Dutch prosecutors investigate activist who desecrated Quran

An anti-Islam activist who tore pages from the Quran in front of the Dutch parliament building in January and called it a “fascist book” is being investigated on suspicion of insulting Muslims, prosecutors said Friday.

The actions of Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the Dutch branch of the far-right Pegida movement, and the burning of a Koran by a Danish far-right activist outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in the same month sparked protests in many Muslim-majority countries around the world.

Desecration of Islam’s holy book is not a crime in the Netherlands, prosecutors said, adding that Wagensveld’s comments about damaging the Quran were an illegal insult to the Muslim community.

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Hundreds of angry protesters protest against Swedish and Netherlands laws after Friday prayers outside the Mohammed al-Amin mosque to condemn the desecration of Islam’s holy book by far-right activists in European countries on January 27, 2023 in Beirut, Lebanon. Burn the flags , (AP Photo/Hasan Ammar, File)

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In a written statement, The Hague’s Public Prosecution Service said his comments were suspected of violating an article of the Dutch Penal Code “which states that intentionally insulting a group of people because of their religion or belief is a crime”. Is.”

Wagensveld was not mentioned by name in the statement, in line with Dutch privacy regulations, but referred to a 54-year-old Dutch national living in Germany.

“The Dutch police will question the suspect in this case,” prosecutors said.

On Twitter, Wagensveld retweeted a post by a supporter calling the action an abuse of power.