TEHRAN -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned German chargé d’affaires to express Tehran’s strong condemnation of a provocative move by a small number of Islamophobes who desecrated the Holy Qur’an and Islamic sanctities in the central European country.
The director of the first department for Western Europe at the Foreign Ministry called in the diplomat to voice Tehran’s strong denunciation of the sacrilege of Islam’s holy book in front of the Islamic Center of Hamburg, denouncing it as a clear example of hate-mongering, violence, and extremism.
Iran holds the German government responsible in this case, and demands decisive action against the perpetrators of this offensive action, the senior Iranian diplomat said.
According to reports, up to 10 people committed the sacrilegious act on Tasu’a, which marks the ninth of the lunar calendar month of Muharram, a day before Ashura when Imam Hussein (AS), a grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), and his 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala in southern Iraq, in 680 AD against the massive army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.
German police forces, who were present in the place, stood by and did not prevent the blasphemous act, which is prohibited under the country law, to go ahead, nor did they react to those who committed it, Iran’s Al-Alam television news network reported.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani hit out at the “provocative” move and warned of its “dangerous” consequences and implications.
“This blasphemous act is a clear example of sedition and spreading hatred and is categorically condemned by all Muslims, monotheists …and those who believe in coexistence and interfaith dialogue,” he said.
Such acts are “another aspect of extremism and takfiri violence” that require a “strong and deterrent response from governments that claim to be supporting human rights, freedom, and democracy”, he added.
Kan’ani urged Germany to take “an immediate and strong” action over the incident and called for holding the perpetrators to account in order to prevent the repetition of such acts.