Desecration of Quran in Europe Sets Off Outcry in Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A large number of Iranian Muslims held rallies in Tehran and other cities on Friday to protest against the desecration of the holy Quran in Europe.
Following the Friday prayers, worshipers gathered across Iran, marched in rallies, and chanted slogans, condemning the insult to the divine book.
The protesters expressed their anger towards the insult which European governments justify under the cloak of the freedom of speech but do not brook any questioning of the Holocaust, for example.
They said the heinous incident is an act of incitement and a serious provocation to the feelings of more than two billion Muslims worldwide. They called on European authorities to put an end to hostilities toward Islam, Press TV reported.
On Monday, a Dutch politician tore apart a copy of the Holy Quran in the city of The Hague. It followed an incident in Sweden where a politician burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy.
The politician committed the scandalous act after receiving permission from Swedish authorities who provided police guards to ensure nobody prevented it.
The outrageous acts have drawn strong condemnation from Muslims, with many states such as Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates denouncing the provocative and Islamophobic move.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the sacrilegious act shows that the arrogant powers’ attacks are aimed at Islam itself.
Referring to the recent insults, Tehran Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Kazem Seddiqi said they show the Western world is afraid of Islam and the Islamic Revolution.
“They are doing these things contrary to their own slogans that call for freedom,” he said.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have been on the rise across Europe in recent years in the wake of terrorist attacks in the continent. The attacks were carried out by the Daesh sympathizers or the Takfiri terror group’s members who had returned home following their defeat in Iraq and Syria.
Muslim leaders in Europe and around the world have reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks.