"I don't think your comment makes sense. If the Taliban were an anti-Muslim group, I could imagine the propaganda machine creating lies by saying, "they're doing this crazy because their book was harmed"! But, seeing as the Taliban is Islamic, I think it makes WAY more sense to take them at their word for their motivations. I'll explain why: the Taliban hates the US, hates everything it does, thinks it has a list a mile long of legitimate reasons to do anything. But they insist that what they are focusing on and 'more than protesting' about is to teach [the Infidels] a lesson to never insult/mistreat the Koran ever again. I took them at their word -- that they actually care about the book and whether it's mistreated to the point of violence. Perhaps, I'm naive, and as you pointed out, maybe they're lying for propaganda's sake. Who could be the target of this propaganda? It's one of two broad groups: either their fellow Muslims or the rest of the non-Muslim world. If it's aimed at..." - Conversational Atheist