Islamic parties stage huge protest against Quran burning in Sweden
Staff Reporter :
A number of religious-based political organisations and groups on Friday took to the streets in the capital Dhaka to express strong protest against the desecration and burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden, which deeply hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community across the globe.
The demonstrators gathered at the northern gate of the national mosque, Baitul Mokarram, after the Jumma prayers to raise their voices for a such sacrilege occurred in Sweden and demanded exemplary punishment and severing diplomatic relations with Stockholm.
After the prayers, the Khilafat Majlis brought out the first protest rally from Baitul Mukarram Mosque. The group demanded the severing of diplomatic relations with Sweden.
Following that, another protest rally was organised by the Dhaka Metropolitan Ulama-e-Islam. They called for condemning Sweden in the Parliament based on the demands of the protest rally.
Later, leaders and activists from the Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB) in their rally expressed strong condemnation against the recent incident of an individual burning the Holy Quran in Sweden.
Ending the brief rally at the north gate of Baitul Mokarram, they brought out big procession, marching through various streets of the capital before concluding at Nightingale Intersection, carrying different types of banners and placards.
Thousands of participants, including members of Islamic Movement Bangladesh and Muslim devotees, also took part in the rally.
After the protest rally, they gathered again briefly at Paltan Intersection. During this time, traffic on the road from Bijoy Nagar to Gulistan was temporarily suspended.
Additionally, extra police personnel were deployed at the entrance of Baitul Mukarram Mosque to ensure that no untoward incidents occurred centering the protest rally.
Before the procession, speakers at the gathering demanded exemplary punishment for those who disrespected the Holy Quran.
“No Quran has been desecrated in Sweden; it is the hearts of Muslims worldwide that have been hurt. This incident is causing anguish in the hearts of Muslims worldwide. We cannot accept it in any way. It is not possible for any Muslim to tolerate the disrespect of the Quran.
That is why we have come to Rajpath in protest,” they said.
They further said that such condemnable incidents have occurred in Sweden before as well. “We demand appropriate measures to identify why such incidents are recurring,” they said.
Maulana Sayed Mosaddak Billah Al-Madani, a member of the Presidium of the organisation, spoke as the chief guest, while, among others, IAB Secretary General Hafiz Maulana Yunus, addressed the gathering.
Notably, on June 28, the incident of burning the Quran occurred in front of the Central Mosque in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. In response to this incident, various countries worldwide have expressed condemnation and protest.
Soon after the incident, the Foreign Ministry also summoned Jakob Etaat, Charge D’affaires at the Swedish embassy in Dhaka and strongly protested the incident, urging them not to repeat such incident.
