THEY BURN EUROPE

The burning of the Qur'an, a holy book for Muslims, in Stockholm on January 21, 2023 has once again brought the issue of Islamophobia and its causes in Europe to headlines.

It is not the first time that Rasmus Paludan, a lawyer and chairman of the Danish right-wing Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, who burned the Qur'an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, draws attention to his personality with such provocative actions.

Provocation against Türkiye?

In fact, it was Chang Frick, a Swedish journalist, who suggested Paludan burning the Qur'an. He covered all the costs, including the one of getting permit to hold the action. He explained his actions by his right to "spread the news".

Paludan stated that he was not satisfied with the effect his act resulted in. Rather the opposite, he was threatened. "I thought I hit Türkiye, but it didn't go the way I thought it would," the Danish activist confessed.

But he added that he had no regrets about what he did and considered it a "politically motivated act". Incidentally, this is not Paludan's first act of its kind. He has previously publicly burned the Qur'an in areas populated by ethnic minorities, calling it a tribute to freedom of speech. The ‘brave’ Dane is now under special protection of the Swedish law-enforcement agencies.

It is clear that the hate crime was committed in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm for a reason, as a message to Ankara. The instigators of the heinous act knew for sure that they could do harm to the ongoing negotiations between the Turkish and Swedish governments on the latter's membership in NATO. Indeed, Ankara announced the suspension of the talks with Sweden.

The situation might seem to be a problem for Sweden. In fact, however, the action was a clear provocation against Türkiye. It is clear that the current Islamist government in Türkiye had to react to the demonstrative burning of the Qur'an in front of its embassy. And Ankara has expressed its indignation already. Given the upcoming elections in Türkiye, the incident will be a serious test for the country both in terms of local public sentiments and from a foreign policy perspective.

Perhaps, the organisers of Paludan’s act has also taken these factors into account. For example, just two days after Paludan, a similar provocation against the Qur'an was recorded in the Netherlands. This time the perpetrator was Edwin Wagensveld, a member of the radical fascist group Pegida. This demonstrates that the action was a deliberately planned and controlled provocation. This resulted in the rise of sectarian tensions in Europe, while discussions on Sweden's membership in NATO have stalled and Türkiye's relations with European institutions, including NATO, have deteriorated again.

In other words, the action against the Qur'an is, on the one hand, a move aimed at provoking Muslims in Europe and the world into retaliation and, on the other hand, puts Ankara's relations with NATO and Washington at risk, while also blocking Sweden's membership in NATO. At least for a certain period of time. Judging from the current situation, the organisers achieved what they wanted.

European test of democracy

Paludan has coordinated his actions with the Swedish authorities, as a police guard ensured his safety throughout the provocation. Incidentally, Paludan did the same last April, sparking a conflict between the Muslims and the police, which resulted in dozens of people getting injured. Meanwhile, the European governments define the burning of the Qur'an as manifestations of freedom of speech and democracy.

However, following the global outcry, the Swedish government did take some steps to placate the local Muslim community. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the incident and met with representatives of Muslim organisations in the country.

But how effective will this meeting be in reducing Islamophobia in Europe? After the burning of the Qur'an on January 21, Paludan did the same six days later in his native Copenhagen. Around the same time, Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the German movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, publicly tore and burned the Qur'an in front of the Dutch House of Representatives in The Hague. The idea was to support Paludan, who has been criticised by the public community after publicly burning the holy book.

Remarkably, insulting religious values is punishable under the relevant articles of the criminal code of many European countries. But these measures, also known as ‘blasphemy laws’, do not work at all. In particular, European lawyers have to make verdicts often straddling the various obligations under the freedom of speech and the inviolability of religious values. Especially when it comes to Islam and Islamic values.

In 2017, Denmark abolished a 334-year-old article in its criminal code that penalised "insulting religious values".

In Germany, a similar Article 166 is not applied at all, experts note. It appears that every time they stumble upon making a choice between freedom of religion and freedom of speech, European countries favour the latter, pushing issues related to the inviolability of belief to the back burner.

