Al-Azhar in Egypt urges boycott due to burning of Quran

 

The world’s largest Muslim organization issued a demand to boycott Swedish and Dutch goods on Wednesday in response to the burning of Islam's sacred book by far-right activists in those two European nations. This came from Egypt’s top religious institution.

The most important religious organization for Sunni Muslims in the world, Al-Azhar in Egypt, has issued a call, the most recent in a string of responses to the events in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Rasmus Paludan, a Danish anti-Islam activist, torched the Qur'an on Saturday in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Edwin Wagensveld, the Dutch head of the far-right Pegida movement, tore pages out of the Qur'an on Sunday and trampled them close ripped the Dutch parliament in The Hague.

“A boycott of both nations would be a suitable response to governments who support barbaric crimes under the inhuman and immoral banner they call freedom of expression,” according to Al-Azhar in Egypt, which labeled the desecrations an ‘offence’ to Muslims.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people protested and denounced the desecration in the eastern city of Lahore, Pakistan. Istanbul and Ankara, the two largest cities in Turkey, both saw protests.

Following the event in Stockholm, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden not to count on backing from Ankara in its continuing application to join NATO in light of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. He also chastised Sweden for allowing pro-Kurdish protests outside Turkey's embassy later on Saturday.

Even though it is generally against the law to promote violence or use hate speech, European nations have traditionally maintained the right to freedom of expression. The authorities gave approval for the protests of Paludan and Wagensveld.