The Gulf countries expressed strong condemnation and denunciation of a far-right politician of the Netherlands tearing a copy of the Holy Quran.
On Monday, Edwin Wagensveld shared a video clip on his official Twitter page of him tearing the Quran in front of the parliament building in The Hague.
The video shows the Dutch police standing behind the politician without moving a finger. Wagensveld later burned the torn pages of the Quran in a frying pan.
Mensen die ons kennen en volgen, weten wij geven nooit op, wij laten ons niet intimideren door gewelds en doodsbedreigingen…….geen woorden maar daden. Na 2 keer eerder direct te zijn aangehouden en te hebben vastgezeten, was vandaag de derde keer scheepsrecht! pic.twitter.com/IXqEXaODcs
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait on Tuesday condemned Wagensveld’s act.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the act as a provocative step to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world.
The four countries foreign ministries affirmed their position calling for a need to respect religious symbols and sanctities, to avoid incitement and polarization at a time when the world needs to work together to spread the values of tolerance and coexistence.
#بيان | تعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة واستنكار المملكة العربية السعودية الشديدين، إقدام أحد المتطرفين في هولندا بتمزيق نسخة من المصحف الشريف في مدينة لاهاي الهولندية، في خطوة استفزازية لمشاعر ملايين المسلمين حول العالم. pic.twitter.com/v1Rcb9eqgM
بيان معالي وزير الخارجية الشيخ سالم عبدالله الجابر الصباح بشأن إدانة وإستنكار دولة الكويت الشديدين من إقدام أحد المتطرفين في مدينة لاهاي في هولندا من تمزيق وحرق نسخة من المصحف الشريف.
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Al-Hajraf, condemned the burning of the Holy Quran and affirmed its firm position calling on the international community to assume responsibility to stop such unacceptable actions.
This comes days after the far-right Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish hard-line party burned a copy of the Holy Quran near the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital Stockholm under strict police protection on January 20.
This incident sparked widespread Gulf condemnations, amid intense popular calls for a comprehensive commercial boycott of Swedish goods.
Kuwait: Kuwaiti MPs condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran by an extremist with the approval of the Swedish government, and called for a boycott of all countries that do not respect the sanctities of Muslims.
In a statement reported on Tuesday, 41 MPs condemned the burning of the Holy Quran, in a scene that is repeated from time to time with the approval of governments and in violation of all international norms, laws and covenants, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa reported.
The MPs’ said that these practices provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world, expressing their condemnation of the position of the Swedish government, which granted permission to burn the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
41 نائباً يصدرون بياناً يستنكرون ويدينون فيه موقف الحكومة السويدية بالسماح بالموقف الهمجي من حرق نسخة من القرآن الكريم ويطالبون بمقاطعة السويد. pic.twitter.com/oq0enNVbcS
They appealed to all parliamentarians in the world to boycott the Swedish government and all governments that do not respect the constants of Muslims. They emphasized that these practices “do not undermine the sanctity of the Quran in the heart of every civilized person.”
According to the Arabic daily Al Qabas, on January 23, the cooperative societies in Kuwait announced a boycott of Swedish products in protest of the provocative act.
On January 21, 2023, the leader of the Danish far-right hard line party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, amid tight police protection that prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing the provocative act.
All Arab countries issued statements of condemnation and denunciation, and considered the incident “a serious provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world.”
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah considered that these events “would inflame the feelings of Muslims around the world, and constitute a dangerous provocation for them.”
Angry reactions increased, which turned into popular calls for a comprehensive Arab and Islamic economic and commercial boycott of Sweden.
Sweden has given far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan the green light to burn a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on January 21.
Here’s a look at why some extremist groups in Europe burn copies of the Quran and what they gain from it pic.twitter.com/WQQ4eV8eNr
Ankara: Turkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, the state-run TRT network reported.
The meeting was slated to take place in February, the report said, citing anonymous Turkish diplomatic sources.
The decision came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Sweden not to expect Turkey’s support on its NATO bid after Rasmus Paludan, the head of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned a copy of the Quran on Saturday outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join the NATO in May 2022, which were initially objected by Turkey, a NATO member, citing their support for anti-Turkish Kurdish organisations and political dissidents, Xinhua news agency reported.
A month later, Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) ahead of the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain.
In the MoU, Ankara agreed to lift its veto on the NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, which in return pledged to support Turkey’s fight against terrorism and address its “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly”.
The Turkish parliament has not ratified the Nordic countries’ NATO bids so far, citing that they have yet to meet Turkey’s requests.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Turkey condemns burning of Qur’an during far-right protest in Sweden
Turkey has condemned a demonstration involving the burning of Qur’ans in Sweden on Saturday, further inflaming tensions between the two countries amid Stockholm’s Nato bid.
The protest in Stockholm, which took place under heavy police protection in front of Turkey’s embassy, gathered about 100 people and a crowd of reporters, Agence France-Presse reported.
Far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, who staged the event, gave an hour-long speech against Islam and immigration before setting fire to a copy of the Qur’an.
Far-right politician Rasmus Paludan gave an hour-long speech against Islam and immigration before setting fire to a copy of the Qur’an. Photograph: Fredrik Sandberg/TT/EPA
A day prior, Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador over the permission granted to Paludan’s protest. It was the second time Sweden’s ambassador to Turkey has been summoned this month, after having had to answer for a 12 January stunt during which a Kurdish group hung an effigy of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Stockholm.
Worldwide condemnations pour in over Sweden allowing Quran burning
On Sunday, several countries worldwide continued to condemn Sweden allowing a politician to burn a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, under police protection in Stockholm.
With permission from the government, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Hard Line party, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.
“Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
People protest Sweden in front of the Taksim Mosque in Istanbul, Türkiye, Jan.22, 2023 (AA Photo)
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms the State of Qatar’s total rejection of all forms of hate speech based on religion or race and rejecting the involvement of sanctities in political disputes. Furthermore, the ministry warns that hate campaigns against Islam and the discourse of Islamophobia witnessed a dangerous escalation through the continued frequent calls for repeated targeting of Muslims worldwide,” Qatar said.
The incident “hurts Muslims’ sentiments across the world and marks serious provocation,” Kuwait’s foreign minister, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah, said in statements cited by the state-run Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
He called the international community “to shoulder responsibility by stopping such unacceptable acts and denouncing all forms of hatred and extremism and bringing the perpetrators to accountability.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry decried the Quran burning as a “disgraceful act.”
A ministry statement warned that this “disgraceful act provokes the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide.”
“These extremist practices are inconsistent with the values of respect for others, freedom of belief, human rights and fundamental human freedoms,” it added.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said some European countries, under the false pretext of advocating Freedom of speech, “allow extremist and radical elements to spread hatred against Islamic sanctities and values.”
Kanaani said despite the strong emphasis on human rights in Islam, Europeans continue to “institutionalize anti-Islam sentiment and Islamophobia” in their societies.
Pakistan also condemned the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden, describing it as a “senseless and provocative Islamophobic act.”
“This senseless and provocative Islamophobic act hurts the religious sensitivities of over 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide,” said the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
Islamabad urged the international community to show a “common resolve” against Islamophobia, xenophobia, intolerance and incitement to violence based on religion or belief and work together to promote inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence.
Morocco said it was “astonished” the authorities had allowed it to take place “in front of the Swedish forces of order.”
(With Inputs From News Agencies)
ALSO READ: New MacBook Pro Coming: Apple Will Release New Laptops Equipped With ‘M2’
ALSO READ: JetBlue Flight Struck the Tail of Another Aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York
CLICK ON THE BELOW PROVIDED LINKS TO FOLLOW KASHMIR NEWS ON:
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran, by extremists in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
On Saturday, January 21, Swedish right-wing leader Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran, with the permission of the Swedish government.
Paludan set fire to the Holy Quran surrounded by the police with a lighter after a long sermon, which lasted about an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden.
Following the decision, Ankara summoned Sweden’s ambassador to it and informed him of its condemnation in the strongest terms.
GCC countries condemn
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and five other GCC countries— UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar have expressed their strong condemnation of such provocative actions against the feelings and sanctities of Muslims and the incitement to violence and hatred.
The GCC countries foreign ministries affirmed their countries’ total rejection of all forms of hate speech based on belief, race or religion, and the involvement of sanctities in political disputes.
