2 yıl önce

Dutch far-right leader desecrates Quran in Netherlands

Edwin Wagensveld, leader of anti-Muslim group PEGIDA, shares footage of the provocative act on social media.

A far-right Dutch politician and leader of an anti-Muslim group has torn apart a copy of the Quran in Amsterdam on Saturday.

Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the racist anti-Muslim group PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) shared footage of the provocative act in front of the Amsterdam Municipality on social media.

Mentioning that he has been facing an investigation for insulting a group while tearing up the Quran, Wagensveld said tearing apart the Muslim holy book again was how he could best express his opinion.

On January 22, the far-right Dutch politician tore up the Quran in front of the temporary Dutch parliament building in The Hague while under police protection. He did it again on February 13 in Utrecht.

Muslim groups had warned at the time that PEGIDA would desecrate the Quran, the demonstration was still not prohibited, prompting a counter-protest by the Muslim community.

In response to the January incident, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service said Friday an unidentified male suspect will be questioned for using racist expressions while tearing up the Quran.

Local media reports said the suspect may be Wagensveld.

An official statement by the prosecution said the suspect, 54, who resided in Germany, tore up the Quran in front of the Dutch parliament in The Hague on January 22, while saying things such as: "The Quran is a fascist book. Just as bad as (Hitler's biography) Mein Kampf. Its followers are pursuing the same ideology as Hitler."