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Danish politician stages another Quran burning stunt

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In yet another provocative act on Friday, far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a Copenhagen mosque and also outside the Turkish embassy in Denmark.

The incident took place days after Paludan, the leader of Denmark's far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), committed a similar act outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan 21.

On Friday, Paludan burned the holy scripture with a helmet on his head just across from the Islamic Society mosque after noon prayers in the Dortheavej district of Copenhagen.

Khalid al-Subeyhi, a Palestinian mosque volunteer, said Paludan has carried out provocative acts in front of many mosques in Denmark for more than two years. "Our message to him is: 'Don't do this, this is not freedom of expression. This is a provocation for the Danish Muslim minority'," he said.

Protest rallies

Thousands attended demonstrations held across Pakistan, Afghanistan and several other Muslim countries to protest the desecration of the Holy Quran.

In Lahore, at least 5,000 people held a march organized by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, AFP reported. They were chanting "Holy Quran is printed in our hearts" and "I am a protector of the Holy Quran". Similar protests were also held in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Multan and Quetta.

Demonstrations have also broken out in Afghanistan and Iraq, while Indonesia summoned Sweden's envoy and Egypt called for a boycott of Swedish and Dutch products.

In the Iranian capital of Tehran, hundreds of people marched after Friday prayers during which they burned a Swedish flag, the Associated Press reported.

In Beirut, about 200 angry protesters burned the flags of Sweden and the Netherlands outside the blue-domed Mohammed Al-Amin mosque at Beirut's central Martyrs Square.

Small protests over the Quran burning also took place in Bahrain.

Iraq's powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr asked in comments released Friday whether freedom of speech means offending other people's beliefs. He asked why "doesn't the burning of the gays' rainbow flag represent freedom of expression."

The cleric added that burning the Quran "will bring divine anger." Hundreds of his supporters gathered outside a mosque in Baghdad waving copies of the Quran.

Ambassador summoned

Turkey's Anadolu Agency said the Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry where Turkish officials "strongly condemned the permission given for this provocative act which clearly constitutes a hate crime".

The ambassador was told that "Denmark's attitude is unacceptable" and that Turkey expected permission be revoked.

Turkey's foreign ministry later issued a statement calling Paludan an "Islam-hating charlatan" and deploring the fact that he was allowed to stage the demonstration.

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Author and journalist. Author of Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality; Islam in the Post-Cold War Era; Islam & Modernism; Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America. Currently working as free lance journalist. Executive Editor of American (more...)
 
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