Quran Desecration A Criminal Move against Sanctities: Iranian Cultural Figure

In an article, Ali Akbar Ziyaee has explored the statement that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei released on July 22 in condemnation of desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden.

What follows is the text of the article by Ziyaee:

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a message, called the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden a bitter, conspiratorial and dangerous incident and emphasized: “The severest punishment for the perpetrator of this crime is agreed upon by all Islamic scholars, the Swedish government must hand over the criminal to the judicial authorities of Islamic countries.”

There are always sacred values in human life that thinkers and governments protect those values with laws, and for the violation of those laws, punishments appropriate to the type of crime have been predicted and implemented. Preserving the dignity of human and religious values has been of special importance since the beginning of the formation of social systems in primitive tribes and traditional and modern social systems. Political and social systems throughout history have helped a lot by protecting the values of the society to preserve the spiritual peace and social security and to defend the structures approved by the society and religious traditions.

The history of establishing laws against the desecration of religious sanctities goes back to the breaking of taboos in primitive human societies when religious leaders have dealt with criminals according to the type of religious deconstruction, because in different periods, some customs, places, and objects are considered as sacred and respectable things of the society. They know that the desecration of them has become the cause of social differences, public riots and violence.

The elites of the society, in order to protect the intellectual and social security, take legal action against perpetrator of such desecration. All divine religions and even non-Abrahamic religions have established laws regarding desecration of religious sanctuaries to protect the religion against the structural breakers.

After the collapse of communism and the failure of the western liberalism system and the emergence of political Islam and the identity of the world's Muslims with the emergence of the Islamic revolution in Iran and the awakening of Muslims in the Islamic countries under the rule of the West, the conspiracy against Islamic teachings and Islamophobia in the world was formed by imperialistic powers and global Zionism and this enmity with religious values was organized in various ways in the western societies, including the desecration of the Holy Quran in western countries, especially Sweden and Denmark, in the form of Quran burning. Desecration of the Holy Quran under the false pretext of freedom of expression is a concrete example of violating the sanctity of religious sanctities in all religions. They are considered criminal and all divine religions are against this desecration of religious sanctuaries.

In this article, we will express the strategies to deal with this desecration at the global level based on Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement.

The leader of the revolution did not consider a single person guilty of desecration the Holy Quran but he considered it to be a conspiracy against Islam, which was planned by the global imperialistic powers and the enemies of Islam. He said the following about desecration and its relationship with global imperialistic powers:

“Criticizing is different from desecration and insult. This point is very important, everyone should pay attention. This kind of act, this kind of desecration is the act of the Americans who have disgraced themselves in the world.”

He, in another speech, said that the global imperialistic powers are against the teachings of the Holy Quran about calling Muslims to unity and solidarity, and so it becomes clear that the desecration was not done by one person but it is rooted in the hatred of global imperialistic powers towards Quranic teachings.

He also said that, “Quran has advised us to be united. The Quran has threatened us that if you lose your unity and solidarity, your reputation, identity and power will be destroyed. Today, unfortunately, these disturbances are observed in the Islamic world. Today, the conspiracy against the Islamic world is a very serious conspiracy. If organized conspiracies are working against Islam with more intensity in this era, it is the awakening of the Islamic Ummah that has terrified the enemies. Global imperialistic powers, greedy people in Islamic countries, and interventionists among Islamic states are afraid from the unity of the Islamic nations.”

He also said that establishment of an Islamic state in Iran and raising the flag of Tawhid in this country - this sensitive center and important region - awakened the Islamic Ummah. It gave them hope for their own destiny and power and gave them self-confidence. This awakening and self-confidence have forced the enemy to make complicated conspiracies; These conspiracies are in front of us today. They are against all the Islamic world; They are opposed to the presence of Islam; They are against Islamic teachings. The president of America openly spoke about the crusade. America and Zionism - always poison the atmosphere with their propaganda, in order to create differences between Islamic countries and Islamic states.

From the point of view of the leader of the Islamic revolution, one of the main conspiracies of the enemy against Islam and desecrating the Holy Quran is the Judaization of Holy Quds . He says about this, “Their big crime is that they want to Judaize. They make Holy Quds , the Qibla of the Muslims, the beloved Palestine, as the center of their oppression and conspiracy as Judaization. This is our main issue.”

