Burned Korans Prompt Investigations - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

A Koran-burning crisis was mostly averted on the anniversary of September 11, but charred and defaced Muslim holy books have shown up at the doorstep of two Islamic centers in the U.S., according to news reports Monday.

Nadeem Siddiqi filed a police report Sunday after a fellow member of the Anoor Mosque in Knoxville, Tenn., found a desecrated copy of the Koran outside the center around noon local time, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

"It was only partially burned," Siddiqi told the paper, adding that the book also had several holes. "It looked like someone had shot it with a shotgun."

Siddiqi referred to the episode as an "isolated incident," and told the Sentinel he did not think it was reflective of the community's attitude toward Muslims.

It came after a burned copy of the Koran was found at the front entrance of an Islamic center more than 500 miles (805km) away, in East Lansing, Mich., Saturday.

Pages from the book -- some of which were believed to be smeared with feces -- were also found on strewn along the streets in the surrounding Michigan neighborhood, myFOXdetroit.com said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said it wanted the FBI to launch a hate crime investigation into the Michigan case, adding to its list of recent anti-Muslim incidents it wants examined.

Local police in Knoxville were already collaborating with the FBI in their investigation of the burned book at the Anoor Mosque.