Arab countries condemn desecration of Quran in Netherlands
ISTANBUL (AA) – Arab countries have condemned the desecration of the Quran in The Hague, Netherlands, saying it was a deliberate offense to one of the world’s great faiths.
A video on social media on Monday showed Edwin Wagensveld, a far-right Dutch politician and leader of the Islamophobic group Pegida, carrying out the desecration of the Quran.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry called it a “provocative step towards the feelings of millions of Muslims.”
The Emirati Foreign Ministry also condemned the incident, stressing “the need to respect religious symbols and sanctities and to refrain from incitement and polarization.”
Qatar also denounced the incident in a statement by its Foreign Ministry, saying this “heinous incident is an act of incitement and a serious provocation to the feelings of more than 2 billion Muslims worldwide.”
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry slammed the incident as “a blatant act that goes beyond the limits of freedom of expression and violates the sanctities of Muslims,” stressing that European countries witnessing the rise of Islamophobia are responsible for preventing any recurrence of such provocations.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said the act “fuels hatred and violence, threatens peaceful coexistence.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry decried the incident as “a flagrant attack on the feelings of millions of Muslims,” calling for international action to stop such provocations.
The Foreign Ministry of Oman expressed its “strong condemnation” of the incident, stressing “the need for concerted international efforts to consolidate the values of tolerance, coexistence and respect.”
Nayef Al-Hajraf, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, warned that “such actions would inflame and provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world.”
The provocation came close on the heels of a similar incident last Saturday in which Rasmus Paludan, an extremist Swedish-Danish politician, burned a copy of the Quran in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
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