TEHRAN- Blasphemous acts against the holy Quran have united the Islamic world in their anger against European governments. The burning of Islam's holy book by an extremist politician in the Swedish capital has sparked outrage in the Islamic world. Rasmus Paludan, the leader of a far-right Swedish party, set fire to the Quran during a rally outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The rally had been given prior approval by Swedish authorities. In another incident, a copy of the Quran was torn apart during an anti-Islam rally in The Hague, Holland. It is not the first time that such sacrilegious acts against Islam have taken place in European cities. There is a tendency in the West to attack Islam and undermine it in the minds and hearts of the public with the Western media and politicians playing a major role in stirring up anti-Muslim sentiments. The Quran has been attacked in the West, but other symbols of Islam are also coming under attack. Western governments have gone after the Muslim hijab. In some Western countries it has been banned, and in many cases, the same governments are making it look like a crime for a Muslim woman to wear it. Places of Muslim worship, like mosques and Islamic centers, have been targeted, with the latest case being the Islamic Center of England in London which the UK has been putting under pressure. This is while anti-Muslim extremists have in the past infuriated Muslims with similar incidents in Europe, including Holland, Switzerland, France, and Austria, as well as in the United States. These blasphemous acts are happening with the authorization of the governments under the pretext of freedom of expression. But this freedom appears limited to Islam as similar acts against other religions have been met with punitive measures by the respective governments. The anti-Islam stance has a sinister motive behind it. Some authorities are using double standards to seek a rise in extremism as well as hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is an incitement to hatred and an incitement to violence. This is against the fundamentals of modern society. During this volatile time that we are living in, there are actually many in the world who are working to achieve peace and this peace can only be achieved if governments start respecting the roughly two billion Muslims in the world. Critics say the right to freedom of speech has a limit when it provokes such strong anger among Muslims worldwide. These double standards are the characteristics of these countries that allow anti-Muslim sentiments to flourish. A lot of work has to be done for these governments to understand the meaning of living in a peaceful society. Massive demonstrations have erupted in many West Asian countries as well as protests in Europe itself against the religious assault. In the days after the burning of the Quran, which occurred during a rally against Ankara outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, crowds of people in Muslim countries like Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan, Indonesia Turkey and elsewhere flooded the streets in anger. More protests in other countries are being organized or expected in the coming days against the hate crime. Protesters outside the Swedish embassy in Turkey and Yemen burnt the national flag of Sweden and strongly condemned the latest sacrilegious act. Demonstrators are calling for a boycott of all Swedish products such as clothing brands named H&M, furniture brands IKEA, Skype, Volvo, Ericsson, Nordea, and more. Footage of the protests in various Muslim countries has gone viral online, in which the angry protesters can be seen raising slogans against Sweden and demanding accountability. Muslim countries including Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait along with many others have issued strong condemnations. The defacing of Islam’s holy book is considered an act of provocation to most in Indonesia, which is host to the world's largest Muslim population, regardless of whether the act was aimed at another nation entirely. Paludan, the Swedish-Danish politician and activist who has previously been accused of racial abuse, repeated the same act he did last year. Yet there have been no genuine apologies issued or punitive measures taken against the perpetrators of these anti-Islam acts. The White House has said that the extremist's burning of the Quran in the Swedish capital was “deeply disrespectful” but stopped short of directly condemning it. When asked by reporters why he does not condemn the burning, Ned Price, the spokesman for the United States Department of State, said, “ím certainly not refraining from condemning this, this particular action.” “Of course, countries around the world have, and what we also seek to uphold are the very democratic principles that wére talking about here: the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of expression,” he added. Turkey, which is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as well as a NATO member has summoned the Swedish ambassador over the sacrilegious act, with Stockholm' membership bid of the NATO military alliance in doubt as it requires approval of all members. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the "Swedish government does not need to (talk) about the rights and freedom to us. If you really do respect rights and freedom, at first, you need to respect the Turkish republic or Muslims’ religious beliefs. If you do not show that respect, I am sorry, you will not see any support from us regarding NATO membership.” “If you love members of terrorist organisations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for your countries’ security,” he added Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, has condemned Erdogan’s position on Sweden. In an interview with German media, he said that “freedom of expression, freedom of opinion is a precious commodity, in Sweden and in all other NATO countries. That is why these inappropriate acts are not automatically illegal.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry has also summoned the Dutch Ambassador after issuing a statement that read "this makes clear that Islamophobia, discrimination, and Xenophobia know no borders in Europe." For a long time now, countries in the West have been tolerating Islamophobic demonstrations, movies, and literature aiming to insult the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the holy Quran. This is despite knowing that such willfully, planned, and state-sponsored acts insult Muslims globally. Yet the desire to continue this blasphemy has its roots in giving Daesh terrorists an Islamic identity while the largest anti-terror organization, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which defeated terrorists in West Asia and brought security to Europe is labelled as a terrorist entity by the European Parliament. The West can try and twist the narrative on the peaceful religion of Islam and help extremists who disgracefully operate under the name of Islam, but it won't succeed. These badly thought-out policies will only backfire on the governments that continue to implement them.

