Highlights:
Muslims in Malaysia took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to show their dissent and protest against the recent burning of the Quran in Sweden.
Source: Global Village Space
The protest comes after the founder of the Danish political party Stram Kurs [trans. Hard line], Rasmus Paludan, set fire to a copy of the sacred text of Islam, the Koran, on January 21, 2024, near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
This incident, which has been denounced as an act of Islamophobia, has taken Muslim nations by storm and shaken the entire world.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed deep regret over the incident and criticized Paludan’s actions and called them “deeply disrespectful”.
This incident has drawn flak from the entire world, with a lot of Muslims and Muslim-majority nations chiming in with their condemnation.
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, called on the Swedish government to take immediate action against the miscreants involved in the incident and to take harsh steps to address Islamophobia in the Scandinavian country in the future.
Source: Al Jazeera
The Malaysian Prime Minister called Paludan’s act disrespectful to the Muslim population across the globe and termed it a “grave provocation to the sensitivities” of Muslims.
The Islamist party PAS organized a rally after Friday prayers in Kuala Lumpur that attracted about 300 people. Heavy police presence was visible throughout the protest route between the KL Twin Towers and the Swedish embassy, as protesters chanted “Allahuakbar.”
![PAS MP Zulkifli Ismail [with microphone] in the protests organized by PAS](https://tdznkwjt9mxt6p1p8657.cleaver.live/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Asiana-Times-2-2-edited.png)
Source: fmt
PAS MP Zulkifli Ismail stated that the Muslim community has a responsibility to take firm action to prevent these hideous acts from happening again, and he would like to urge the Swedish people to refrain from indulging in the same behavior.
According to reports on Thursday, Malaysian authorities summoned Sweden’s envoy to convey their “objection and disappointment” at Sweden’s inaction in stopping Rasmus Paludan.
Paludan’s party was founded in 2017 and is known for its anti-Islamist stance. It is not the first time a Danish-Swedish politician has tried to burn the holy Quran.
The Danish far-right party’s plans to burn the holy book have been met with violence in the past. Malmo, Sweden, saw riots in 2020 over Paludan’s similar efforts, with protesters setting cars on fire. A two-year ban was imposed on his return to Sweden.
The plan to burn the Quran in an area of Brussels largely occupied by Muslims resulted in Paludan and his party being banned from Belgium in 2020. After suggesting the same in Paris, he was deported from France.
Anti-Muslim Protests in the Netherlands
Earlier this week, in another incident of anti-Islamic acts, Dutch political leader Edwin Wagensveld ripped a copy of the holy Koran apart and trampled on it near the Dutch Parliament in The Hague.
Source: OpIndia
Wagensveld is a member of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) which is a political movement that opposes Islam and is pan-European in nature.
This is not the first time Wagensveld has shown his anti-Muslim stance publicly. After previously being arrested twice for anti-Muslim activities, Wagensveld claimed to have received clearance to destroy the Quran.
In a video, Wagensveld claimed that he had received permission from The Hague for the “destruction of the Quran.”
In a separate post, he noted that he had received a letter from The Hague Mayor Jan van Zanen giving him permission to use “objects” in his protest, but forbidding him from setting them on fire.
Source: Twitter- Wisma Putra
Malaysia’s foreign ministry condemned Wagensveld’s action in The Hague on Friday and urged the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Human Rights Council to take immediate action against Islamophobia and to find a harmonious solution to ensure that religious scriptures are respected and protected worldwide.
Reaction from the Muslim world
Muslims across the globe have been protesting against these Islamophobic acts in Europe.
An influential Islamist group in Indonesia, the 212 Alumni Brotherhood, plans a protest at the Swedish embassy in Jakarta on Monday to demand Indonesia sever ties with Sweden.
The Indonesian foreign minister summoned Sweden’s ambassador previously in response to the Quran-burning incident, which he strongly condemned as blasphemous and hurt religious sentiments and taints religious tolerance.
Source: SCMP
The burning of a Quran in Sweden prompted Syrian protests in the rebel-held city of Idlib on Thursday.
Source: The Washington Post
Paludan’s actions, which were targeted toward key NATO member Turkey, received strong opposition from the nation. As a result of Paludan’s act, Turkey canceled the visit of the Swedish defense minister and summoned Sweden’s ambassador.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, declared that Turkey would no longer support Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Source: The Guardian Nigeria
The burning of the Quran was condemned by hundreds of Pakistani protesters in Lahore.
Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his disappointment over the incident. In his tweet he mentioned that religious freedom should not be used as a shield to hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims across the globe.
Source: USNews
This incident was also condemned by the Middle East and Gulf countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan, Iraq Egypt, and Iran.
Source: Al-Monitor
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also denounced the incident.