Mentioning the conspiracy of the political and cultural institutions of the western world, he condemned the western pretext of freedom of speech and called it completely false and misleading. In his statement condemning the insult to the Prophet, in Charlie Hebdo's publication, he also said that anti-Islamic policies of the Zionists and arrogant governments are responsible for such hostile actions.

He emphasized in this statement that this movement in this period of time can also divert the minds of the nations and governments of West Asia from the evil plans that America and the Zionist regime have for this region.

The Islamic awakening and the demands of Muslims in the world are against the interests of global imperialistic powers and the economic cartels of the West, and the Holy Quran is the most important source for informing the Muslims and the vulnerable in this world. It is the Holy Qur'an that is known as a source of inspiration at the individual and social levels among Muslims. Right-wing extremist groups in western countries in recent years, especially in Sweden and Denmark, have been organized to attract their extremist audience with the help of Zionists and arrogant media agents in pursuit of Islamophobia. And they have humiliated Muslims. And in this direction, the most important source of inspiration in Islam, i.e. the Quran, is targeted.

There was a time when Bani Umaya looked at the Holy Quran as a tool to create division between Imam Ali's forces in the Seffin War, now the Zionist lobbies and western’s anti-Islamic parties are desecration of the Quran. By desecrating of the Holy Quran, Western countries intend to humiliate Muslims and weaken the position of Islam. They plan the "Middle East Root" and "Abraham's Pact" for Zionism's rule in the Islamic countries and the Muslims of the world and to create division among the Muslims. Ayatollah Khamenei in a meeting removed the curtain from this plan.

The attachment of the world's Muslims to the Holy Quran and religious teachings and the confrontation of imperialistic powers with these values is reflected in the words of Ayatollah Khamenei:

“People's hearts are in the grip of the power of Islam and the Quran. You have seen what the Muslim nations everywhere - Europe and Asia - did in response to the insult of that Satanic speaker who used to send Satanic verses to the hearts of criminals. It was not specific to the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is Islam, Islamic belief and faith of the people. Nations are like this. It is possible that some of the leaders have unbelieving hearts and only consider their own interests; But nations are not like this.”

In 1993, Salman Rushdie met US president Bill Clinton in the White House. The leader of the Revolution in a meeting with the guests of the Islamic Conference said that:

“Dear Muslim brothers from all over the world! Today, enemies have risen against Islam, not against Sunnis or Shiism or some sect or some community. They are enemies of Islam and they are enemies of the Quran. You saw that the president of America met with the apostate, infidel Salman Rushdie. The meeting of two unbelievers with each other is not important; The political meaning of this act is important. What does the American government want to say with this action? I think it is not difficult to understand the message of this act. This is the concept of what is observed today in all regions of the Islamic world. This concept is manifested both in gathering and mobilizing all forces for the revival of the usurping Zionist state and its establishment and formalization, and also in the silence regarding the oppression of some Muslims in the world.”

Desecration of the Holy Quran is dangerous

The danger of desecration of the Holy Quran in this statement of Ayatollah Khamenei can be explained and interpreted in several ways.

A: This unwise action of the enemies of the Holy Quran can be the basis of a broad plan of imperialistic powers against Islam and the Muslims of the world, so that they can implement their plans for de-Islamization and atheism by desecrating of the Holy Quran among future generations of Muslims.

B: This criminal act can be a part of the arrogant plan to promote liberalism of the West and popularize values based on the modern atheism, the most important obstacle of which is the Holy Quran and the Islam as a political and value-based school of thought against global imperialistic powers.

C: This action can be a dangerous for the unity of the Islamic Ummah, because the laziness of the Muslims in confrontation with Western attacks on religious sanctuaries paves the way for the implementation of the evil plans of global and Zionist imperialistic powers so that they can control the material and spiritual resources of the Islamic countries.

D: This structured action in desecration of the Holy Quran can arouse the public anger of Muslims to such an extent that it is impossible to control them by Muslim thinkers and cause serious dangers and irreparable damages for security and peace in the world.

It is obvious that the consequences of such unwise act, which is supported by extreme western parties and security organizations affiliated with imperialistic powers and western media, are the responsibility of the perpetrators and main designers of this sinister plan.

The worst punishment for desecration of the Quran is agreed upon by all Islamic scholars. All the scholars of Islam from the Shiite, Ahlesunaat, including Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali religions consider desecration of the Holy Quran to be punishable. If a Muslim does this on purpose, he is subject to the sentence of apostasy and if a non-Muslim does this criminal act she/he is recognized as warring with God and the Messenger of God, and the verdict of warring is implemented on her/him.

