By: Masud Rana

Sweden was followed by the heinous burning of a copy of the Holy Koran, the Muslim holy book, outside the Turkish embassy in Denmark and in front of a mosque in the capital, Copenhagen. This heinous crime was committed by Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the hardline political party Hard Line. The same person burned the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, on January 21.

This unpardonable crime is reprehensible. Please note that Rasmus Paludan is a joint citizen of Sweden and Denmark. He announced last April that he would go around burning the Holy Quran during the holy month of Ramadan. His announcement caused riots all over Sweden. In accordance with the previous announcement, he burned the Holy Quran first in Sweden and later in Denmark.

Notably, Rasmus Paludan chose the front of the Turkish embassy as the place to burn the Holy Quran. It shows that he is dissatisfied with Turkey. It is known that Sweden and neighboring Finland want to join the NATO alliance. This requires the approval or support of all NATO members. Turkey, which is a member of NATO, has objections to them. Turkey has already announced that it will not approve Sweden’s accession. Turkey also postponed a meeting in Brussels indefinitely, which would have discussed the membership of Sweden and Finland. With Turkey blocking Sweden’s NATO membership, Rasmus Paludan could have adopted any other means of protest than burning the Holy Koran. Rather, he chose the Holy Koran, perhaps because it would irritate and hurt Turkey the most. This also proves that the hatred of the Holy Quran or is embedded in the marrow of his bones.

There is no shortage of politicians in Europe, like Rasmus Paludan, who are infected with Islamophobia or Muslim hatred. They see Islam as terrifying and its followers as a threat to their existence. Far-right or extremist political parties, predominantly white racist, deeply sectarian and especially anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim, are gaining ground in European countries. The expansion of this type of policy is observed in other Western countries including the United States. Various anti-Islam or anti-Muslim crimes and persecution of Muslims have increased alarmingly in recent years in various European countries, including desecration of the Holy Quran, making the Prophet (PBUH) the subject of caricatures and banning the hijab. White supremacy has been or is being driven in the US and Europe primarily for political reasons. This is done in view of the fear that political power will shift from the hands of whites in the future as their numbers gradually decrease.

When the establishment of white supremacy is considered important, it is natural that other races are neglected and oppressed. Racist attacks against them are inevitable. That’s what happens. Violence against blacks and mixed races is increasing. Their human rights are violated in many ways in the USA-Europe. Muslims are the worst victims of racism, communalism and religious hatred. Most of them are non-white. Again, most whites are Christians.

The conflict between Christians and Muslims is old. Long crusades have also taken place between them. Christianity does not look kindly on the Muslim world. Otherwise, the crusade continues here. The US and its Western allies are responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. These countries have been almost destroyed by unjust wars forced upon them.

If such misdeeds and heinous incidents happen, one day the people concerned will have to pay for it. We hope they will be mindful and cautious and quickly move away from the path of white supremacy or Christian supremacy. There is no alternative to creating a peaceful, stable and humane world.

Britain and the United States established the Jewish state of Israel in opposition to Muslim countries in the Middle East. They are the ones who maintain it to take the Muslim countries. White supremacy and Christian supremacy meet at a point. Muslims have been the main target of these two supremacist attacks. The United States and its Western allies are on a global human rights crusade.

Their human rights policies are practically designed for whites and Christians. Whites are threatened and displaced by the war in Ukraine. There is competition for their protection and services. But refugees from Syria-Libya and other countries were prevented from entering Europe. In many African countries, people suffer from food shortages. There is no help for them. This is the nature of human rights concepts and policies in the United States and the West.

The holy book or books of any religion are considered sacred to people of other religions. Similarly, the founder of all religions is highly revered and respected by people of other religions as well. People in Europe burning the Holy Quran, insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), naturally question their humanity and mental health. The spread of this disease will further threaten the peace and stability of the world, which cannot be desired by the people of the world in general.

Every Muslim in the world has been emotionally traumatized and shocked by the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, there has been resentment among them. Although there are mutual disputes and disagreements among the Muslims of the world, there is no dispute or disagreement regarding the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet (PBUH). A few days ago there was a wave of protests from the Muslim countries and cities of the world due to the insult of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in India. Similarly, the protest against burning the Holy Quran has come from different parts of the world. This type and language of protests should be understood and heeded by the respective countries, Europe and the United States, as well as the Christian or White world.

More than a quarter of the world’s population is Muslim. They will never accept to show hatred and contempt for their holy scriptures or their prophet (pbuh). The wounds in their hearts will never heal.

If such atrocities and heinous incidents happen, one day the people concerned will have to pay for it. We hope they will be mindful and cautious and quickly move away from the path of white supremacy or Christian supremacy. There is no alternative to creating a peaceful, stable and humane world.

The author is a freelance columnist