At the same time, as we can see from the historical experience and reactions to incidents here and there, the governments simply demonstrate slowness in dealing with these kinds of issues. But there have been many other cases, when the relevant provisions of the criminal code have been applied anyway, preventing provocateurs from from offending sacred values of other people.

The ‘European tradition’ of burning the Qur'an

The barbaric attitude of Europeans to the holy book of Muslims is not something new. For example, in the 15th century the Spanish authorities destroyed the Andalusian culture and ordered all copies of the Qur'an in Arabic to be burnt together with the Muslim cultural heritage of the region. Allegedly, a similar order to burn the Qur'an was issued by Pope Clement VII in the 16th century.

The barbaric attitude towards the Qur’an in Europe became widespread after the 2001 events. On September 11, 2010, American pastor Terry Jones launched a campaign to burn the Qur'an. But the US officials both then and in the following years did not allow Jones to mount a mass campaign. Over time, however, this call and resentment against the Qur’an among Muslims has become increasingly common.

In 2008, Dutch politician Geert Wilders made a 17-minute film called Fitna in which he presented Islam as a terrorist religion, further increasing hostility towards it in Europe. According to recent estimates, 57% of the European right-wing are hostile to Muslims and Islam. After Wilders' call in 2016 to ban the Qur’an, the number of all kinds of actions against the holy book increased in Europe, in particular manifested in burning it. In 2020, the world learned about another Islamophobe, the Danish neo-Nazi Rasmus Paludan.

Modern book-haters

First and foremost the Qur'an is a book. It is one of the most published books in the world and one of the most influential books in the history of mankind. For the Muslims of the world, numbering close to two billion people, the Qur'an is also a holy book, the main source of devine decrees. It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to keep it clean and to protect it. It is also true that every Muslim considers the burning of the Qur'an an act of war against Islam, against its sacred values, an act of provocation.

There are undoubtedly sacred values in all religions, the books of these religions being sacred in the first place. Just as the Qur'an is considered sacred by Muslims, so the Torah (Old Testament) and the Bible (New Testament) are sacred to Jews and Christians, respectively. But European modernism has long ago destroyed the Christian concept of holiness. Despite the Church's objections, it is Christian holy sites that become the targets of criticism by modern European art and literature more often than those of other religions.

Unlike Christianity, Islam and Judaism are different. It is no coincidence that Paludan's attempt to burn the Torah after the notorious action with the Qur'an was foiled by the Swedish authorities.

Some 80 years ago, Europe suffered from the harsh experience of bibliophobia initiated by the Nazis. With the start of burning the books in various German cities, the Nazis have soon become a cancer for humanity. Now, perhaps Europe is burning the Qur'an remembering the old days. Those who want to burn the Torah are the followers of those Nazis. Who can guarantee that those who burn the Qur'an in European capitals today, under police protection, will not instigate yet another Massacre of St. Bartholomew against Muslims there in years to come? They make no secret of it anyway. Those who burn the Qur'an in Europe are harbingers of a coming storm on the continent. Contemporary European thinkers should step in to show the necessary determination to prevent the reawakening of Nazism. Otherwise Europe and the world will face this plague a second time.

It is true that the burners of the Qur’an achieved their original goal. The provocation was a blow to the discussions on Sweden’s and Finland’s membership in NATO. At the same time, the incident has contributed to the cooling of relations between Türkiye and the US. Some members of the Congress even insist on suspending the sales of the American F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.

Each such action reinforces Islamophobic sentiment in Europe, hostility towards Muslims and immigrants. Islamophobia is growing among the neo-Nazis in Europe. But that is only part of the story. These actions are fodder for all kinds of radicals in the Muslim world. Like neo-Nazis in Europe, such actions play in the hands of radical Islamists in the East, allowing them getting stronger. As a result, only the innocent people suffer. It is the same as always.