The police registered a case against a Kasargod man named Mustafa for burning the Bible, the holy book of the Christians, in retaliation for the desecration of the Quran in Europe.
The matter came to light after a video of the accused, identified as Erinipuzha Mustafa, burning the Bible went viral on the internet.
Case registered against one Mustafa who burnt Bible in Kasargod in retaliation to Quran burning in Europe pic.twitter.com/kQVinJUSHD
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In the video, the accused Mustafa is reportedly seen putting the Bible on the table and stating that he is carrying out the act in revenge for the burning of the Quran in Sweden. Then, he turns the pages of the Bible and pours what appears like oil on them, as per reports.
When his attempt to set the holy book on fire fails, he lits the gas stove and places the pages of the Bible on top of it and sets them on fire. He is also seen in the video pouring oil from time to time to keep the fire from spreading. The police registered a case against him after the video went viral on social media.
The police took cognisance of the matter and registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR states that the accused’s act could have stoked communal tensions in the state. It also stated that the accused intentionally caused outrage by burning the holy book in a derogatory manner and spreading it through social media to offend Christians.
Quran burning incidents in Europe
On January 21, a copy of Quran was reportedly burnt in Sweden during protests against Turkey outside Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Three different protests were happening in the city. One was against Turkey, the second was in support of Kurds, and the third was against Sweden’s bid to join North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Following the Quran burning incident, sharp reactions came from Turkey and Pakistan. All three protests had permission from the Sweden police.
Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, was the one who burnt the copy of the Quran. Notably, he has burnt copies in the past as well. Paludan has Swedish citizenship. Reuters report suggests that in the police permit he obtained, it was mentioned that his rally was against Islam and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to influence freedom of expression in Sweden.
Days later, Dutch leader of the far-right group, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA), destroyed a copy of the Quran in the Netherlands before setting it on fire. This came days after a copy of the Quran was burnt in Sweden during the protest against Turkey on January 21.
The video of the said incident went viral over the internet in which the Dutch leader Edwin Wagensveld could be seen tearing apart the pages of the Quran. In the video, he stated that he had attained permission from the city for executing the destruction of the Quran. “Soon, there will be registrations for similar actions in several cities, time to answer disrespect from Islam with disrespect,” the Dutch leader said as he tore the pages of the Quran on January 22.
