KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian chapter of the controversial hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir has urged the government to take stern action over the recent acts of desecration towards the Quran in Europe.
The group’s central leadership member, Mu’adz Abu Thalhah, said the release of rhetorical statements and condemnation alone would serve little purpose if they are not followed up by firmer measures.
“We urge the government to take a sterner stand on the matter,” he told The Vibes today.
“They must issue a firm warning and take a more frightening action that can put an end to this issue.”
Mu’adz said this ahead of a planned protest by Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) in front of the Swedish and Netherlands embassies today.
Last week, Swedish-Danish extremist politician and leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, Rasmus Paludan, courted controversy after he burnt a copy of the holy book in Stockholm, Sweden, triggering a global outcry.
On Monday, another anti-Muslim provocateur, Edwin Wagensveld, a leader of the far-right group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida), tore apart a Quran in the Netherlands before setting it on fire.
Mu’adz said HTM will hold its peaceful demonstration at the Embassy of Sweden around 8.30am today, where it will also submit a protest memorandum.
The group will then conduct a march from Masjid Tabung Haji to the Netherlands Embassy to submit a similar memorandum after Friday prayers.
“Our main hope from these protests is not so much targeted at the embassies, but to the Muslim community. We want to remind them of the number of times our religion has been insulted. We want a solution.”
Mu’adz expects over a hundred members of HTM to participate in today’s demonstrations.
When asked if police have been informed of the planned protests, he said: “We haven’t, but usually when we hold demonstrations, police will be there to monitor the situation.”
For the record, 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 Johor government had in September 2020 declared HTM as an illegal organisation while the Selangor Islamic Religious Council issued a statement in February 2021 explaining why the public should reject the group. – The Vibes, January 27, 2023
