Dutch man to be questioned for using racist language while tearing apart copy of Quran

AMSTERDAM

A man in the Netherlands will be questioned for using racist expressions while tearing up a copy of the Quran, according to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.

An official statement on Friday said the unidentified man, age 54, who resided in Germany, tore up the Quran in front of the Dutch parliament in The Hague on Jan. 22, while saying things such as: "The Quran is a fascist book. Just as bad as (Hitler’s biography) Mein Kampf. Its followers are pursuing the same ideology as Hitler."

The suspect is being investigated for "insulting a group" due to his speech while tearing up the Quran and has been summoned to the Netherlands for questioning.

The statement also mentioned that intentionally insulting a group of people based on their religion or beliefs can result in punishment in the Netherlands, but tearing up a Quran is not considered a crime.

The prosecution service acknowledged that tearing up the Quran is seen as criticism of a belief and that this action causes unrest within the Muslim community.

Local media reports suggest that the man being investigated may be Edwin Wagensveld, the leader of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement.

Wagensveld, 54, in fact tore up the Quran in front of the temporary Dutch parliament building in The Hague on Jan. 22 while under police protection, and did so again on Feb. 13 in Utrecht.

Despite Muslim groups warning that PEGIDA would burn the Quran, the demonstration was not prohibited, prompting a counter-protest by the Muslim community in the same location.

Wagensveld was detained but released on the same day.

The following day, he attempted a similar demonstration in The Hague, but was arrested again for not complying with demonstration rules.