July 31, 2023

Repeated Quran burning is a new Crusade against Muslims

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who previously came under fire for desecrating the Quran in Sweden, set the Muslim holy book on fire again, this time in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm on Monday.

Momika and Salwan Najem stomped on the Muslim holy book, set its pages ablaze before slamming it shut, as they did at a protest outside Stockholm's main mosque in June.  The duo also staged a similar protest outside Iraq's embassy in Stockholm on July 20, where they stomped on the Quran but did not burn it.

Swedish police had granted a permit for the Quran burning. "I want to protest in front in front of Sweden's parliament and demand that the Quran be banned," organizer Najem wrote in the application, which has been viewed by AFP, adding that he would "burn the Quran there."

During the protest, Momika also stomped on a picture of Shiite Muslim cleric and political leader Moqtada Sadr – whose followers had stormed Sweden's embassy in Baghdad in response to previous desecrations. They had started fires within the compound the night before the July protest.

OIC denounces

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) criticized Sweden and Denmark's response to the repeated Quran desecrations on Monday, as the Swedish leader said the two countries are in discussions about a possible ban on such acts. The OIC on Monday met to address Quran desecrations and voiced "disappointment" with Sweden and Denmark's response.

Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called on both countries to prevent Quran desecration and "expressed his disappointment that no measures were taken in this regard so far", the 57-member, Jeddah-based body said. "It is unfortunate that the concerned authorities claiming freedom of expression continue to provide licenses to repeat these acts contrary to international law, and this leads to a lack of respect for religions," Taha said.

Sweden has already seen its diplomatic relations with several Middle Eastern nations strained over previous protests involving Quran desecrations.

Reactions were particularly strong in Iraq, whose government expelled the Swedish ambassador. Earlier, demonstrators in Baghdad broke into the Swedish embassy and set fire to it. Iraq expelled Sweden's ambassador and Iran said it would not allow a new Swedish ambassador into the country.

Saudi Arabia, home to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, has in recent weeks summoned Swedish and Danish diplomats to deliver protest notes denouncing "disgraceful" acts against the Quran.

Iran blasts repetition of Quran sacrilege

The Iranian Embassy in Stockholm condemned the Swedish government for granting permission again to the desecration of the holy Qur'an in Sweden on Monday.

"Burning the Qur'an in Sweden again. This time in front of the legislative body of the country!" the official account of the Iranain Embassy in Sweden wrote in a post on Twitter after media reported on Monday that two Iraqi refugees who had insulted the Muslim holy book before in Sweden repeated their shameful action outside the Swedish parliament under police protection.

"Again, 2 billion Muslims and all the free people of the world witnessed the desecration of the Holy Qur'an today with tears in their eyes," the post added.

"What is more surprising is that the Swedish government officials say that they cannot do anything because of the necessity of protecting freedom of speech?" the embassy further said in its post that was written in Farsi language.

Muslims in Europe

Today the number of Muslims living in the European countries exceeds 20 million. Muslims constitute the second-largest religious group, and Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. Therefore, Western countries feel threatened by Islam and Muslims. It has become the second-largest faith in many European countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands.

Muslims make up a small minority of the populations in West European countries, and the majority are from non-white backgrounds. Some Muslims believe that the targeting of Islamic holy symbols for desecration is evidence of a wider climate of hatred towards Muslims and is encouraged by the European far-right.

This is coupled with far-right calls for an end to immigration from Muslim countries and even the expulsion of Muslim citizens as part of a conspiracy theory that Muslims will “replace” the “native” population of Europe.

Quran burning is a notable manifestation of anti-Muslim hatred against Islam and Muslims.

Though anti-Islam narratives have long existed in Christian Europe, researchers know full well that the most recent form of anti-Islam campaign has taken on momentum of its own, with its proponents all to happily fanning its flames.

Far-right Finnish politician rips up Quran

In May 2019, Marco De Wit, leader of Finnish People First -- a small anti-immigrant party with no seats in the national parliament – ripping up a copy of the Quran in the capital Helsinki, in full view of police officers. He was Campaigning in European Parliament elections.

In April 2019, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of Denmark’s Islamophobic Hard Line party, burned the Quran in an area with a large Muslim population, as an intentional insult.

Dutch Far-right Leader Seeks Ban on Quran, Mosques

The political party of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders has pledged to close mosques and ban Islam’s holy book, the Quran, as anti-Muslim sentiments in the Netherlands grow, according to the Voice of America (VOA) report of August 26, 2016.

If they prevail at the polls, Wilders and his Freedom Party, or PVV, said its number one goal would be to halt the 'Islamization' of the Netherlands.

Wilders’ anti-Islam, anti-immigrant and anti-EU rhetoric is similar to that of other European right-wing parties. The leader of the Danish People’s Party has proposed a ban on Muslim refugees. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban is holding a referendum against the mandatory EU plan to relocate migrants across Europe.

Giorgia Meloni, the leader of far-right Brothers of Italy party says about Islam:  “Oh this” If you feel that the cross is an insult to you, this is not the place where you should live, the world is vast and full of Muslim nations, and we will fight the Islamization of Europe because we do not intend to become a Muslim continent.

Europe’s far-right leaders raise voices against Islam ahead 

Europe’s far-right political leaders campaigned in April 2019 in Prague, calling migration and Islam major threats to Europe as they sought to rally support ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2019, the Associate Press reported from Prague.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, and Geert Wilders, founder of the Dutch anti-Islam Party for Freedom, were the main draws for hundreds at downtown Wenceslas Square. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s hard-line interior minister and leader of the anti-migrant League party, sent a video message.

All the far-right politicians denounced migration and Islam, linking them to terror attacks and criticizing the current European Union. “Islam is a medieval cult that denies freedom to others,” Wilders said. “Islam and freedom are not compatible.” “We don’t want Islam here!” the crowd repeatedly chanted.

The Czech populist group is the most anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-EU party in the Czech Republic. It has 22 seats in the country’s 200-seat lower house of Parliament. The party wants to ban Islam, which it calls an ideology of hate.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the  Editor -in-Chief of the Journal of America: www.journalofamerica.net. email: asghazali2011@gmail.com
 

 

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HEADLINES

 The Journal of America Team:

 Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott

Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab