“Charlie Hebdo blasphemy to Prophet Muhammad and desecration of Quran in Sweden are deemed as the resumption of Daeshi [ISIL] terrorism against Islam,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted on Friday.
“The abhorrent moves and extremism provocation have no room in democracy and freedom of expression; [they only] threaten the divine discourse, peace and security,” he added.
During an illegal gathering on August 28, supporters of right-wing Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, who leads the anti-Islamic group Tight Direction (Stram Kurs), burned a copy of Holy Qur’an in the southern Swedish city of Malmo.
On Tuesday, (September 1), French Magazine Charlie Hebdo republished offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) on the eve of the trial of suspects in a deadly attack on the paper’s office five years ago. In January 2015, two terrorists attacked the magazine’s offices in Paris, killing 12 people, many of whom worked for the publication. The attack, condemned by Muslims across the world, was allegedly a response to the magazine’s offensive cartoon of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) a few years earlier.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have been on the rise across Europe in recent years in the wake of terrorist attacks in the continent. The attacks were carried out by the Daesh sympathizers or the terror group’s members who had returned home following their defeat in Iraq and Syria.
Muslim leaders in Europe and around the world have reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks.
Moreover, the rise of far-right ideology and the propagation of anti-immigration policies have exacerbated the status of religious minorities in Europe.
MR