SAN FRANCISCO, May 19: An American Muslim woman, Azza Basarudin, who ordered a copy of the holy Quran from Amazon.com, received one with slurs and ‘Death to all Muslims’ scrawled across the inside cover. “I dropped the book because I didn’t know what to do,” she said during a news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The news conference was called by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a leading American Muslim civil rights group, to condemn the incident and demand a formal apology from Amazon.com, an online book selling company.

Azza Basarudin, a graduate student in women’s studies at University of California, Los Angeles, said she was overwhelmed by fear similar to what she felt after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks when her sister and mother were the target of anti-Muslim slurs.

Salam al Marayati, Executive Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said his organization wants a public apology and investigation from Amazon.com, as well as the sacking of those responsible for mailing the desecrated book.

“The cult of hatred against Islam and Muslims is manifesting in different sectors of our society,” said Mr Salam. “The sooner we address these problems, the better we can serve America’s national and international interests.”

Amazon.com apologized to Ms Basarudin by e-mail and offered to replace the book. Amazon.com also mailed Ms Basarudin a gift certificate. However, Ms Basarudin said she wants more than a gift certificate and apology.