Malaysia strongly condemns desecration of Holy Quran in The Hague

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has condemned in the strongest terms the latest despicable act of desecrating the Holy Quran by an anti-Islam extremist and far right leader, Edwin Wagensveld, in The Hague, the Netherlands on Sunday (Jan 22).

Malaysian Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) in a statement Friday said Malaysia is appalled that such an Islamophobic act has been repeated within the last few days despite global condemnation.

"Such bigotry and criminal act committed against Islam must stop immediately," the statement read.

Malaysia reiterated that bigotry, racism and any form of desecration of the holy scriptures, regardless of religion is unacceptable and should be condemned.

Malaysia urged all parties concerned to take the necessary steps to further encourage dialogue, understanding, and to promote the spirit of peaceful co-existence among multi-religious groups and cultures to achieve peace and harmony in a diverse global community.

"We also call upon the United Nations (UN), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Human Rights Council (HRC) to urgently address this alarming issue and find amicable measures in promoting the full respect and protection for religious scriptures worldwide," the statement said.

A video on social media on Monday showed Wagensveld tearing out pages from a copy of the Quran in The Hague and burning them in a pan.

The provocation by the leader of the Islamophobic group, Pegida, came hot on the heels of a similar incident last Saturday in which Rasmus Paludan, an extremist Swedish-Danish politician, burned a copy of the Holy Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Sweden's capital Stockholm, triggering outrage both in Turkiye and worldwide.

-- BERNAMA