The ministries warned that the campaigns of hatred against Islam and the discourse of Islamophobia have witnessed a dangerous escalation with the continued systematic calls for the repeated targeting of Muslims in the world.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain’s foreign ministries called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to reject hatred, discrimination, incitement and violence and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of dialogue and mutual understanding.
The ministries renewed countries’ full support for the values of tolerance and coexistence, and their keenness to establish the principles of international peace and security through dialogue and understanding.
سلطنة #عُمان تُعرب عن استنكارها الشديد لإقدام متطرفين في #السويد على إحراق نسخة من المصحف الشريف، وإدانتها البالغة مثل هذه الأعمال الاستفزازية لمشاعر المسلمين ومقدساتهم وما تمثله من تحريض على العنف والكراهية. #العُمانيةpic.twitter.com/sRlanftlqw
وزير الخارجية يدين ويستنكر حرق متطرف لنسخة من المصحف الشريف أمام سفارة تركيا في ستوكهولم ويدعو المجتمع الدولي إلى وقف مثل هذه الأعمال المرفوضة ونبذ كافة أشكال الكراهية والتطرف ومحاسبة مرتكبيهاhttps://t.co/gu60ENa8nW#كونا#الكويت
#بيان | تعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة واستنكار المملكة العربية السعودية الشديدين، لسماح السلطات السويدية لأحد المتطرفين بإحراق نسخة من المصحف الشريف أمام سفارة جمهورية تركيا في ستوكهولم pic.twitter.com/aZ38EACMq0
Ankara: Turkey has cancelled the upcoming visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson to the country, in response to Stockholm police giving permission to burn a copy of the Holy Quran during a planned protest in the Swedish capital.
Johnson was planning to visit Turkey on January 27 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, as the Scandinavian country hopes to urge Turkey to ratify its bid to join NATO.
“Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson’s visit to Turkey on January 27 lost its significance, so we cancelled the visit,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, Anadolu Agency reported.
On Saturday, January 21, Swedish right-wing leader Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran, with the permission of the Swedish government.
Paludan set fire to the Holy Quran surrounded by the police with a lighter after a long sermon, which lasted about an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden.
Sweden has given far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan the green light to burn a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on January 21.
Here’s a look at why some extremist groups in Europe burn copies of the Quran and what they gain from it pic.twitter.com/WQQ4eV8eNr
On Friday, January 20, Ankara summoned Sweden’s ambassador and informed him of its condemnation in the strongest terms.
This is the second time in a few days that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara. The first took place after a video clip was broadcast last week showing a hanged doll in the image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Islamabad: Pakistan has strongly condemned the “abhorrent” act of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, stressing that the move hurt the sentiments of the 1.5 billion-strong Muslim community across the globe.
The country’s condemnation came after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Geo News reported.
Turkiye and several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, denounced the Quran burning. “Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Geo News reported.
The move has drawn severe criticism from Turkiye as well, with Ankara calling off a visit by Sweden’s defence minister and mentioning that “it’s a racist action, it’s not about freedom of expression”.
In its statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that this senseless and provocative Islamophobic act hurts the religious sensitivities of billions of Muslims around the world, Geo News reported.
Such actions, the ministry said, are not covered under any legitimate expression of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, which carries responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence.
The ministry called upon the international community to show a common resolve against Islamophobia, xenophobia, intolerance, and incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief, and work together for promoting inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence.
Pakistan’s concerns are being conveyed to the authorities in Sweden, it said, urging them to be mindful of the sentiments of Muslims and take steps to prevent Islamophobic acts, Geo News reported.
Turkey has condemned a demonstration involving the burning of Qur’ans in Sweden on Saturday, further inflaming tensions between the two countries amid Stockholm’s Nato bid.
The protest in Stockholm, which took place under heavy police protection in front of Turkey’s embassy, gathered about 100 people and a crowd of reporters, Agence France-Presse reported.
Far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, who staged the event, gave an hour-long speech against Islam and immigration before setting fire to a copy of the Qur’an.
A day prior, Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador over the permission granted to Paludan’s protest. It was the second time Sweden’s ambassador to Turkey has been summoned this month, after having had to answer for a 12 January stunt during which a Kurdish group hung an effigy of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Stockholm.
