Why do European nations support Islamophobia?

In a continuation of the politics of hatred against Islam, a politician with dual Swedish and Danish citizenship and a hatred of Islam, Rasmus Paludan, has once again disrespected the Holy Quran by burning a copy of the holy book of Muslims in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Paludan, 43, founder and leader of the anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, has once again angered the Muslim community by committing the blasphemous act outside the Turkish embassy in Denmark.

A video circulating on social media shows Paludan desecrating the Holy Quran, an act that deeply offends Muslims around the world. This latest outrage comes at a time when a Danish court in August 2023 ruled to ban acts of desecration of the Holy Quran due to the negative effects of such actions.

The move by the outspoken politician to desecrate the Holy Quran in Denmark comes just days after an Iraqi refugee, Salwan Momika, who had similar behavior, was shot dead at his home in the city of Sodertalje, Sweden on January 30.

The policy of hatred against Islam has gained momentum in recent years in European countries and some of these countries have even supported this policy by taking action and passing laws in this field. Banning the wearing of the hijab in France, Germany and Austria, harassing women who wear the Islamic hijab in France and some other European countries, spreading hatred against Muslims and calling them terrorists, as well as giving permission to burn the Holy Quran in countries such as Sweden, are things that have practically prepared the field for Muslims to be without peace and stability.

Western countries have adopted these policies while facing significant challenges in the moral, religious and social spheres in recent years, challenges that have led to the return of right-wing parties to power in many European countries.

In fact, the strengthening of these parties in Europe in the context of the political and economic failure of the ruling parties and the poor socio-economic situation of those countries has led to the rise of right-wing forces in the political and social arenas, where actions such as combating immigrants and Islamophobia are among the measures taken by these parties.

European right-wing parties consider the presence of Muslims in European societies to be the cause of the gap in the identity of the union and believe that the teachings of Muslims are incompatible with the ideas of European society and therefore sanctions should be increased against them.

On the other hand, the increasing number of Muslims in various European countries has led to an increase in Islamophobia in those societies, which right-wing parties are not willing to tolerate.

In recent years, these parties have attempted to achieve their goals in the field of Islamophobia by pressuring the executive and legislative bodies of various European countries to pass anti-immigrant laws, organizing riots and protests against Muslims, and preparing overt and covert bans in order to achieve their goals. Support for the burning of the Quran is also assessed in this frame.

These actions are taking place in a context where European countries have been claiming to defend freedom of expression, individual freedom and human rights. However, in these incidents of burning the Quran and other acts against Islam and Muslims, these countries have taken a hypocritical and double-minded stance and only adhere to these principles when it serves their own interests and those of their allies.

In relation to this issue, Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the United Nations, has stressed the importance of preserving freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and declared that: Desecration of holy books and places of worship as well as religious symbols is unacceptable and can incite violence and unrest.

The fact of the matter is that the recent incident of desecrating the Holy Quran shows that the Western countries, while acting in a double-minded manner, are content with making a fine statement about their commitment to human rights. Not only are these countries completely unconcerned with the issue of desecrating Muslims, they are also completely unconcerned with the issue. In essence, the Western powers have been pursuing policies of hatred against Islam in various ways and forms.