Pakistanis protest Quran’s desecration in the Netherlands

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of Muslims on Tuesday rallied in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore to denounce the desecration of Islam’s holy book by a far-right activist in the Netherlands before dispersing peacefully.

The supporters of a small political party called Pakistan Markazi Muslim League chanted slogans against Edwin Wagensveld, Dutch leader of the far-right Pegida movement in the Netherlands. On Sunday he tore pages out of a copy of the Quran near the Dutch parliament and stomped on them.

About a dozen Muslims also held a similar rally in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, to condemn Saturday’s burning of the Quran in Sweden.

The rallies came days after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned what it called “the abhorrent act of desecration” of the Quran in Sweden, saying such acts hurt the feelings of Muslims across the world.