LAHORE (UCAN): Church leaders in Pakistan supported the country’s Muslims in condemning the burning of copies of the Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands. In Lahore alone, least 12,000 people turned out following Friday prayers on January 27 to protest the desecration of the Muslim Holy Book in three separate incidents by far-right European leaders, as part of a nationwide protest.
“We lament the desecration and burning of the Quran in Sweden, and demand its government to bring the culprit to justice,” said Father James Channan, director of the Dominican Peace Centre in Lahore, addressing the Interfaith Peace Conference in Islamabad in January 25.
At the conference, Pakistan’s president, Arif Alvi, urged the international community to take necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Muslims across Asia began protesting after reports of two incidents of Quran desecration began to emerge.
Reports said earlier this month, far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, received police permission to protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, where he burned the Quran.
We have to build bridges and inter-faith harmony. These incidents are very unfortunate. We must all condemn these incidents in the strongest possible terms
Father Mendes
A few days later far-right leader, Edwin Wagensveld, from the Netherlands, tore out pages of the Quran near the Dutch parliament and stomped on them.
On January 27, Paludan repeated the desecration in front of a mosque in Copenhagen near the Turkish Embassy.
Father Bonnie Mendes, the former regional coordinator of Caritas Asia, expressed sadness over the untoward incidents.
“We have to build bridges and inter-faith harmony. These incidents are very unfortunate. We must all condemn these incidents in the strongest possible terms,” Father Mendes said.
Insult to Islam and its holy people is a burning issue in Pakistan where violence against minorities increases after desecrations abroad. On January, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, tweeted his displeasure over the third incident of Quran’s desecration.
“…The need for global unity to fight Islamophobia couldn’t be more urgent than it is now,” he further tweeted.
During the inter-religious meeting, Alvi gave away shields to two Christian leaders, Archbishop Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis, new papal ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, as a mark of appreciation for their work in promoting interfaith peace and harmony in Pakistan.
