Issuing a statement, Al-Azhar denounced the sacrilegious move, calling it an example of extremism, terrorism, and deliberate incitement of Muslim sentiments in the United States and around the world, Youm7 website reported.
Such an act cannot be justified under the alleged title of “freedom of expression” because freedom cannot be a license to violate the sanctities of others or insult their religious beliefs and symbols, the statement emphasized.
Al-Azhar stressed that God Almighty has guaranteed the preservation of the Holy Quran, and that the Quran will continue to be a divine book for humanity and a guide for humans towards the values of goodness, truth and beauty.
It said actions stemming from prejudice, malice and hatred cannot diminish the Holy book’s sanctity.
Al-Azhar also warned that such actions reflect the intensification of Islamophobia, hostility towards Muslims, white nationalist tendencies and the discourse of white supremacy promoted by some far-right movements, discourses that are accompanied by incitement to hatred and violence against Muslims.
The Egyptian center stressed that terrorism and extremism are not limited to a specific religion or race, and that confronting extremism requires condemning all of its forms and manifestations, without discrimination or double standards.
Al-Azhar also condemned the use of places of worship to commit such provocative acts, saying places of worship should be places of peace, worship, coexistence and acceptance of others, not arenas for insulting sacred things or inciting hatred.
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Al-Azhar called for an immediate investigation into the incident and for the punishment of the extremist perpetrator and all those who played a role in committing, inciting or facilitating this act, and stressed the need to enforce the law against them without leniency.
The statement concluded by warning that tolerance of hate crimes paves the way for their repetition, and that respecting the sacred things of religions and protecting their followers against incitement and spreading hatred is a fundamental responsibility for everyone.
Last week, far-right political activist Jake Lang, who is a supporter of US President Donald Trump, desecrated Islam’s Holy Book in yet another act of desecration of Islam’s sanctities.
He ripped a copy of the Holy Quran in a provocative act in New York.
According to images and reports published on social media from the event, Lang tore up the Quran after giving a speech at the ATLAH Ministries church led by Pastor James David Manning in New York.