As mentioned in the statement of the leader of the revolution, all Islamic scholars have strongly condemned this shameful act. We are referring to a number of them.

Hossein Ebrahim Taha, the head of the Islamic Cooperation Organization, said in a meeting that was held in Jeddah in order to investigate the dimensions of the desecration of the Holy Quran, “A clear letter should be sent that the actions like desecration of the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad, is not just an act in the direction of normal Islamophobia.”

The Secretary General of the World Union of Muslim Scholars, Qara Daghi, said in a statement, “Burning the Holy Quran is a racist act and does not represent freedom, and this barbaric act of an individual is officially supported and it should not be tolerated.”

This offensive action has been condemned by the official authorities of Islamic Republic of Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and also Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, Islamic World Union, World Muslim Scholars Union, Palestinian Scholars Union, Arab Society, Arab Parliament, Al-Azhar Scholars of Egypt, Akhwanul Muslemin, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

The duty of the Swedish government is to hand over the perpetrator of the crime to the judicial system of Islamic countries.

When a crime is committed with the support of the officials of Sweden and Denmark in public and in front of the mass media, the nature of the crime is not personal or against the right of a small group of people, but the addressee of that crime are all believers.

The Swedish government should not expect that the Muslims of the world and those who believe in Abrahamic religions must be indifferent to this type of desecration of the Holy Quran and should not take action to prevent similar actions and punish the perpetrators of the crime, especially the fact that the criminal laws of European countries are such that the occurrence of a major crime such as desecration of the sanctities of divine religions do not prevent and punish criminals.

It is in such conditions that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution wants the Swedish government to hand over the perpetrators of this crime to the judicial bodies of Islamic countries.

The international police and international courts, such as the Hague Court, were formed to protect the rights of citizens at the international level, but in the meantime, the rights of Muslim nations and religious values in Islamic society does not have the least place in the international legal system, and the establishment of international Islamic courts such as the Hague Court, investigating the crimes related to the Islamic world and defending the rights of Muslims and religious values is a necessity.

It does not seem that the reform of the judicial laws of the European Union will be able to ensure the benefits of religious values in the Islamic world, and at least historical experience has shown that the judicial system of western countries, based on common sense and civil laws, cannot prevent crimes related to religion and religious values.

The incident that has already happened in Sweden and Denmark shows that the criminals and the perpetrators are promoting this type of crimes with the protection and support of the legal system of those countries so the formation of the International Islamic Court with the presence of Islamic jurists and legislators can be done to some extent outside the borders and at the international level.

Desecration of the Holy Quran will make its light of guidance brighter.

The desecration of the Holy Quran has happened to turn off the light of guidance, and behind this criminal movement are polytheists and atheists who belong to the global imperialistic powers and Zionism.

And the statement of Ayatollah Khamenei that the light of guidance will be brighter with this desecration is the content of verse 8 of Surah Saf where God says, “They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it”, and this is one of the God's miracles for the protection of religious values, which is also reflected in other verses of the Quran.

The last phrase of Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement is a phrase from verse 21 of Surah Yusuf, where God says, “And Allah is predominant over His affair.”

Ayatollah Khamenei interpret this verse as "God is dominant over his own affairs, that is, He is in control of his own affair and without a doubt, He fulfills his will, but most people do not know that Almighty God fulfills His will."

Ayatollah Khamenei want to say that the God will protect the religion and the Holy Quran with His absolute will and power, although most people do not understand this truth, and this is the good news that God has given to Muslims that don't be disappointed by the plots of global imperialistic powers and Zionism in extinguishing the lights of divine guidance and rely on the Holy Essence of God to deal with these conspiracies.

The verse 21 of Surah Yusuf has been repeated in other statements of the Ayatollah Khamenei which means that the tricks of the enemy will be nullified by the efforts of the Muslim youths, and the supreme will to form the ideal society will be achieved according to verse 21 of Surah Yusuf.

This exact verse was mentioned in Ayatollah Khamenei's statement after a French publication insulted the Holy Prophet.

The verse 21 of Surah Yusuf is mentioned in the statements of the Ayatollah Khamenei in 1993 regarding the return of Al-Aqsa Mosque to the embrace of Islam and the failure of America and Zionism in front of the truth and God's tradition regarding Palestine.

And the last supplication is praise be to the Lord of the worlds.