By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Less than a week after the extremist and anti-Muslim group known as Patrioterne Gar Live, burnt a copy of the Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen, Iran has strongly condemned recent desecration of the Holy Qur’an by a Danish far-right group while denouncing the silence of so-called advocates of human rights vis-à-vis such measures.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani stated on Monday, warning about the increased number of insults against the Holy Qur’an and sanctities of Muslims, Kan’ani denounced the silence of so-called advocates of human rights in the face of such measures.
“These measures only pave the way for hate-mongering and extremism and foment violence, which pose a risk to peace, peaceful coexistence among humans, and global security,” the Iranian spokesman said.
According to him, overlooking the recent insults against Islam in the name of human rights is totally in contravention to the universal principles of human rights.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran as well as [other] Muslim countries and nations expect Danish officials to prevent repetition of such insulting shows under the excuse of freedom of expression by assuming their responsibility and not permitting such acts of sacrilege and hate-mongering [to happen again],” Kan’ani concluded.
Iran spokesman remarks came as the frequency of insults against Islam and its holy book has been on the rise in Europe. Several European countries have been playing host to such despicable acts on their soils over the past months, drawing far-and-wide condemnation from the world’s Muslim countries.
In January, dual Danish and Swedish citizen Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, and later again in front of a mosque.
Days later in the Netherlands, far-right extremist, Edwin Wagensveld, who leads the anti-Muslim PEGIDA party, tore a copy of the Quran apart before setting it on fire.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Libya, among others, issued separate statements, condemning in the strongest terms desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Denmark. They asserted that such insulting acts hurt the feelings of the world Muslims during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry described such acts as a form of hate crime, saying that the country would not accept “vile actions being allowed under the guise of freedom of expression.”
