KUALA LUMPUR – PAS Ulama Council chief Datuk Ahmad Yahaya has called on Muslims to join an over 1km march from KLCC to the Swedish embassy here as a sign of protest against a Danish-Swedish leader who burnt a Quran in Stockholm.
Ahmad also reiterated calls made by opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who urged the government to summon the Swedish ambassador.
“It is ironic that such an incident seemed to have received the blessing of the Swedish government in the name of freedom, but it was a provocative move and insulted Islam.
“This is not the first time Paludan has burnt a Quran. He carried out the same provocative act last year, targeting cities with Muslim populations such as Linkoping, Malmo and Stockholm,” Ahmad said in a statement yesterday.
Ahmad added that Malaysia should propose an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation emergency meeting to discuss extensive follow-up actions involving other Muslim countries.
“Malaysia needs to issue a stern warning via the available diplomatic tools. We must not compromise with any provocative incident, let alone those that insult the sanctity of Islam.”
Meanwhile, Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya said in a statement that the public is cautioned against joining the two planned marches to the Swedish embassy on Friday.
He added that this would violate public assembly laws and participants would be liable to prosecution, seeing that police did not receive any notification on the marches.
One march is scheduled for 8.30am tomorrow, from the Tabung Haji Mosque to the Swedish embassy, and another starting at 2pm at the As-Syakirin KLCC mosque.
Paludan, who leads the Danish party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burnt a Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on January 21 – an act Swedish authorities said did not violate any of the country’s laws.
Malaysia has condemned, in the strongest terms, the Islamophobic act, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urges the Swedish government to take urgent measures against the perpetrators of this “vile act”.
“Such a blatant defilement of Islam’s holy book by the Swedish politician and the inaction are tantamount to fomenting Islamophobia, and constitutes a grave provocation to the sensitivities of not just Turkiye, but more than two billion Muslims in the world.”
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had criticised Paludan’s actions as “deeply disrespectful” and acknowledged that “what is legal is not necessarily appropriate”.
Following Paludan’s demonstration, Ankara had cancelled a visit with Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson, where they were supposed to discuss and overcome Turkiye’s objections to Sweden’s bid to join the Nato military alliance. – The Vibes, January 26, 2023
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