KUALA LUMPUR – Some 100 Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) members have taken their demonstration to the Netherlands embassy here on the heels of a right-wing politician who recently tore up a Quran and stepped on it.
The embassy was closed by 2pm as per their usual protocol but a representative was present to receive HTM’s memorandum.
Police presence was heavy especially to ease congestion towards Persiaran KLCC.
Recently, Edwin Wagensveld, who heads the Dutch chapter of the German anti-Islam group Pegida, tore pages out of the Quran during a one-man protest outside the Netherlands Parliament.
Images on social media also showed him walking on the torn pages of the holy book.
Earlier, the controversial Islamist group handed over a memorandum to the Swedish embassy here objecting to the recent destruction of Quran copies in Europe.
Banners and flags condemning the desecration of the Muslim holy book were held by most of the protesters, some of whom told media members that they came from other states.
Last week, Swedish-Danish extremist politician and Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party leader Rasmus Paludan courted controversy after he burnt a copy of the holy book in Stockholm, Sweden, triggering a global outcry.
Hizbut Tahrir is a global organisation looking to re-establish the Islamic caliphate that would unite the Muslim community into a single state that implements shariah law.
It has already been banned by scores of countries globally for its supposed deviating views, including China, Germany, Russia, Indonesia, and almost every other Muslim nation, except a few.
HTM’s own existence in Malaysia has been a point of serious contention, with several state Islamic bodies already declaring the group’s ideology to conflict with the Sunni denomination practised in the country. – The Vibes pic, January 27, 2023
