared on it that was found in front of the Islamic Center of East Lansing. Some of the pages were removed.
"Our investigators don't believe it's fecal matter. We don't have a clue what it is," said East Lansing Police Capt. Kim Johnson. "We still need to send it out (to a lab) for further testing."
On Monday, FBI officials met with mosque leaders, but no details were released, The Detroit News said.
"We have been working with mosque officials," said FBI Detroit spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold. "We are accessing the situation."
A Florida church sparked demonstrations and criticism when it said it would burn copies of the Koran to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Its pastor, Terry Jones, later called off the event, but it may have sparked other incidents, the News said.
Two ministers in Springfield, Tenn., reportedly burned a Koran, and an unidentified man ripped pages from, and set fire to, a Koran outside the planned community center and mosque near Ground Zero Saturday.
