Elham Asaad Buaras
A desecrated copy of the Qur’an was chained and hung from a railing in the entrance of Stockholm Central Mosque in Sweden. Mosque officials, who released images of the incident on December 9, have said the mosque frequently experiences such threats.
“Our mosque and our congregation receive threats widely. Racists always make a new attempt to smear those who are not like themselves,” said a spokesman for the mosque in a statement.
Mosque officials said they decided to share photographs and information “to attract the attention of both our congregation and the public, and to prevent hate crime from being normalized.”
But the attack is not isolated, as the mosque has been subjected to anti-Muslim attacks in the past, including when anti-Islamic graffiti and writings were painted on its door.
The Qur’an has been under attack in Sweden for some time.
Swedish and Danish national Rasmus Paludan, who leads the far-right Danish anti-immigration party, regularly organises Quran-burning tours across the two Scandinavian countries despite protests that trigger riots.
The Imam and Director of the Stockholm Central Mosque, Mahmoud Khalfi, told Anadolu Agency that he “personally witnessed the Qur’an burning here in Stockholm” last December, “and I remember how hurtful it was.”
“The Qur’an is sacred in Islam; it is the word of God. Burning the Qur’an, therefore, becomes enormously hurtful for us Muslims,” he said.