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TEHRAN- Blasphemous acts against the holy Quran have united the Islamic world in their anger against European governments. The burning of Islam's holy book by an extremist politician in the Swedish capital has sparked outrage in the Islamic world. Rasmus Paludan, the leader of a far-right Swedish party, set fire to the Quran during a rally outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The rally had been given prior approval by Swedish authorities. In another incident, a copy of the Quran was torn apart during an anti-Islam rally in The Hague, Holland. It is not the first time that such sacrilegious acts against Islam have taken place in European cities. There is a tendency in the West to attack Islam and undermine it in the minds and hearts of the public with the Western media and politicians playing a major role in stirring up anti-Muslim sentiments. The Quran has been attacked in the West, but other symbols of Islam are also coming under attack. Western governments have gone after the Muslim hijab. In some Western countries it has been banned, and in many cases, the same governments are making it look like a crime for a Muslim woman to wear it. Places of Muslim worship, like mosques and Islamic centers, have been targeted, with the latest case being the Islamic Center of England in London which the UK has been putting under pressure. This is while anti-Muslim extremists have in the past infuriated Muslims with similar incidents in Europe, including Holland, Switzerland, France, and Austria, as well as in the United States. These blasphemous acts are happening with the authorization of the governments under the pretext of freedom of expression. But this freedom appears limited to Islam as similar acts against other religions have been met with punitive measures by the respective governments. The anti-Islam stance has a sinister motive behind it. Some authorities are using double standards to seek a rise in extremism as well as hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is an incitement to hatred and an incitement to violence. This is against the fundamentals of modern society. During this volatile time that we are living in, there are actually many in the world who are working to achieve peace and this peace can only be achieved if governments start respecting the roughly two billion Muslims in the world. Critics say the right to freedom of speech has a limit when it provokes such strong anger among Muslims worldwide. These double standards are the characteristics of these countries that allow anti-Muslim sentiments to flourish. A lot of work has to be done for these governments to understand the meaning of living in a peaceful society. Massive demonstrations have erupted in many West Asian countries as well as protests in Europe itself against the religious assault. In the days after the burning of the Quran, which occurred during a rally against Ankara outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, crowds of people in Muslim countries like Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan, Indonesia Turkey and elsewhere flooded the streets in anger. More protests in other countries are being organized or expected in the coming days against the hate crime. Protesters outside the Swedish embassy in Turkey and Yemen burnt the national flag of Sweden and strongly condemned the latest sacrilegious act. Demonstrators are calling for a boycott of all Swedish products such as clothing brands named H&M, furniture brands IKEA, Skype, Volvo, Ericsson, Nordea, and more. Footage of the protests in various Muslim countries has gone viral online, in which the angry protesters can be seen raising slogans against Sweden and demanding accountability. Muslim countries including Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait along with many others have issued strong condemnations. The defacing of Islam’s holy book is considered an act of provocation to most in Indonesia, which is host to the world's largest Muslim population, regardless of whether the act was aimed at another nation entirely. Paludan, the Swedish-Danish politician and activist who has previously been accused of racial abuse, repeated the same act he did last year. Yet there have been no genuine apologies issued or punitive measures taken against the perpetrators of these anti-Islam acts. The White House has said that the extremist's burning of the Quran in the Swedish capital was “deeply disrespectful” but stopped short of directly condemning it. When asked by reporters why he does not condemn the burning, Ned Price, the spokesman for the United States Department of State, said, “ím certainly not refraining from condemning this, this particular action.” “Of course, countries around the world have, and what we also seek to uphold are the very democratic principles that wére talking about here: the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of expression,” he added. Turkey, which is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as well as a NATO member has summoned the Swedish ambassador over the sacrilegious act, with Stockholm' membership bid of the NATO military alliance in doubt as it requires approval of all members. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the "Swedish government does not need to (talk) about the rights and freedom to us. If you really do respect rights and freedom, at first, you need to respect the Turkish republic or Muslims’ religious beliefs. If you do not show that respect, I am sorry, you will not see any support from us regarding NATO membership.” “If you love members of terrorist organisations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for your countries’ security,” he added Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, has condemned Erdogan’s position on Sweden. In an interview with German media, he said that “freedom of expression, freedom of opinion is a precious commodity, in Sweden and in all other NATO countries. That is why these inappropriate acts are not automatically illegal.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry has also summoned the Dutch Ambassador after issuing a statement that read "this makes clear that Islamophobia, discrimination, and Xenophobia know no borders in Europe." For a long time now, countries in the West have been tolerating Islamophobic demonstrations, movies, and literature aiming to insult the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the holy Quran. This is despite knowing that such willfully, planned, and state-sponsored acts insult Muslims globally. Yet the desire to continue this blasphemy has its roots in giving Daesh terrorists an Islamic identity while the largest anti-terror organization, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which defeated terrorists in West Asia and brought security to Europe is labelled as a terrorist entity by the European Parliament. The West can try and twist the narrative on the peaceful religion of Islam and help extremists who disgracefully operate under the name of Islam, but it won't succeed. These badly thought-out policies will only backfire on the governments that continue to implement them.