Dutch police clash with group trying to stop Quran burning

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands: A brawl broke in the Netherlands between police and a group intervening in a Quran attack planned by the leader of a far-right extremist political movement, Edwin Wagensveld, foreign media reported.

Police said a group demonstrated against authorized Quran burning by the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement for which they obtained permission from the municipality in Arnhem.

The group attempted to intervene, leading to the discontinuation of the demonstration. Three individuals were arrested for non-compliance and three officers sustained minor injuries.

It was noted that the PEGIDA leader was placed under police protection. Arnhem Mayor Ahmed Marcouch, of Moroccan origin, said burning a sacred book is not prohibited in the Netherlands. Marcouch noted that while such an act might be understandable in affecting people, resorting to violence is unacceptable.

In the Netherlands, mayors have the authority to ban demonstrations if they anticipate a disruption of public order. Yildirim Usta, a council member from the Denk Party in Arnhem, criticized Marcouch in a statement for allowing PEGIDA’s Quran attack. Usta criticized the oversight of the PEGIDA Quran attack, citing it as a hate crime under the guise of free speech.

He expressed discontent with the police handling of Muslim protesters and announced plans to take initiatives in the municipal council for stronger measures against hate crimes. In attacks on the Quran conducted by Wagensveld in 2022 and 2023, it was reported that if he were to burn the Quran, police would intervene due to the prohibition of public fires, according to public order and safety regulations.

Wagensveld tore the Quran under police protection in front of the temporary Dutch parliament building in The Hague on Jan. 22, 2023, and alone in a demonstration in Utrecht on Feb, 13. Similarly, PEGIDA’s planned Quran burning in Rotterdam on Oct. 22, 2022, ended before it began with Wagensveld’s arrest.

Muslim groups gathered at the planned location in Rotterdam, despite PEGIDA’s announcement of the burning, and organized a counter-demonstration due to the show not being banned.

After being detained and released the same day, Wagensveld on the following day attempted a similar act in The Hague but was again arrested by police for not complying with demonstration rules. Last year, on Aug. 18 and Sept. 23, Wagensveld tore the Quran in front of Türkiye’s Embassy in The Hague.