Quran Desecration Shows Arrogant Powers’ Enmity with Islam: Leader
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei denounced recent acts of desecration of the Holy Quran in Europe, saying they signify the arrogant powers’ hostility against Islam.
“The insane desecration of the Quran, which is committed under the slogan of freedom of speech, shows the arrogant powers’ attacks are aimed at Islam itself and the Quran,” the Leader said in remarks posted on Khamenei.ir’s Twitter account on Wednesday.
“The Quran is shining more brightly every day and the future belongs to Islam despite the Arrogant Powers’ plots. All freedom-seekers of the world should stand by Muslims in confronting the wicked plot of insulting sanctities and spreading hate,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
On Monday, Dutch politician Edwin Wagensveld, the head of the far-right PEGIDA, tore pages out of the holy book before setting them on fire in front of the parliamentary building in the Hague.
A video posted on his social media accounts showed Wagensveld claiming he received permission from local authorities for “the destruction of the Quran.”
His provocation followed another Islamophobic protest on Saturday in Sweden, where a Danish extremist burned a copy of the holy book in a police-approved demonstration.
The Muslim community worldwide has been outraged since the weekend at anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan, who staged his provocative demonstration in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm while delivering a hate-filled speech, and the Swedish authorities who allowed him under the guise of “freedom of expression.”
Paludan was being protected by the Swedish police while committing the sacrilege.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has also vehemently denounced the act of sacrilege in Sweden, saying the move was a clear example of hatemongering and violence against Muslims.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Western countries’ support for these acts in the name of freedom of expression is “not acceptable at all.”
Spokesman Nasser Kanaani also said the desecration “of the holy book of one and a half billion Muslims is a clear example of hatemongering and the spread of violence against all Muslims around the world. Such actions have nothing to do with freedom of expression and opinion.”
Middle East countries also unanimously condemned the desecration of the Holy Qur’an, with Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan, among other Muslim nations, voicing their anger over the act of desecration.
