Pakistan condemns desecration of Holy Quran in Netherlands

• Pakistan condemned the desecration of Holy Quran in Netherlands
• Foreign Office said the provocative Islamophobic hate crime hurt sentiments of Muslims
• Pakistan urged global community to raise collective voice against Islamophobia

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned the despicable act of desecration of the Holy Quran in the Netherlands on January 22, 2023.

“It is undoubtedly a provocative Islamophobic hate crime committed under the guise of freedom of expression. Such offensive acts deeply hurt the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world and can create disharmony among the international community,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan had always maintained that freedom of expression came with responsibilities.

“We also believe that it is the responsibility of national governments and the international community at large to prevent such vile acts, which are perpetrated with the ulterior motive to provoke and incite religious hatred and violence.”

The spokesperson said that the international community should raise its collective voice against Islamophobia and work together to promote inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence.

That was the spirit behind the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022 to mark March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the spokesperson added.

As Pakistan’s concerns were being conveyed to the authorities in the Netherlands, the spokesperson urged them to be mindful of the sentiments of the people of Pakistan and the Muslims around the world and take steps to prevent such hateful and Islamophobic acts.

In a despicable act, far-right Dutch politician and leader of the Islamophobic group Pegida Edwin Wagensveld desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran in The Hague.

Arab countries condemning condemned the incident and warned that it tried to rend the peaceful social fabric and cause deliberate offence to the Islamic faith.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry voiced the kingdom’s condemnation of the incident, calling it a “provocative step towards the feelings of millions of Muslims.”

The Emirati Foreign Ministry also condemned the incident, stressing “the need to respect religious symbols and sanctities and to refrain from incitement and polarization.”

Qatar also denounced the incident, saying this “heinous incident is an act of incitement and a serious provocation to the feelings of more than 2 billion Muslims worldwide.”. It warned against “allowing recurrence of violations of the holy Quran under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

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