Muslims in Netherlands protest desecration of Quran

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/muslims-in-netherlands-protest-desecration-of-quran/2807332

THE HAGUE

A group of Muslims staged a protest in the Hague on Sunday against recent desecrations of the Quran and Islamophobia.

Hundreds of Muslims marched towards Koekamp square as part of the “stop anti-Muslim hatred” protest organized by the Federation of Islamic Organizations (FIO) and the Haaglanden Region Islamic Organizations Association (SIORH).

Gathering in the square, they chanted slogans against the desecration of the Muslim holy book, condemning such Islamophobic acts.

They also performed a prayer and recited verses from the Quran.

Speaking at the demonstration, Tahsin Cetinkaya, the head of the Turkish Islamic Culture Foundation, said Islamophobia has risen to “a new level” in the Netherlands.

“Muslims, mosques and other Islamic institutions have faced various Islamophobic acts over the years, including the sending of threatening letters to mosques, the hanging pigs’ heads on mosque doors and arson,” he said.

Cetinkaya noted that the perpetrators of these acts are encouraged by the silence of government officials.

“Enough is enough. Stop holding grudges against Muslims and Islam,” he said, stressing that Muslims living in the Netherlands are also part of the country.

Rasmus Paludan, an extremist Danish-Swedish politician and the leader of the far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21 with both police protection and permission from Swedish authorities.

The following week, he burned a copy of Islam’s holy book in front of a mosque in Denmark and said he would repeat the act every Friday until Sweden is included in NATO.