KARACHI:
The desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden is a reflection of the malevolent and ghastly face of the West. The incident of the burning of the Holy Quran by the leader of a far-right extremist party, Rasmus Paludan, in Sweden has demonstrated that Western countries, which claim to be the champion of religious freedom and tolerance, are in fact engaged in the worst form of enmity against Islam.
After the incident, Sweden saw several days of protest and unrest in which at least 40 people were injured. According to local police officials, four police cars were set on fire while four officers were injured. Moreover, protesters were seen throwing stones as they stormed police positions and tore down barriers. The fact of the matter is that Islamophobia has become the lifeblood of the West and that is why the Swedish police provided protection to the perpetrator instead of stopping him from committing such an appalling act in the first place. In order to safeguard the religion of Islam, Muslim countries across the world will have to rise above their political and diplomatic interests and be willing to sacrifice everything for this cause.
If the religious passion of our rulers is revived, the enemies of Islam would never dare to show such malicious intent towards our esteemed personalities and our revered book. Our distance from faith at the individual level and the absence of an Islamic system at a collective level are the real reasons why such incidents continue to occur.
Raza ul Haq
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2022.
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