Protest in Pakistan over desecration: Rallies held against Sweden, Netherlands

LAHORE: Tens of thousands of religious workers and leaders staged countrywide protests on Friday to condemn the consecutive incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in India, Holland and Sweden within few days, warning that secular Europe and India which championed human rights are conspiring to destroy world peace by provoking religious feelings of two billion Muslims.

Raising slogans against the anti-Islam governments in Europe, the charged workers demanded that Muslim rulers sever ties with Holland, Sweden and India, and enact laws to prevent the Christian West from pushing the world towards a clash of civilizations with the fast-rising Islamophobia and systematically inciting a violent response from Muslims. They demanded that the Muslim rulers put up strong resistance to this ugly practice and get united to have global legislation against this western conspiracy of deliberate blasphemy under the cover of freedom of expression.

Rallies were taken out in Lahore, including the one by the Jamaat-e-Islami led by its leaders Javed Kasuri, Zekrullah Mujahid, Khalid Butt; by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan led by Qari Zawwar Bahadur, Hafiz Naseer Noorani and Rasheed Rizvi; by the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) led by Hafiz Saad Rizvi; by the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad led by Zubair Ahmad Zaheer; Jamia Naeemia students led by Allama Raghib Naeemi and the Sunni

Tehreek led by Tahir Dogar.

Addressing the slogan-chanting and banners-waving participants who also burnt the flags of Holland and Sweden, the clerics called it a blatant provocation against the feelings of two billion Muslims, stressing the need to stop the western Christians from incitement and polarization by immediate global legislation to protect world peace. They warned that this blatant provocation of violence towards two billion Muslims in the world was also a serious violation of the freedom of expression. They said European countries were displaying intolerance and fanaticism in stark contrast to their own claims.