A copy of the Koran was trampled and torn on Friday (August 18th) in the Netherlands during a far-right demonstration in front of the Turkish embassy in The Hague, angering dozens of counter-protesters. The Dutch authorities had condemned this action beforehand, while assuring that they did not have the legal means to prohibit it.
Edwin Wagensveld, head of the Dutch branch of the anti-Islam movement Pegida, jumped on the book considered the holiest of Islam which he then tore up, AFP correspondents found. Accompanied by two people, the man was wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "Islam is no better than Nazism."
Counter-protesters chanted "Allah Akbar"
The police had blocked access to the street in the center of The Hague where the Turkish embassy is located to about fifty counter-demonstrators, who fell back on the other side of the canal along the Ankara representation in the Netherlands.
When Mr. Wagensveld tore the pages, some of these counter-demonstrators threw stones in his direction. When Mr. Wagensveld left, the counter-demonstrators chanted "Allah Akbar" and tried to catch up with him, before being prevented from doing so by about twenty police officers with sticks and shields.
"It's allowed in our country, you have this freedom"
Justice Minister Dilan Yezilgöz, quoted Friday morning by the Dutch news agency ANP, had described as "quite primitive and pathetic" the act of destroying or burning a book. But "it's allowed in our country, you have this freedom," she added. According to Yezilgöz, a possible terrorist attack in retaliation for the destruction of the Koran is a threat that must be taken into account.
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The municipal council of The Hague is responsible for a respectful and inclusive city and distances itself from behaviors that do not contribute to it, "said the mayor of The Hague Jan van Zanen in a statement sent Friday morning to AFP, adding that Dutch legislation does not allow him to ban the event. The leader of the far-right PVV party, Geert Wilders, gave his support to Pegida's action on X (formerly Twitter).
At the end of January, Mr Wagensveld was filmed leading the same type of demonstration in front of the Dutch Parliament. In late July, two men set fire to a copy of the Koran outside parliament in Stockholm. Similar actions also took place this year in Denmark. These incidents have provoked condemnation and unrest in several Muslim countries.
In response, Sweden decided on Thursday 17 August to raise its terrorist alert level.