January 27, 2023
Danish politician stages another Quran burning stunt
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
In yet another provocative act on Friday, far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a Copenhagen mosque and also outside the Turkish embassy in Denmark.
The incident took place days after Paludan, the leader of Denmark’s far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), committed a similar act outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan 21.
On Friday, Paludan burned the holy scripture with a helmet on his head just across from the Islamic Society mosque after noon prayers in the Dortheavej district of Copenhagen.
Khalid al-Subeyhi, a Palestinian mosque volunteer, said Paludan has carried out provocative acts in front of many mosques in Denmark for more than two years. “Our message to him is: ‘Don’t do this, this is not freedom of expression. This is a provocation for the Danish Muslim minority’,” he said.
Protest rallies
Thousands attended demonstrations held across Pakistan, Afghanistan and several other Muslim countries to protest the desecration of the Holy Quran.
In Lahore, at least 5,000 people held a march organized by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, AFP reported. They were chanting “Holy Quran is printed in our hearts” and “I am a protector of the Holy Quran”. Similar protests were also held in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Multan and Quetta.
Demonstrations have also broken out in Afghanistan and Iraq, while Indonesia summoned Sweden’s envoy and Egypt called for a boycott of Swedish and Dutch products.
In the Iranian capital of Tehran, hundreds of people marched after Friday prayers during which they burned a Swedish flag, the Associated Press reported.
In Beirut, about 200 angry protesters burned the flags of Sweden and the Netherlands outside the blue-domed Mohammed Al-Amin mosque at Beirut’s central Martyrs Square.
Small protests over the Quran burning also took place in Bahrain.
Iraq’s powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr asked in comments released Friday whether freedom of speech means offending other people’s beliefs. He asked why “doesn’t the burning of the gays’ rainbow flag represent freedom of expression.”
The cleric added that burning the Quran “will bring divine anger.” Hundreds of his supporters gathered outside a mosque in Baghdad waving copies of the Quran.
Ambassador summoned
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said the Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry where Turkish officials “strongly condemned the permission given for this provocative act which clearly constitutes a hate crime”.
The ambassador was told that “Denmark’s attitude is unacceptable” and that Turkey expected permission be revoked.
Turkey’s foreign ministry later issued a statement calling Paludan an “Islam-hating charlatan” and deploring the fact that he was allowed to stage the demonstration.
“Showing tolerance towards such heinous acts that offend the sensitivities of millions of people living in Europe threatens the practice of peaceful coexistence and provokes racist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim attacks,” the ministry said.
Admission to NATO
After Paludan’s action in Sweden last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Stockholm not to expect support for its NATO bid. Turkey also indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed Sweden and Finland’s membership.
Sweden and neighboring Finland are seeking to join the military alliance amid the war in Ukraine, in a historic departure from their non-aligned policies.
However, their accession would require approval from all NATO members, and Turkey has indicated it will block Sweden’s bid – in part due to Paludan’s initial stunt.
Aljazeera reported that later, in front of the Turkish Embassy, Paludan was quoted as saying over a bullhorn, “Once he [Erdogan] has let Sweden into NATO, I promise that I will not burn the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy. Otherwise, I will do so every Friday at 2pm.”
Meanwhile, the United States issued a security warning, cautioning US citizens in Turkey about possible retaliatory attacks against places of worship or places frequented by Westerners following the Quran-burning incidents.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Editor -in-Chief of the Journal of America: www.journalofamerica.net. email: asghazali2011@gmail.com
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Erdogan Says Swedish NATO Application out of Question after Quran burning in Stockholm
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
