The Dutch Prosecutor’s Office reported that a person in Den Haag will be questioned for “insulting a group” for racist remarks he used while tearing up the Quran.
In the statement made by the prosecutor’s office, a 54-year-old Dutchman living in Germany tore a Quran in front of the Dutch Parliament in Den Haag on January 22, 2023, “The Quran is a fascist book. As bad as Mein Kampf. His followers follow the same ideology as Hitler.” It was stated that he used the phrase.
In the statement, it was stated that the suspect was suspected of “insulting a group” due to the statements he used while tearing the Qur’an, and that the suspect, about whom a judicial investigation was launched, was summoned to the Netherlands for questioning.
In the statement, it was stated that deliberate humiliation of a group of people due to their religion or beliefs can be punished in the Netherlands, and it was shared that tearing the Qur’an is not considered a crime.
In the statement, it was pointed out that tearing the Quran is seen as a criticism of faith, but the prosecutor’s office is aware that this action causes unrest in the Muslim community.
Racist leader Wagensveld tore the Quran
Local media reported that the prosecution pointed to Edwin Wagensveld, the leader of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement.
Wagensveld tore the Holy Quran in a demonstration he held alone in the city of Den Haag on 22 January under police protection in front of the temporary Dutch parliament building, and on 13 February in the city of Utrecht.
Similarly, the action of PEGIDA, which planned to burn the Qur’an in Rotterdam on October 22, ended before Wagensveld was taken into custody.
Muslim groups gathered at the place where the demonstration in Rotterdam was planned, held a counter-demonstration because PEGIDA’s demonstration was not banned despite the announcement that it would burn the Quran.
Wagensveld, who was released the same day after being detained, wanted to carry out a similar action in The Hague the next day, but the police detained Wagensveld again on the grounds that he did not comply with the demonstration rules.
In a written statement made by the Dutch Prosecutor’s Office on 17 November, Hz. It was reported that Wagensveld, who was detained by the police for insulting Muhammad, would not be prosecuted on the grounds that he insulted the religion itself, not the members of the Islamic faith, and that he did not commit any crime.