Earlier on Saturday, Ankara cancelled a 27 January visit by Sweden’s defence minister, Pål Jonson, intended to be a discussion about Turkey’s refusal to ratify Sweden’s Nato accession.
Turkey’s defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said the meeting was cancelled because it “has lost its significance and meaning”.
Jonson, however, announced the meeting had been postponed after talks with Akar on Friday at the US military base in Ramstein, Germany.
“Our relations with Türkiye are very important to Sweden, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue on common security and defence issues at a later date,” he tweeted on Saturday.
Prior to Paludan’s event on Saturday, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, called it a “hate crime” that could not be characterised as freedom of expression, and asked Sweden not to allow the “vile act” to take place.
The Stockholm protest was also denounced by İbrahim Kalın, chief adviser to Erdoğan.
“The burning of the Holy Qur’an in Stockholm is a clear crime of hatred and humanity,” Kalın tweeted. “We vehemently condemn this. Allowing this action despite all our warnings is encouraging hate crimes and Islamophobia. The attack on sacred values is not freedom but modern barbarism.”
Sweden’s government has sought to distance itself from the demonstration, with the foreign minister, Tobias Billström, condemning it on Saturday.
“Islamophobic provocations are appalling,” Billström tweeted. “Sweden has a far-reaching freedom of expression, but it does not imply that the Swedish government, or myself, support the opinions expressed.”
Turkey has proved to be an obstacle to Sweden and Finland’s historic application for Nato membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which marked a reversal of the Nordic countries’ decades of neutrality. Sweden and Finland have gained the approval of 28 Nato members so far, bar Hungary and Turkey.
In November, Hungary’s president, Viktor Orbán, said his parliament would ratify Nato membership for Sweden and Finland in early 2023. But Turkey is still holding back, demanding the extradition of people in Sweden it claims to have links to the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) – designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the US – or to banned cleric Fethullah Gülen.
[ad_2]
#Turkey #condemns #burning #Quran #farright #protest #Sweden
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Tehran: The Iran’s Revolutionary Court (IRC) has sentenced a mentally ill man to death on charges of apostasy for allegedly burning a holy Quran during the early phase of the protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, local media reported.
35-year-old Javad Rouhi, who suffers from a severe mental illness, was accused of entering a local traffic police headquarters in September 2022, along with two others, and setting the building on fire, including copies of the Quran.
Rouhi, was sentenced to death on three charges— waging war against God, corruption on earth and apostasy. He was detained on September 22, 2022.
#JavadRouhi ,35 years old protester has been sentenced to 3times execution in Islamic court He became speechless and lost many vital functions of his body for some days due to severe torture done by IRGC members in prison The young man who is dancing in this video is Javad Rouhi pic.twitter.com/EWQYwPgox7
After his arrest, he was transferred to a detention center supervised by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. He was left unable to speak and walk after being severely tortured while in detention.
According to Mizan Agency, which is run by Iran’s judiciary, the head of the province’s supreme court said that Rouhi “admitted the fact that he destroyed the headquarters and set it on fire.”
Rouhi was prevented from appointing a lawyer of his choice, as court authorities required him to be represented by state advocate Habibullah Qazvini.
The judiciary had already carried out death sentences against four people who were convicted of assaulting security men on the sidelines of the protests that took place in various parts of the country and are approaching the completion of their fourth month.
Of the 18 death sentences, four have been carried out and two others have been approved by the Supreme Court.
Since September 16, Iran has been witnessing protests following the death of Amini, three days after she was arrested by the morality police for not adhering to the strict rules of dress in the Islamic Republic.
In Kerala’s Kozhikode, a Hindu student in the fourth class won first prize in the Quran recitation competition. The student Parvathy surprised everyone by getting an A for her language fluency.
Parvathy has a twin sister called Parvana. They both attend the LP School in Chemmarathur. Both of the children, in the opinion of their teacher Ruqaiya, are good language learners, according to India Today report.
While her mother Dina Prabha teaches English, Parvathy’s father Nalish Bobby works in information technology. Parents wanted their children to learn a new language because they believe it will help them in the future. There is no religion for language, according to Parvathy’s school’s teachers, who believe she has proved this.
(We don’t allow anyone to copy content. For Copyright or Use of Content related questions, visit here.)
