Rabat – Leading Muslim figures in Islamic centers in Finland have released a statement addressing the incident on Sunday May 26, when far right politician Marco de Wit tore up the holy Quran in the presence of witnesses and police.
The statement follows a meeting held by Islamic Center leaders on Wednesday, May 30.
In the statement, they denounced the “hostile” and “blasphemous” nature of the public display, which they said brings into the open a deep-seated racist attitude towards Muslims and Islam.
The statement called for Muslims of Finland to “show patience and wisdom” and to seek legal justice rather than react rashly and meet the negative expectations of Muslims created by populist ‘fear mongering’ and divisive politics which seek to cause ‘contrived disputes’. The statement also urged all Muslims to avoid staging strikes and protests and to respond peacefully.
Yakup Yilmaz, A Turkish businessman and a member of the World Turkish Business Council’s European Committee, who reported the news on Sunday, May 26, said that de Wit hurled insults at the Prophet Mohammed and Islam as he shredded the sacred Qur’an.
Read also: Far-Right Finish Politician Rips Up Quran in Public
He reported the “hate crime” to a police officer, who was present during the incident but “did nothing.”
According to Anadolu, it is not unprecedented for de Wit to engage in such incendiary behaviors towards other faiths, he has previously committed the same act against the Jewish sacred text, the Torah.
The Finnish national broadcasting company YLE, reported a study conducted by an academic researcher WHICH asserted that hate crime, despite being outlawed in the Finnish penal code, often avoid harsh sentences within the justice system.
According to the report, “A review of sentencing data from 2013 has shown that only in very few cases have the courts handed down tougher sentences for hate crimes, as provided for in the legislation.’
Read also: Islamicity Index: ‘Non-Muslim Countries Reflect Islamic Values Better than Muslim Countries’
